by Dave Uebbing
This past year was action-packed for CBA and our members. Our continuous efforts to make Catholic ministry and work possible resulted in additional court protections, adding 627 new employers as members, and expanding the human resources and consultative services we provide.
Here are some highlights from 2024 that we’d like to share…
Legal Advocacy
After a period without much movement in the courts, 2024 saw progress for CBA on the legal front. For the first time in our history, we became active in two federal lawsuits, expanding our efforts from health benefits to employment law.
- In May 2024 CBA amended its ongoing lawsuit in the 8th Circuit, adding the new 2024 Section 1557 Rule to the complaint
- In July 2024, we filed a new suit challenging the EEOC’s pronoun speech code, elimination of single-sex spaces and required accommodations for employees seeking abortions, immoral infertility treatments, or surrogacy
- In September 2024, we won a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota in our EEOC case. The injunction applies to both our current and future members, as well as those organizations that work with them
Human Resources
Our human resources consulting saw considerable growth in 2024 with the expansion of our consulting services and the launch of our Multiple Employer 401k Plan offering.
- We fielded 45 inquiries from members seeking HR guidance, reflecting our commitment to supporting members in building a truly Catholic experience for their employees. Through our HR Consultative Services, members received thoughtful and knowledgeable advice and practical tools to manage their organizations in alignment with Catholic beliefs.
- The Multiple Employer 401k Plan introduction resulted in four new members joining CBA and 6 more expressing interest.
- Three Catholic Charities organizations engaged us for a Catholic Values Review to strengthen the Catholic identity of their employee handbooks, policies and other publications.
Benefits Consultation
No other organization has a Catholic moral compliance review like CBA’s. Our review examines your health plan and related agreements to provide standardized scoring and recommended ways to improve its Catholicity. The value of these free reviews was demonstrated by …
- 15 new members requested health plan reviews, and 25 members returned for a follow-up review in 2024, tripling our 2023 participation
- 10 members found these reviews so helpful that they engaged CBA in a direct consulting arrangement to implement changes and work with their insurer and TPA
- In 2024 we completed three long-term consulting contracts and began a new one with a national apostolate
- Our reviews were expanded to include contracts and vendor agreements
Member Services
Our efforts to grow CBA membership bore fruit in 2024, especially in the final quarter. Our new members have cited the personalized service they receive, unique Catholic solutions that we offer and legal protections as reasons for joining. In 2024, CBA …
- Added 627 new member organizations, covering 3,591 employees
- Offered 6 webinar series to member and non-member Catholic organizations
- Provided 13 orientation calls for new members or new staff at longtime member organizations.
- Began filming content for our Catholic Professional Development program
Communications
Realizing the need to increase the frequency and quality of our communications with our members, CBA hired David Uebbing in August 2024 as Director of Communications. With his experience and understanding of the Church, CBA plans to make an even greater impact. Over the last four months, we have seen these achievements…
- Our member engagement is robust, with our email open rate being 43%, compared to 22% for the general market, and web traffic increasing 36% in 2024.
- Our EEOC injunction was covered by the AP, Reuters, CNN, CNA, EWTN, National Catholic Register, CatholicVote, several diocesan publications and Christian sites.
- Launched a project to better define our communications channels and create relevant content
THANK YOU!
A big thank you to all our members who made this work possible!
We look forward to the amazing Catholic organizations that will join CBA in 2025 and to protecting your right to religious freedom through The Power of Association.