Background

Young Catholic Professionals (YCP), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is one of the nation's fastest-growing Catholic organizations with chapters in cities across the country and international interest. YCP was founded by a young entrepreneur in 2010 in Dallas with a mission to inspire modern day saints by challenging young professionals to step forward as bold Catholic leaders in their communities and workplaces.

We embody the following core values and live these out as we serve local communities through the YCP ministry.

Excellence Always - Cheerful - Find a Way - Achieve Together - For Christ

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Introduction

Thank you for your interest in volunteering as a YCP Chapter Leader! Here are a few notes before you begin the application:

• Review the information on the application portal home page.
• We suggest you use a laptop or desktop computer for ease of completion
• Responses should be a short paragraph 
• Estimated time of completion is 20 minutes (excluding the amount of time to record a video submission, see below)
• You can save the application at any time and return later if needed. 

Video Submission (for first time leaders): Our goal is to foster a sense of community in YCP. We ask for a video to get to know our volunteers in a more personal way, since we are unable to travel to meet each new applicant to the YCP family.The video will be submitted using VideoAsk which allows you to type up notes and re-record as needed. If you have any questions or concerns about this portion, email applications@youngcatholicprofessionals.org.

For more information, please refer to the FAQs section.

*We recommend using Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome for this form- Safari is not always compatible.* 

Faithfulness to Catholic Church Teaching 

Young Catholic Professionals (YCP) represents the Catholic faith through its programming and image. An individual’s first experience with Catholicism may be through interaction with YCP; thus, YCP must consistently represent authentic faithfulness to Catholic Doctrine. In order to preserve this commitment, those who speak on behalf of and/or publicly represent YCP are required to indicate their fidelity to several basic tenets of Church teaching. YCP has chosen these particular tenets because they tend to come up as points of confusion among Catholics and non-Catholics alike, but this list is not exhaustive and should not be misconstrued as replacing the Catholic Creed or Catechism. Both the Church and culture must have clarity about the Catholic position on the following topics:

1. Eucharist: The Holy Eucharist is the real Presence of Jesus Christ.
2. Chastity: All people are called to live a life of chastity, though the expression of chastity looks different depending on one’s state of life. God gave the gift of sexual intercourse exclusively for men and women as a fruit of the bond of Holy Matrimony; unmarried persons are called to live out chastity through abstinence. Because marriage is reserved for one man and one woman, individuals who experience same-sex attraction are called to a life of chastity through abstinence from same-sex activity, which is contrary to the natural order.
3. Contraception: God designed conjugal love between a husband and wife as the complete gift of self; God’s plan for married love excludes the use of contraceptives. One of the ends of marriage is openness to children. A married couple’s rejection of artificial contraception represents their openness to God’s will regarding their fertility.
4. Sanctity of Human Life: All human life is sacred from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death.
5. Holy Orders: Only a baptized man can validly receive sacred ordination.

YCP Code of Conduct & Faith Statement

We are called to be the best versions of ourselves as disciples of Christ. In YCP, our aim is to encourage others around us on this same goal and thus we hold ourselves to a high standard of professional and personal conduct. 

Please click here to review YCP's Code of Conduct. 

Like a religious community or non-profit organization, YCP has its own spirit and character. This spirit reveals the organization's unique mission, approach, and character and defines how it functions, what it does, and how it communicates to its leaders, members, and community.

Please click here to review The Spirit of YCP - Faith Statement & Spiritual Approach.

For more information about each volunteer position, please contact the YCP National Staff at applications@youngcatholicprofessionals.org

*The time commitment ranges are based on having a fully-staffed chapter leadership team*

Vice President (VP) Role

If you selected a "Director" role above, you are also eligible to take on one of the two VP roles (if one is available in your chapter). Your title would be “VP & Director of Marketing,” for instance.

VP's commit an 2 additional hours/week to serve in a more strategic capacity. Time commitment: 2 hours strategic + 3-5 hours functional = 7 total hours/week as a VP & Director of [specific team].

In addition to the functional responsibilities of a Director, a VP takes on extra chapter leadership responsibilities, including:

• Assist with key planning meetings, including board meetings (quarterly) and team meetings (monthly)
• Help manage leadership team and projects through periodic check-ins and collaborating with the President and other VP.

