CATHEDRAL CORPORATION ACQUIRES LETTER CONCEPTS INC.
Wednesday, June 16, 2021 – Rome, NY
Cathedral Corporation, a trusted provider of marketing, fundraising and financial communications for churches, dioceses, colleges and universities, governmental and nonprofit organizations, healthcare, credit unions and banks, has acquired Letter Concepts Inc., a Kensington, Connecticut-based firm that specializes in Catholic fundraising, offering laser and inkjet printing and mailing services as well as database management and lockbox services to churches and dioceses, with a reputation for service excellence.
“Letter Concepts, like Cathedral Corporation, is a family-owned business where employees remain for decades. Our companies are similar, but have particular strengths,” said Cathedral Corporation Chairman and CEO Marianne Gaige. “We have been working with churches since the early 1900s, while Letter Concepts has been supporting dioceses with essential services and
building long-term partnerships across the country.”
“Letter Concepts brings Cathedral significant strengths in print production management, lockbox operations and data management and analysis,” Gaige continued. “With its industry leadership in diocesan fundraising, the addition of LCI strengthens Cathedral’s position in the field of church stewardship.”
Thomas Wilson, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Letter Concepts, agreed, pointing out that through the programming, lockbox capability, data exports and appeal reporting updates, Letter Concepts develops exceptionally close relationships with its diocesan clients. “We’re part of their team.”
He also emphasized Letter Concepts’ commitment to excellence, including outstanding print quality, quick response times and customer service, while looking ahead to the opportunities for growth as a part of the Cathedral team.
“I can’t express my excitement at being able to build something even bigger and stronger for the Catholic Church,” he said. “We’re bringing new strengths – personalized brochures, surveys, social media – and are delighted to provide these capabilities to our clients. I believe the new company will be the leader in the church market.”
As Letter Concepts Inc. (LCI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathedral Corporation, LCI will function with a high degree of autonomy. All leadership and staff are remaining in their current positions, with Thomas Wilson continuing as Executive Vice President/General Manager and Al Davis as Vice President/Operations Manager, while LCI co-founder John Wilson will serve in a consultant role. In addition, LCI leadership becomes an active part of Cathedral’s senior management team.
The acquisition of Letter Concepts by Cathedral will enable LCI to provide clients with a much wider range of communication channel opportunities including:
- Database creation by the LCI programming department, including housing and updating of client databases.
- Personalized, targeted and segmented direct mail, lockbox and data processing services including data entry, check depositing and credit card entry of all campaign returns, which include supplying daily import files to be uploaded into each client’s existing CRM software.
- New robust email communications and follow-ups, social media advertising to enhance program results, tracking of mailings to see actual in-home delivery dates, and a thorough analysis of mailing results to allow necessary adjustments during the campaign.
About Cathedral Corporation
Recognized in the industry for on-time and error-free performance, Cathedral Corporation has more than 100 years of experience in providing Catholic churches and dioceses with stewardship support for their mission and ministry. The company employs more than 220 people and is headquartered in a 60,000-square-foot facility at Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome, New York, with additional facilities in Holbrook, New York, Lincoln, Rhode Island, Orlando, Florida, and now Kensington, Connecticut. For more information on Cathedral Corporation, please contact Toni Schottenhammer at (800) 698-0299 or email at tschottenhammer@cathedralcorporation.com.
About Letter Concepts Inc.
Co-founded by John and Thomas Wilson, Letter Concepts has served 48 Catholic dioceses and more than 3,500 Catholic parishes nationwide in the past 32 years, producing more than 17 million high-quality request letter packages and 3.5 million acknowledgment mailings to respondents last year alone. Equally impressive are its average pledge collection rates of 98% on
annual programs and 92% for multi-year programs. Letter Concepts is the acknowledged leader in diocesan full-service fundraising support. For more information on Letter Concepts, please contact Elizabeth Rousseau at (800) 525-4963 or email at lizr@letterconcepts.com.