I'm on the VOTF mailing list. Originally formed as a laity response to the priest sex abuse situation, they quickly branched out into a vaguely defined reform of the Catholic Church.
Their emails for the last year or so did reflect a drop in donations, and then yesterday I got the email that is discussed in the following blog posting out of the Kansas Diocese. The Catholic Key weblog is excellent and I'm on their email list (I'm on LOTS of email lists, ranging from moveon.org to Sarahpac to Consistent Life {formerly the Seamless Garment Network}).
The Catholic Key Blog: VOTF is in the Tank – Revenue Slides
(VOTF email) After meeting in an emergency session on July 9, the Board foresaw two realistic options: (1) declare that VOTF could not continue to operate and begin to wind it down, or (2) appeal to members to fund operations in the short term and seek sustained funding based on an anticipated enthusiastic response to the Strategic Plan. If the latter is successful, the Board will develop a downsizing plan commensurate with sustained funding expectations, supplemented where feasible with additional volunteer help. . .
(The Catholic Key commentary) I suspect that more than the economy, decline in receipts for VOTF is reflective of the fact that most big priest sexual abuse cases are now settled. Being able to stage a protest / press photo-op on the front steps of any chancery in the U.S. whenever a settlement is close seems to be a lot more lucrative than holding conferences on church management structure.
Well, I'm sure VOTF had many well-meaning people involved, but after the abuse issue, they never had a tightly focused mission or message.
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