Thoughts on Growing Our Own Stewardship and Financial LeadersBill Clontz, UUA Stewardship Consultant You don’t have to have been a participating member of a congregation for very long before you realize a couple of very important truths: While all our volunteer efforts are genuinely important, some constitute the lifeblood of our congregation; if they go […]

Reflections from UUA General Assembly 2014by Bill Clontz, UUA Stewardship Consultant This year’s General Assembly is now in the history books, and a fine one it was. A record number of workshops (including one co-hosted by yours truly), a healthy turnout, and an air of transition, as many long time leaders at various levels of

Wondering Why You are Losing Youth Members? There Might be a Stewardship Connection.      By Bill Clontz, UUA Stewardship Consultant Many congregations report that after their Youth graduate from high school, the congregation and the denomination lose them. Some return in a few years, some not until they have children of their own, some never

By Bill Clontz, UUA Stewardship Consultant Last month we introduced a set of stewardship principles developed by a UU lay leader and a UU minister that lays out in clear language what a healthy stewardship environment looks like and what standards such an environment called for from UUs. We reviewed the first five principles last

 by Bill Clontz, UUA Stewardship Consultant Not too long ago I had the opportunity to talk with the Treasurer of a UU congregation that had worked with the minister to develop a set of stewardship principles that laid out in clear language what a healthy stewardship environment looked like. The list has been tweaked a

  by Bill Clontz, UUA Stewardship Consultant In Part I, we began answering the question of what makes for successful resource campaigns. We discussed the following: Stewardship is ministry.
 The best stewardship campaigns are continuous, yearlong open discussions and reference resourcing our values.
 People give to actualize their values.
  Successful congregations celebrate donors just as

By Bill Clontz, UUA Stewardship Consultant Ever find yourself asking that question, wondering why your budget drive or capital campaign is struggling while another congregation’s always seems to do really well? Every congregation and every circumstance are different, of course, but consistently successful campaigns do seem to share a small number of key attributes. It’s

I grew up in a Southern Protestant home. Parables and Bible stories were very much a part of the culture. Although I long ago parted company with the theology, those parables stuck with me. Stories are a powerful way to connect theory to real life. With that in mind, I would like to share with

Anyone who has been a UU for any amount of time knows that stewardship and all that entails – generosity, budget drives, capital campaigns, talking about money – is not usually our strong suit. UUsoften find it challenging to deal with these issues effectively and positively. But it does not have to be that way,