Best Practices for Conducting Virtual Campaigns

Welcome to the second in our series of blogs on Stewardship as Community Care.  In these times of social isolation, we can use our campaigns to reach out and connect with messages of  compassion, concern and hope..

Virtual stewardship has much in common with on-site and in-person stewardship:

• Stewardship conversations are sacred conversations in whatever form they take. 
• Sharing stories and inspirations highlight the importance of our spiritual community in our everyday lives.
• Naming core UU values as well as honoring and respecting differences come with any form of stewardship conversation.  
• Investing in values and the core mission of a congregation are the reason people make their pledges.
• You are giving people the opportunity to express their gratitude through giving.  

In the past few weeks, many congregations were just starting, were halfway through, or were nearing the end of their current pledge campaigns.  Switching midstream to virtual campaigns does not have to be a heavy lift; in our multi-generational congregations, we can tap talent to help set up e-giving and  other resources to communicate well. Now is the moment for our congregations to become authentic, versatile, accessible and virtual 21st century centers of liberal religion and communities of care.   

To reach the most number of people to connect and keep our annual pledge campaigns on track, strive for a variety of methods: 

Your church website.  Continuous messaging on the homepage from the board president, minister, or stewardship team.  Congregations should also make sure that a giving or donate button is right there easily visible on the homepage banner.  Here is one example from First Church Belmont – Msg from President and another from St. John’s UU Church.

E-newsletters and Email blasts. These messages can be generalized for the entire congregation or personalized for each member by including their unique pledge information and a specific request.  Popular eblast tools include MailChimp and Constant Contact.  The email can include a link to a form on a secure page of your website or your giving database (e.g., Realm, Breeze). Here are two email samples, one from Quimper UU Fellowship and another from All Souls DC.

Facebook and YouTube.  Many congregations have migrated virtual worship services to their Facebook page, with streaming live or pre-recorded services visible any time. Some of these services include a specific message about the pledge campaign. Here’s one example from the UU Church in Eugene at 1 hour, 2 minutes into the service.   YouTube can be used as well.

Zoom  also offers a convenient way for congregations to gather for virtual worship.  Zoom can handle hundreds of participants at modest cost; some congregations are now using Zoom and have found virtual attendance is far greater than in-person church attendance. During the usual offering time, participants are requested to make a gift online through the church/society/fellowship webpage.  In recent weeks, choirs and other musical or arts talent provide respite while also providing a moment for people to make an online pledge or gift.  

Regular mail.  As long as the USPS is open, annual pledge materials sent by regular mail are anticipated and will be used if online giving is not accessible to some congregants.  But this year, precautions may be necessary when handling incoming mail and checks, so use gloves.  

UU-Phone Home! Last, but among the very best practices to convey the stewardship-as-community-care message, is to call people.  A chat will be welcome, a connection with our congregation will ease the stress. You will be engaging in conversation about how our UU homes help, inspire, and ground each of us with the knowledge that no matter the distance and isolation, we are all part of a larger, deeply spiritual, thoughtful, and actively caring community.  And we are proud that we can support it with our time, talent and treasure.

For additional information, you can join the Stewardship Salons hosted by the UUA Stewardship & Development team mentioned in this stewardship letter. Also access the UUA Leadership Lab, which has set up special resources for streaming services and alternatives to giving from the pew.  You can also join the UU List Serve on Money  —  UUs engaged in financial and stewardship matters for their congregations exchange ideas and lessons learned from their own practices.

And remember, we want to hear from you.  How is your congregation conducting this year’s Pledge Drive?  What concerns, suggestions and successes can you share with us?  Please post your comments or questions, and we will try our best to address them.