July 2010

Mission Statement

As collegiate student leaders in the United States of America, the National Catholic Student Coalition strives to empower students to further the mission of the Catholic Church through spiritual, educational and leadership opportunities.

Vision Statement

NCSC strives to aid students to form their identity as Catholics and strengthen its role as the voice of Catholic collegians to the bishops, Church and world at large. In order to open avenues for active leadership and participation of students in the Church, NCSC will enhance its partnership with its network of organizations. NCSC will improve its role in students’ transition through campus ministry.


The NCSC is…

A Voice for Catholic students to the USCCB and the IMCS
A Vision which calls college students to a stronger identity as Catholic leaders
A Network connecting campus ministries through faith and leadership
A Resource for student leaders in Catholic campus ministries
A Partner with regional, national, and international associations whose missions are aligned with our own


The NCSC commits to…

• participate actively in Roman Catholic Church;
• support vocational discernment;
• be the voice of U.S. Catholic students in national and international forums;
• affiliate with organizations with common goals;
• educate and inspire leadership;
• encourage formation and support of regional, territorial, and state coalitions;
• provide opportunities for spiritual growth;
• offer opportunities for community service; and
• facilitate career and faith integration.

Strategic Initiatives

Voice

Goals:

1. Seek to broaden, strengthen, and fundamentally enhance the NCSC as the voice for Catholic college students in the United States to bishops, the Church, and the world.
2. Provide equal representation for all campus ministries from across the US
3. Increase participation at Annual Leadership Conference

Objectives:

1. Utilize Catholic media for advertisement, outreach, and information dissemination activities
2. Maintain and update the website
3. Create brochures and other printed material to promote the NCSC
4. Improve communication with coalition through the E-Collegian and other E-updates
5. Communicate and coordinate projects and resolutions with partner Catholic campus ministry organizations, such as the International Movement of Catholic Students and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
6. Strengthen/maintain relationships with current partner organizations/advisors, identify new organizations as appropriate
7. Establish/follow chain of communication between Catholic collegians and the National Team

Vision

Goals:

1. Provide a means for all NCSC members to give input for the future of Catholic Collegians
2. Offer direction and suggestions for Campus Ministries and for students
3. Communicate clearly to the world the wants, needs and cares of Catholic Collegians in the United States

Objectives:

1. Maintain online question forms for feedback
2. Make available email addresses for contacting executive board
3. Contact membership quarterly with visioning statement
4. Update, maintain and follow this long range plan in accordance with the wishes of the coalition

Developmental and Organizational Advancement

Goals:

1. Develop a financially self-sufficient organization capable of giving back to its partners.
2. Establish development committee

Objectives:

1. Cultivate relationships with donors and partner organizations
2. Establish permanent office site and part time office staff
3. Engage alumni with targeted programs and tasks
4. Improve name recognition

Leadership Continuity

Goals:

1. Provide means for continuity of information, plans, history, and past decisions for Board members during transitioning periods
2. Create and maintain a document containing resources for Boards to use throughout each year to maintain continuous growth: development, leadership, NCSC history, and other information
3. Annually evaluate leadership structure for the NCSC

Objectives:

1. Maintain database for all executive board positions
   a.  Update yearly through addition of new documents and deletion of irrelevant documents
2. Utilize internal.catholicstudent.org for storage of information
3. Update and maintain leadership position descriptions
4. Research the effectiveness of current leadership structure and selection process
5. Identify processes of leadership selection used by other Catholic organizations

Spirituality

Goals:

1. Seek to instill in NCSC a guiding spirit that motivates and influences every action
2. Develop an ongoing relationship with vocation directors through National Team’s Vocation Liaison
3. Use Catholic doctrine and resources to educate on Church teachings
4. Instill faithful citizenship practices in NCSC members
5. Educate students on social justice issues

Objectives:

1. Maintain the position of vocation liaison at all times
   a.  Utilize vocation liaison to communicate more effectively with religious organizations
2. Stay informed of current Church teachings through information provided by the USCCB and the Vatican
3. Provide faithful citizenship materials and reflections to membership during elections
4. Connect programming events with passed resolutions

Resource

Goals:

1. Provide resources and guidance for campuses without campus ministries
2. Provide leadership training and events for membership
3. Reach all membership with national programming
4. Provide links to other national programming such as the USCCB
5. Be a source of information to membership about important happenings in the Catholic Church
6. Provide at least one regional programming event in each region in each year
7. Provide at least one additional national program in addition to the annual conference each year such as the United Nations Study Session

Objectives:

1. Maintain online resource bank
   a.  Make available to membership
   b. Update with programs and input from membership
2. Provide monthly national programming through How to Be a Voice campaign or similar through the monthly update
3. Obtain and highlight exemplary programs from campus ministries to strengthen resource bank
4. Receive feedback about effectiveness of programming
5. Contact membership through monthly update other forms of communication about major Church events and about regional programming
6. Advertise regional events to provide additional benefits to members
7. Provide effective leadership training/workshops at each annual conference

Network

Goals:

1. Provide forum for communication of Catholic Collegians in the US
2. Connect Catholic Collegians in the US with vocation directors and other partner organizations
3. Strengthen network of partners to provide greater access for members to religious organizations
4. Connect members and non-member students for participation in events such as the Right to Life March, The United Nations Study Session and World Youth Day
5. Encourage development and growth of state and regional coalitions
6. Increase membership in the NCSC

Objectives:

1. Organize annual conference according to the constitution and bylaws
2. Use annual conference as opportunity for religious organizations to connect to students
3. Contact new and former advertising partners in The Collegian for support
4. Provide connections and communication avenues for group participation in events
   a. Utilize online forms for notification of interest
5. Provide resources to states and regions for development of sub-national coalitions

Partner

Goals:

1. Evaluate the official partners of the NCSC to determine the current need of the partnerships
2. Strengthen current relationships, both nationally and internationally
3. Foster development of state and regional coalitions
4. Connect state and regional coalitions with nearby religious organizations for support

Objectives:

1. Increase contact with CCMA, IMCS and NAC
2. Provide resources and direction for state and regional coalitions
3. Provide support for North American Coordination through resources and leadership