Leadership in Stewardship
The Sunday I was first introduced at Foothills in May of 2012, I was speaking to people in coffee hour, and mentioned how I look forward to learning more about their stewardship work. They laughed and said sarcastically something like, "oh sure you do." I responded by affirming that I was serious - I have a true passion for the work of stewardship and the financial ministry of congregational life.
I arrived to Foothills with a plethora of experience in managing and talking about money. Primarily, this came from my work at Options, where working out a business model, creating and managing a budget, and then regularly seeking out new revenue streams were a part of my daily life for over seven years. This paired well in my internship where I saw how finances and fundraising were integral to ministry, how powerful it can be for a congregation to realize its potential through greater generosity, as well as how critical it is for leaders to help the congregation act from that generosity and abundance rather than a from scarcity. I took these learnings to the congregation I served in Carbondale, Colorado, Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist, where I led two increasingly successful pledge campaigns.
Given this background, it was my great joy and privilege to work closely with the Stewardship team throughout my first two years at Foothills. In partnership, we grew our pledge base, and we significantly increased the average pledge. I was especially proud of the ways people responded in the year of Marc's retirement; rather than decreasing giving, we saw a significant increase, which I felt was a signal of their faith in our future and their willingness to give in service of a vision beyond any particular minister. Here are some of the highlights of the work I have done with the stewardship team in the past few years:
I arrived to Foothills with a plethora of experience in managing and talking about money. Primarily, this came from my work at Options, where working out a business model, creating and managing a budget, and then regularly seeking out new revenue streams were a part of my daily life for over seven years. This paired well in my internship where I saw how finances and fundraising were integral to ministry, how powerful it can be for a congregation to realize its potential through greater generosity, as well as how critical it is for leaders to help the congregation act from that generosity and abundance rather than a from scarcity. I took these learnings to the congregation I served in Carbondale, Colorado, Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist, where I led two increasingly successful pledge campaigns.
Given this background, it was my great joy and privilege to work closely with the Stewardship team throughout my first two years at Foothills. In partnership, we grew our pledge base, and we significantly increased the average pledge. I was especially proud of the ways people responded in the year of Marc's retirement; rather than decreasing giving, we saw a significant increase, which I felt was a signal of their faith in our future and their willingness to give in service of a vision beyond any particular minister. Here are some of the highlights of the work I have done with the stewardship team in the past few years:
- Integrating money and stewardship into more of the ministries of the church and throughout the year: We established a calendar to ensure "stewardship" didn't get conflated with the pledge drive. I gave my first "stewardship sermon" 3 months after I began in November 2012. The offering time in the worship service was given a more intentional framework. And, financial giving became more integrated into the expectations of membership.
- Enhanced Relationship with Major Donors: We established a rhythm of two thank you parties each year - one in the fall that focused on listening to donors and expressing gratitude; in the spring, a party to kick off the pledge drive and to give donors an opportunity to ask questions and provide input on the direction of the congregation. Each of these gatherings gave us a chance to build a better relationship with those who are often the most committed members of our congregation and whose giving has the potential to make a significant difference in our future potential. Also, before my arrival, there was not ministerial awareness of giving; through my involvement and my awareness of the individuals and their stories, the stewardship team was better able to consider how and when to engage members' giving.
- Better Communication about Accomplishments Resulting from Giving: In my second year, I put together a power point presentation that demonstrated the direct impact of people's giving in the prior year - and the possibilities for the future.
- Targeted Person-to-Person Canvassing Conversations: In my first two years, I worked closely with the Stewardship team to identify people to canvass based on what I knew about their stories, and to pair people up with a canvasser who might make an easy connection. Along the way, we also kept good notes about these conversations, and then linked these notes to our membership-based information. This information will act as a critical foundation for the next steps of our membership and stewardship ministries.
- Regularly Reinforced Story of Congregation's Generosity: Over this past year, our congregation gave away approximately $40,000 to our wider community. This is far from a story of scarcity. Sharing our stories of generosity - our stories of share the plate, the reverse offering, our ministerial discretionary fund, and the difference that increased pledging is making on our capacity to fulfill our mission - all of this reinforces our self-understanding as a congregation with abundant resources able to live out an abundant vision and mission.
Stewardship Testimonials
|
|
|