Meet ParishSOFT - Christian Computing Magazine

Tell us how ParishSOFT got started
Our founder, David Rosenberg, was happily
working in medical information systems in the
1990s when he boarded a flight and found him-
Christian Computing® Magazine March 2011 3
cover story
Meet ParishSOFT
By Steve Hewitt
Whenever I am asked, “Who reads Christian Computing Magazine?” I
am always at a loss to describe our “average” reader. We don’t have an
average reader! We have readers at all levels of technology implementation
and they come from every Christian denomination that can be found. Over the
years I have been aware that we also had a good number of readers who serve in the
Catholic Church. For example, I remember seeing the Archbishop of Boston on our
mailing lists back in the day when we used to send out the magazines in print form.
And, last year, I was given several opportunities to speak at conferences designed to
help Catholics better use technology to enhance their ministry. One of those speaking
engagements was at Villanova University where I was honored to give the keynote
address at the center for the study of Church Management. While there, I had
the opportunity to meet with the representative from ParishSOFT exhibiting at that
conference and catch up on what they have to offer.
In November of last year, I was invited to give
the keynote and lead some sessions at the Parish-
SOFT national user’s conference. I always love
opportunities such as these, because it gives me
the chance to meet the staff as well as really get to
know their customer base. I had a fantastic time,
and left with a better appreciation for ParishSOFT
as well as the goals of Catholic churches to use
technology! I also discovered many long time
readers at their conference, and the opportunities
to speak at more of their conferences have continued
into this year. I am looking forward to leading
some sessions at the Diocesan Information Systems
Conference in Boise, ID, in June of this year.
So, this month I thought it would be a great
idea to interview ParishSOFT and let our readers
know more about their company, their ministry,
what they have to offer and where they are heading.
They already introduced me to Faith Interactive,
which is the company from Higher Logic that
is helping us create our upcoming Online Community.
I hope you will benefit from learning more
about what they have to offer to you as well! And,
starting next month, I have asked them to host a
column in CCMag, providing information specific
to the technology needs for Catholic churches!
Enjoy the interview...

self seated next to Auxiliary Bishop Bernard Harrington from the
Archdiocese of Detroit. Their conversation quickly turned to the
challenges of demographic trending and strategic planning in a
world where there really was no information management software
to serve the Catholic Church. In Detroit, parishes were closing, and
Bishop Harrington knew that if the archdiocese had had access to
better data in prior years, they could have better prepared parishes
for the transition and perhaps even spared some from closure.
Rosenberg recognized this experience as the tap-tap of God’s
hand on his shoulder and said yes to putting his talents to work for
the Church—it was an answer that would set the tone for Parish-
SOFT’s long-term vision.
When staff in his own parish, St. Joseph in Dexter, Mich.,
showed him their existing software tools and processes, he discovered
that not only did the software fall far short of meeting the
informational needs of the diocese; it wasn’t serving the day-to-day
operations within the parish as it should. There was no integration
with tools like Microsoft ® Word ® , Excel ® , e-mail, or the Internet.
Worse, there were no relational databases, so in parish after parish,
the people who did religious education, scheduling, offertory, and
general parish communications each had their own separate lists of
names and addresses. Trying to keep them all updated was impossible,
and so was getting an accurate census. Rosenberg formed
a technology team and partnered with several parishes to define,
develop and take to market the first suite of integrated Catholic
parish software.
How did Catholic parishes receive the technology?
In the early days, there were times when we had to work really
hard to overcome the notion that technology had no place in the
Church. Staff had strong emotional connections to their paper files
and manual processes. They were also reluctant to give up control
over their personal lists of parish family and member information.
Once we showed them how they could maintain just one database
of families and members and manage their census, sacraments, religious
education classes, ministry scheduling, and offertory all from
a central place, the response was tremendous. From the beginning,
parish staff recognized that being able to target communications to
any group of families or members and generate e-mails and letters
directly from their church management software had significant
advantages for ministry and administrative cost reduction.
What makes ParishSOFT unique?
Our commitment to focus on the Catholic Church and to listen
to our customers has been vital to understanding their needs and
providing products and services that support their mission. Each of
the 194 Catholic dioceses operates as its own entity. That means in
every diocesan implementation, we have had to address a unique
set of regulations and processes, as well as keep our products current
with canon law and the guidelines of organizations like the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Without
Christian Computing® Magazine
March 2011
4