YCP National Office

The YCP National Office, located in Dallas, Texas, offers support to local chapters throughout the country. YCP operates as a psuedo-franchise model, in which a centralized national staff offers support and direction for each of the satellite city chapters in compliance with chapter by-laws and YCP’s guiding principles and structure. This allows for a vibrant network in which all chapters can work together to collectively improve and share best-practices.

How does the YCP National Staff support the local chapters?

1. Form New Chapters: recruit and train the right volunteer leaders and connect them to chapter and diocesan contacts. Chapters receive 5+ months of training and extensive startup materials.

2. Nourish Existing Chapters: provide stable leadership and legal structure. Most importantly, we help promote accountability to our YCP core values, mission and Church teachings among your volunteers and speakers.

3. Keep Chapter Costs Low: provide chapters with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, and turnkey templates, policies, practices, and technologies. Our primary goal is to allow chapters to operate a vibrant nonprofit with minimum financial burden.

4. Promote the YCP Brand: Greater awareness and appreciation for the YCP ministry helps chapters increase their legitimacy in the community—which in turn allows for better attendance and stronger financial support locally. National provides trademarked name, slogan, and logo.

5. Unify the National Movement: By pooling resources and collaborating with other chapter leaders, we are able to be more successful in our efforts and to create a sense of national identity and enthusiasm!

Additional Support Provided by the National Office:
- Legitimacy and credibility from a proven model
- Partnerships and donors for the benefit of all

Please watch this video for further information on how YCP is structured as a pseudo-franchise model.

Video Submission 

This is the part of the application at which we'd like you to submit your video. NOTE: Make sure to save and come back to this page to submit the written portion of your application after recording your video.

Here are the questions you will address in your video:

1) How did you become involved in YCP and what does our tagline “Working in Witness for Christ” mean to you?
2) Describe your personal and professional background
3) What unique skills and value you would bring to the YCP leadership team to help advance our mission of inspiring modern day saints.

The video will be submitted using VideoAsk which allows you to type up notes and re-record as needed. If you have any questions or concerns about this portion, email applications@youngcatholicprofessionals.org.

Record here!

Make sure to come back here and click submit below. Thanks! 

YCP National Office

The YCP National Office, located in Dallas, Texas, offers support to local chapters throughout the country. YCP operates as a psuedo-franchise model, in which a centralized national staff offers support and direction for each of the satellite city chapters in compliance with chapter by-laws and YCP’s guiding principles and structure. This allows for a vibrant network in which all chapters can work together to collectively improve and share best-practices.

How does the YCP National Staff support the local chapters?

1. Form New Chapters: recruit and train the right volunteer leaders and connect them to chapter and diocesan contacts. Chapters receive 5+ months of training and extensive startup materials.

2. Nourish Existing Chapters: provide stable leadership and legal structure. Most importantly, we help promote accountability to our YCP core values, mission and Church teachings among your volunteers and speakers.

3. Keep Chapter Costs Low: provide chapters with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, and turnkey templates, policies, practices, and technologies. Our primary goal is to allow chapters to operate a vibrant nonprofit with minimum financial burden.

4. Promote the YCP Brand: Greater awareness and appreciation for the YCP ministry helps chapters increase their legitimacy in the community—which in turn allows for better attendance and stronger financial support locally. National provides trademarked name, slogan, and logo.

5. Unify the National Movement: By pooling resources and collaborating with other chapter leaders, we are able to be more successful in our efforts and to create a sense of national identity and enthusiasm!

Additional Support Provided by the National Office:
- Legitimacy and credibility from a proven model
- Partnerships and donors for the benefit of all

Please watch this video for further information on how YCP is structured as a pseudo-franchise model.

Returning Leadership Application

This form confirms your interest and verifies that you are still eligible as a Chapter Leader. The Chapter President will confirm any roles once all new applicants have the opportunity to apply as well.

Here are the documents for reference if needed for the next section:

• Faithfulness to Church Teachings
• YCP's Code of Conduct
• The Spirit of YCP