Q. Why are we doing this implementation? A. This platform will:
Digitally connect parishioners with events and programs that result in person-to-person evangelization
Create a consistent and personalized digital experience for parishioners, especially those that are newly registered
Improve online giving
Replace end of life PDS Church Office
Improve reporting at the parish and Archdiocese
Provide an opportunity to clean up parishioner data
Ability to share staff and create staffing pools
Reduce risks associated with having local servers at each parish
With a new platform, Parish leadership is empowered to shepherd vibrant parish communities that are connected beyond the church doors, helping everyone to grow together in their faith: Encountering Christ, Accompanying and Outreaching to our Neighbors; and Living the Joy of the Gospel.
Q. When are we doing this implementation? A. The implementation process has already begun, with a Design/Pilot Committee made up of a pastor, PAAs, implementation team members and other Archdiocesan staff. Now that ParishStaq by Pushpay has been selected as the vendor, we will schedule the pilot and subsequent waves. We started with our pilots in July 2022 and currently plan to have our entire implementation done by Spring 2024. If you are a Pastor or PAA and your parish has not completed the implementation planning survey, contact us here.
Q. How does this affect me? A. The goal of our implementation team is for a seamless transition to their new platform. With a change from a program that you may have used for many years, there will be differences in processes and reports.
Change can be managed in a way that reduces stress and that is our goal. Please communicate with our implementation team members to let us know if you are especially concerned about certain areas of your transition management processes.
Q. Is this implementation required of all parishes? A. Yes. There are many reasons for this, including:
Serves as the digital foundation for Evangelization in the Archdiocese
Replaces end of life system (PDS)
Improves online giving
Reduces risk associated with servers at each parish
Ability to report across the Archdiocese
Ability to share staff and create staffing pools
A Presbyteral Council, Pastor and PAA priority
The steering committee and the implementation team believe that this will be a positive step for our parishes and the Archdiocese, and the benefits far outweigh the financial and human resource investments.
Q. While it is anticipated that there are very compelling reasons for a parish to move to the new platform, how does standardization fit within the idea of parish independence under Canon law? A. In putting the project together, the focus was on meeting the needs of parishes with a standard system. We believe that the reasons for standardization are compelling including a consistent experience for parishioners across the Archdiocese and a compelling way to engage parishioners as they journey with Christ.
That being said, the archbishop can create administrative policies and procedures and require that they be followed, by virtue of his office. Canon 391, par. 1: It is for the diocesan bishop to govern the particular church (that is, the archdiocese) entrusted to him with legislative, executive, and judicial power according to the norm of law.
Q. Where do I archive my PDS data that is not being migrated to the new platform? A. Our implementation staff will assist with creating an archival PDF/a document for you with all your families. As part of our data migration process, we will:
Produce a file in PDF/a (archival format) for you. We will connect with you to deliver that file and help you determine where to store that file for search use and archival. We suggest having cloud-based storage available for this. A file of approximately 1,000 families takes roughly 20Mb of storage.
Deliver that same PDF/a (archival format) file to the Archdiocese of Seattle's archival storage location for permanent retention.
Q. What about all of my reports and forms, etc.?
A. A number of standard reports will be configured prior to launch and the implementation team will continue to add reports, forms, etc. If there is a specific report or form that you're interested in, please be sure to reach out to an implementation team member.
Q. We use Facility Scheduler. What will the new platform do to take care of that functionality? A. The new software does allow for a Facility Scheduling function as well as facility use approval. It does track your Campus facilities and resources, showing when they are available for use/booking. There is also a function to create reports for maintenance summarizing set up. The Facility Scheduling function also allows to reserve time before and after the event time for set up and clean up.
Q. Can you transfer my facility scheduler Room and Groups setup, and my currently scheduled events? A. As we have learned how Events and Facility Resources are tied to Groups in the new software, we recommend starting fresh in ParishStaq to leverage the framework of groups, events, etc.
Q. How long am I going to be without my data? What do I do about my financial postings during the data move? A. We anticipate that each location will be without their data for approximately one week at a couple of different periods during the migration. There will be several days of quality control data verification steps that will follow each of these.
Q. How do I reconcile the split Fiscal Year or Calendar Year for my donations? A. We will migrate your financial history up to the point that you end working in PDS, which means, you should be able to run giving statements at any time and have them be 100% accurate. The tax statements will be generated from the new platform in the year that your migration is scheduled. Prior data from PDS will be reflected in the tax statements, regardless of when your migration takes place.
Q. How will our data be handled as it moves from PDS to the new platform? A. The implementation team will be working directly with you to collect your PDS data at the appropriate time for your implementation wave. After collecting the backup of your data, the information will be handled internally by Archdiocesan staff members in a secure environment.
The implementation team will be working on your data for a short time before uploading it to ParishStaq for migration. Your data will be uploaded to the vendor using a secure and encrypted data transfer portal. Upon completion of the data migration and your approval of the final product, the implementation team will delete all copies of your data, outside of the new database.
Q. Who do I go to if there are problems with the data transfer? A. The implementation team will be working directly with you to ensure that your data is transferred properly. There will be a data confirmation process where any issues can be addressed.
Q. We use the Faith Formation package from PDS. What happens with our classes and our past history? A. This will be TBD, but our expectations would be that the past history of classes can be migrated into the new platform. The implementation team will work with you to determine what information you want transferred from the student's permanent record list.
Q. We use the Faith Formation package from PDS. Can you migrate our current year's classes automatically? A. This will be TBD, but based upon our expectations, it might make sense to do this configuration within the new platform. The implementation team will work with you on the scheduling of your migration to provide the least amount of impact to your class year.
Q. We use the Faith Formation package from PDS. Can we keep track of special circumstances, emergency contacts? A. This will be TBD, but based upon our expectations, yes, there will be fields for special circumstances, allergy/health issues, and emergency contacts. The best part is that this information will stay with the individual member, so it will not need to be added year after year. A parent or guardian's dream!
Q. Sacramental Records – What is being transferred? What do we do with our custom sacraments? A. We will work with you to transfer all of your Baptism, First Holy Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Ordination, and Deceased sacramental information. We realize that, over the years, everyone has had the opportunity to be creative by adding additional sacramental information into PDS. We will work with you to evaluate and configuration locations for that other data within the new platform.
Q. Active vs. Inactive. Are there best practices for determining this? A. This is really at each site's preference. Most parishes will keep families active as long as they are participating in some way in parish life. This could be by participating in ministries, sacramentally, volunteering, and/or donations. Our suggestion when attempting to determine if families are still 'actively' participating is to determine a criteria that works to generally breakout families that may not be active. Then, spend some staff meeting time discussing the group of families that appear to be inactive. Perhaps there is a pastoral need or some other reason that the parish can assist with? Finally, we recommend reaching out to each family before you mark them inactive to check with them personally to see if they consider themselves still active in the parish.
Q. How do we decide which families and members to migrate to the new platform? A. The implementation team will work with your staff to determine the criteria for which families and members will be included in your data migration. A query will be developed, tested, and confirmed by you to ensure that everyone you expect to transition is included.
Q. What are the best practices for use of the Family Status Field? A. As we migrate to the new platform, the Family Status field will be used to categorize how a household "fits" into your parish. Please see this AND other training videos for an explanation.
Q. How much is this going to cost? Pricing will be available in September 2022.
Q. When does the implementation cost and ongoing operating costs have to be paid? A. Implementation costs and ongoing costs will begin when your scheduled implementation wave commences.
Q. How will this be billed? A. Invoicing for the ongoing costs will be part of the annual assessment process.