the devotion of the entire company, powered by men and women
who embrace the work of the Church, we could not have blazed this
trail successfully.
We’re blessed with an incredible staff of men and women who
understand that what we do each day makes a difference in the
ministry of every diocese, parish and school we serve. Their dedication
complements our technology, and it’s been essential to earning
the trust of our customers and opening lines of communication. Our
customers take the time to share their ideas with us because they
know we’re listening—they’ve seen the fruits of their efforts in our
new products and enhancements to the tools they’re already using.
Building the parish suite around the way Catholic parishes operate
has given us a great advantage in the Catholic Church software
market; but our collaborative partnership with our users has kept
us on-mission so that our technology now does so much more than
manage church data: it gives staff and parishioners new ways to
connect with each other and serve.
How has the technology evolved?
As we learned about the annual parish-to-diocese reporting
and census update requirements, one thing became very clear: the
census, sacramental, and financial data being maintained at the
parish needed to be available at the diocese. Parishes were spending
countless hours doing painstaking diocesan reports and census
updates that our software could easily automate. Diocesan development
programs were kicking off campaigns each year with outdated
addresses and census information. And the disconnect between parish accounting systems meant that
although Canon 1284 gives the bishop the responsibility to ensure that no abuses exist in the administration
of church goods, he did not have technology to help implement standards, ensure compliance, or
consolidate financial data across parishes and schools within his diocese.
All of this inspired development of our Archdiocesan Information Management (AIM) suite, which,
like the parish products, offers modules so that a diocese can purchase just the tools it needs. We are the
first and only company to offer a system that synchronizes data between the parishes and the diocese, so
that when an address is updated at a parish office, the change is available right away to diocesan staff.
It’s revolutionized church data management. The implications for development alone are huge: better
addresses equal a more successful campaign. What has surprised us is how much this technology has
fueled collaboration. Parish and diocesan staff who otherwise may never have met now attend training
and user groups together, where they share best practices, establish data management standards, and
work together from a common technology and reporting platform. We’ve seen the exponential growth
of teamwork in dioceses where parish and diocesan staff are using ParishSOFT products.
In that same spirit, we developed the ConnectNow Church Accounting suite, building on the financial
software expertise of our sister company, Church Management Solutions, and our customer focus
groups. Now, dioceses can provide their parishes and schools with a standard, Web-based fund accounting
system that allows transparency, oversight, and consolidation. The days of manually compiling
financials for the diocese are long gone for our customers—they can roll up, drill down into transaction
details, and get reports that reflect church ministry any time they like.
What specific benefits do Web applications bring to ministry?
As we take our other products to the ConnectNow Web platform, staff and parishioners are gaining
new opportunities to connect, collaborate, and spread the Gospel using the tools of our time. Connect-
Now removes the obstacles that can get in the way of ministry—unread mail, delivery or response lags,
Christian Computing® Magazine March 2011 5

paper forms, outdated information,
forgetful parishioners—
and gives God’s people a way
to engage directly with each
other and with their parishes on
the Web. The implications for
ministry are incredible. Instead
of mailing census update forms,
have your members log in to My
Own Church and update their
own records. Let them log into
ConnectNow Ministry Scheduler
to sign up for ministries and set
their own scheduling preferences. Offer Online
Giving so they can contribute and pay fees on your
parish Web site. Is forgetful Phyllis scheduled
to serve on Sunday? Religious education classes
cancelled? Meeting moved to a new location? Get
a message to exactly the right person or group by
text, phone, or email to keep everyone informed
and participating.
To meet the social networking needs of our
users, we’ve partnered with Faith Interactive and
will be launching our new Connected Community
to give parishes a safe place to interact and share
ideas and resources. Parishes can give members
access to their own Connected Community pages,
branded to look like part of their parish Web site.
Integration with My Own Church makes this a
great collaboration area for ministry. Plug-ins for
other services like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
let churches tie all their social networking
efforts together in a central place.
Starting at $63.97
for the base version with
25% off for small churches
Download a free demo at:
www.donarius.com
1-888-479-4636
Nuverb Systems Inc.
“Software tailored for you”
What is the financial impact of technology on
the Church?
One of our goals is to help churches take good
care of the resources entrusted to them, so they’ll
have the funds needed for ministry. We accomplish
this goal from several angles. Our software is designed
to make church administration as efficient
as possible, so staff can handle their day-to-day
tasks and still have the time and energy they need
to be creative, develop programs, and interact with
parishioners. Integrated communication tools let
staff reach any group of members by email, text,
or phone right from our programs. And, when they
do need to prepare statements and mailings, we offer
Mailroom Solutions so they can take advantage
of the best possible postage rates. Churches spend
thousands of dollars on mailings, so the potential
“How to have more time for ministry!”
Do you want to save time, get more done and
have fewer headaches? Then Donarius Church
Management Software will make it easy for you
to track your members, contributions, pledges
and more. Imagine what you can do with the
extra time! Donarius will also:
• Print your tax receipts
• Show the giving pattern of your members
• Print your church directories
• Send personalized letters, emails and text
messages to keep your members informed
to cut costs in this area is significant enough that
the software very quickly pays for itself.
Accountability is essential. Parishioners need
to know that the money they give is being safeguarded,
handled properly, and used as intended.
Online Giving lets them control their own account
information and donate to the funds they want,
when they want. And our ConnectNow Church Accounting
suite lets churches record income from
all sources, track dedicated donations and projects,
pay the bills, and answer to any group of parishioners,
the finance council, and the diocese.
What does the future of ParishSOFT look like?
Very bright! Today we serve nearly 5,000
churches and 48 dioceses. Parish suite sales have
always been strong, but as more dioceses transition
to standard technology for census management
and accounting, we’re growing rapidly.
What’s most exciting is the demand for our ConnectNow
Web applications, especially Church Accounting
and the products that engage members in
church life. As we improve our existing products
and develop new technology, one thing is certain:
parish and diocesan staff are helping to shape the
ministry tools of tomorrow, and we’re listening
carefully.
About ParishSOFT
ParishSOFT offers a complete suite of church
and diocesan management software to connect
people and the church and to reduce administrative
work. For more information about ParishSOFT’s
products and services, visit www.parishsoft.com/
ccmag.htm or contact Mike Cusick, Vice President
of Sales and Marketing, at 866.930.4774.
Christian Computing® Magazine
March 2011
6