Episodes

Published: December 20, 2022 On our last episode of 2022, Jim Friend speaks with Richard Lanahan, the Director of Stewardship and Development for the Diocese of Metuchen. Rich’s broad experience includes development in Higher Education, Catholic Parishes, schools, and healthcare institutions. In the Diocese of Metuchen, Rich oversees the Bishop’s Annual Appeal and assists parishes with Capital Campaigns, feasibility studies, and increased offertory programs. Rich is also building a planned givi...

December 04, 2022 Today, Jim Friend is joined by John Matthew Knowles, J.D., a business development strategist and advancement executive who serves as Executive Director of the Diocesan Fiscal Management Conference, or DFMC, and President of the Catholic Finance Association. In addition to these leadership roles, John serves on boards of directors, task forces, and advisory councils for several national Catholic organizations while also advising several Catholic philanthropists and families conf...

Published: November 14, 2022 Healing and renewing our Church is the goal of the National Eucharistic Congress, headed by the new Executive Director, Tim Glemkowski. The Church has been rocked with scandal, division, disease, and doubt, but now the bishops plan to confront these challenges by reminding everyone that Jesus is present and more powerful than the storm. Join Changing Our World‘s, Jim Friend to learn how we can heal, renew, and unify the Church and the world. Watch the video present...

Published: November 01, 2022 Join Brian Crimmins, CEO of Changing Our World, and Nathan Chappell, Senior VP of AI at DonorSearch, authors of the new book Generosity Crisis: The Case for Radical Connection to Solve Humanity’s Greatest Challenges as they share a startling analysis of the changing nature of generosity in America and why its decline threatens to end the modern non-profit era. The Generosity Crisis demonstrates that if we do not change course, in fewer than 50 years- we could live i...

October 17, 2022 Today we are talking about #cryptocurrency, an evolving topic that is more and more relevant to our world and our Church. Join Changing Our World’s Jim Friend and his guest, Matthew Pinto, the host and founder of the Catholic Crypto Conference. Matt is conducting the conference on November 17/18 at the Valley Forge Sheraton in PA. Matt discusses how businesses use crypto, Web3, and Blockchain technology and what relevance this has for our Church. This podcast is the perfect disc...

Published: October 03, 2022 This week we welcome Tom Smith, Director of Development for the Archdiocese of Newark. Tom began this new role in October 2021 and is enjoying being back in his home diocese. Tom and Jim discuss his role in the diocese, working with Cardinal Tobin, and how his parishes have been moving forward during these challenging economic and turbulent times in our world. Tom is a model of good stewardship and a very experienced Development professional and he offers some great ...

Published: September 20, 2022 We are currently experiencing the “Great Transfer of Wealth,” and over the next few decades, financial experts predict that between $40 trillion and $140 trillion will be passed from one generation to the next. Up to one-third of this wealth will be transferred to nonprofits through planned giving. We are joined today by Renée Underwood, CFRE, the Chief Development Officer for the Diocese of Fort Worth’s Advancement Foundation who will share advice and her experien...

Published: July 13, 2022 Today we are joined by the team of the Xavier Society for the Blind. Xavier provides the Word of God, Roman Catholic teaching, literature, spiritual and inspirational material to the blind and visually impaired. They provide these services to persons of any faith in whatever format best meets their needs at no charge. Xavier works to explore ways to make this material more accessible to the widest possible audience of those in need. Changing Our World‘s Jim Friend is j...

Cristofer Pereyra and Erin Monnin have authored the new book, Catholic Leadership for Civil Society, to provide a guide to authentic lay Catholic leadership. The book challenges the laity to take on leadership roles in the secular world. Join Changing Our World’s Jim Friend and his guests for this thoughtful conversation about the role of lay leadership in our Church today. About the Book Catholic Leadership is not meant to be lived out exclusively within the confines of the Catholic faith comm...

Published: June 13, 2022 In late February, Vinea Research administered an online survey to a sample of more than 1,500 self-identified Catholics who went to Mass at least once per year. The results of the survey included both positive and negative outcomes for Catholics, with one of the significant negative outcomes being that in-person Mass attendance has decreased and is not expected to be back to pre-pandemic levels by the summer of 2022. Join Changing Our World‘s Jim Friend and his special ...

Published: May 23, 2022 We are joined by Emmy Nominated Journalist Natalie Brunell a leading advocate for Bitcoin and the host of the popular podcast Coin Stories (YouTube link) where she interviews leaders in the Bitcoin space. Before turning her career towards Bitcoin full-time, Natalie was an Emmy-nominated senior news correspondent and investigative journalist. Natalie most recently hosted several panels and discussions at the 2022 Bitcoin conference in Miami. In this show, we talk about th...

Published: May 09, 2022 Are you looking for some expert Development advice as you begin your planning for the next fiscal year? Join us for this conversation on major/planned giving, annual fund, donor stewardship, and, much more. This Catholic Philanthropy Roundtable is hosted by Changing Our World‘s Jim Friend with special guests William M. McLean, Jr., Chief Development Officer, Archdiocese of Hartford and Interim Executive Director for The Hartford Bishops’ Foundation, David Mehr, MA, Speci...

