Barry P Finkelstein
Stewardship Consultant
Barry Finkelstein has been a Unitarian Universalist congregational stewardship consultant since the Fall of 2007 and has worked with over fifty congregations on annual budget drives, capital campaigns, and strategic planning. Barry has enjoyed participating in stewardship ever since his introduction to the canvass at the UU Church of Arlington, VA in the 1980s, and found his true calling when he signed on as a UU stewardship consultant.
Barry is a professional management consultant with a Masters Degree and 35 years of experience helping organizations with strategic planning, project management, information technology, decision support, and fundraising. He served in senior positions at two Northern Virginia consulting firms, and was President of Planning Analysis Corporation. Since 1994, he has operated a successful consulting practice, Finkelstein Consulting, Inc. (FCI), working primarily for non-profits, Non-Governmental Organizations, and Federal agencies in the Washington, DC area. In June 2011, his son, Danny joined the firm, expanding FCI’s services into human resources consulting, notably compensation, benefits, and organizational development.
Barry is also an experienced and energetic UU church lay leader, having served on the board and as board chair of a large church, and in leadership positions in social justice, finance, youth programming, and music. He is a trained OWL teacher who has taught middle and high schoolers in three congregations. He was a board member and president of the Arlington Retirement Housing Corporation (Culpepper Garden), an independent and assisted living facility founded by the UU Church of Arlington for low and moderate income seniors.
Barry is married to UU minister Rev. Roberta Finkelstein, and they currently live in Wilmington, DE, where Roberta is the Developmental Minister. They share their home with their dog Brandy and the evil kittens Bonnie and Clyde. Barry is also an amateur musician, playing the accordion, upright bass, and piano.
He is passionate about Unitarian Universalism and dedicated to helping UU congregations achieve their grandest dreams.
Comments on Working with Barry
Skills and tools to bring to congregation
“Barry Finkelstein’s keynote on Stewardship was the most valuable feature. It was thought-provoking while also giving me skills and tools to bring back to my congregation.”
SLD Leadership Day attendee
Fired up and ready
“Barry presented a training session for our visiting stewards that got them fired up and feeling ready to contact their assignees.”
Linda West, Stewardship Leader, First Parish in Cambridge
Exceeded our goal
Barry Finkelstein gave our recent capital campaign a needed boost of expertise and coaching. From the initial “Next Steps Weekend” that determined our readiness to take on a major capital project to my final call over a year later that we had, in the end, exceeded our fund-raising goal, he was with us every step of the way. Now we are working with our architects on final building designs and will soon break ground, thanks to Barry’s guidance.
Bob McArthur, Chair, Building Project Steering Committee and Board of Trustees member,
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens, Athens, GA.
Pledge increased by 50% directly after the training
Barry “helped us with the training for the capital campaign and the stewardship drive. That training actually caused a capital campaign pledge to increase by 50%, directly after the training. Barry was exceptionally well tuned into who we are and what our needs were.”
Conrad Paul, Stewardship Leader, Mountain Vista UU Congregation, Tucson, AZ
Worked well with leadership
“Barry is a great communicator with good experience in supporting Capital Campaigns. He has worked well with leadership and has been well received.”
George Belsey, CC Co-chair, First Universalist, Denver
A really good fit for us
Barry’s work with us “…provided a clearer picture of our strengths, weaknesses and how to address both as we move forward toward a capital campaign. I heard many people say they thought Barry was a really good fit for us. I happen to agree.”
Jane Mayer, Board President, UU fellowship of Athens GA
Extremely accurate predictions
“Barry was very effective in his work with our campaign staff, and was extremely accurate in his predictions about our fundraising potential. His interviews with our leadership donors were also very effective. I have had several opportunities to speak with leaders in other congregations around the country about Barry’s abilities. I and others at First Unitarian recommended him highly without hesitation.”
John Hartgering, Treasurer, First Unitarian Church of Orlando.