Published: April 28, 2022 Mercy School For Special Learning joins AOC as we celebrate Autism Awareness Month. Mercy’s mission is unique as one of the few Catholic schools in our country that provides a Catholic education for children and young adults. The staff at Mercy afford their students the best opportunity to reach their utmost potential. Mercy’s mission is the embodiment of the Catholic Church’s doctrinal teaching on the Gospel and the sanctity of human life. Jim Friend welcomes Beth Gr...

Published: April 11, 2022 Join us for a conversation with Kailash Duraiswami on the evolving landscape of using technology in the New Evangelization. Kailash is a technology entrepreneur, most recently in the Artificial Intelligence space as the founder of Pantenix. Pantenix is an artificial intelligence platform that automates manual data entry for financial services companies through computer vision. Pantenix was acquired by financial services software provider Orion Advisor Solution in Sprin...

Published: March 30, 2022 Today we celebrate Catholic Sisters Week by hearing the vocation story of Sister Jane Wakahiu, LSOSF, Ph.D., the Associate Vice President, Program Operations, and Head of Catholic Sisters at the Conrad Hilton Foundation. Sr. Jane is a member of the Institute of the Little Sisters of Saint Francis, Kenya. She provides leadership and direction of the Hilton Foundation’s Program Department operations budget, contracts, consultant management, and policy implementation. She...

Published: March 16, 2022 Julianne Stanz joins Jim Friend to discuss her new book, Braving the THIN Places. A “thin place” is where God’s grace is waiting to happen. Your thin place might be an important threshold, a soul friend, a fresh chapter in your own life story, a painful secret or fear, or a time of hardship. Whatever the circumstance, a thin place is where God and humanity meet in a mysterious way. These moments open us to places of rawness and beauty. When we enter into a thin place, ...

Published: February 28, 2022 Join Clark Bartram and Jim Friend for a conversation about health, fitness, and spirituality. Clark Bartram is an inspirational Christian, professional fitness model, published fitness writer, and ISSA Master Personal Trainer from Ohio. He is well-known as an online trainer and TV fitness show host. Most recently, Clark has made it his personal mission to help men over 50 live healthier lives through the creation of CBX Nation, an online coaching service for men wit...

Published: December 21, 2021 On August 6, 2021, Bishop Koenig, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, announced Ms. Sheila O’Hagan McGirl, CFRE, would take the reigns as the new Director of Development for the diocese. On today’s show, Changing Our World’s Jim Friend talks with Sheila about her career path to this new role and how God guided Sheila and her family each step of the way. Sheila shares her focus for the office and her focus to serve this mission. Sheila O’Hagan McGirl, CFRE...

Published: December 05, 2021 The Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers was born out of a need for education, resources, and servant laymen and women to respond to mental health crises. On today’s show, Jim Friend interviews the organization’s President, Deacon Ed Shoener of the Diocese of Scranton. Deacon Ed will share that he was inspired to join with other dedicated people to establish the Association after his daughter Katie died by suicide in 2016 after a long battle with bipolar ...

Published: November 15, 2021 In celebration of Vocation Awareness Week, Changing Our World‘s Jim Friend invited Fr. Michael Zimmerman, who currently serves as assistant Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Boston and as an adjunct Scripture Professor at St. John’s Seminary. With the heart of a teacher, Fr. Michael was inspired to create a systematic discernment program for young men drawing from the wisdom that he received as part of his own formation. During the pandemic lockdown in May 20...

Published: November 10, 2021 What are your year-end giving strategies? How will you close the calendar year and capitalize on the giving season? Jim Friend is joined by Lisa Quist, the new Executive Director of Mission Support and Chief Development Officer for the Franciscan Friars of Atonement. As the Executive Director, Lisa provides strategic leadership for their comprehensive multichannel fundraising program, which generates revenue that supports the ministries of the Friars. Prior to joini...

Published: November 01, 2021 This week we travel back to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to talk with Michelle Brown, the Chief Development Officer for the Independent Mission Schools (IMS). Michelle is responsible for raising more than $15M annually and overseeing communications, marketing, and public relations for the organization. Michelle brings 21 years of non-profit leadership experience in both fundraising and operational capacities; Michelle joined IMS in October 2019. Prior to this rol...

Published: October 24, 2021 Catholic Healthcare Systems serve a unique mission in the community, and never has the mission been more important than during the pandemic. Join our host, Jim Friend, and his special guest, Jim Choma, Vice President for Catholic Mission and Chief Development Officer for Saint Peter’s Healthcare System. Mr. Choma shares stories of community partnerships and the incredible outpouring of generosity that continues to support their mission through the pandemic. About Sa...

Published: October 19, 2021 The Permanent Diaconate is a vital support to parish ministry. The Church calls men to serve as Ordained Deacons to be a sacramental sign of Christ to the world. Today we meet representative members of the Formation class in the Diocese of Allentown. They talk about the Deacon’s ministry, the process of Diaconate Formation, and how it has impacted their lives. Join Changing Our World‘s Jim Friend with guests Fr. Gene Ritz, Deacon Rick Lanciano, Von George, Bo Riley, ...