Events

Workshops and Events for Stewardship and Cultivating Generosity

Find out more about stewardship talks and events like these: Contact us with any questions on these activities

Upcoming Activities – Watch this space for upcoming events in 2021, including workshops and webinars all year.

    • Kay Crider and Rachel Maxwell will be presenting a Webinar on Myths & Paradigms about Giving on January 30th from 7 to 8 PM Pacific time, sponsored by the Pacific Western Region and hosted by Rev. Tandi Rogers.

COMPLETED ACTIVITIES IN 2019:

NOVEMBER

  • Mark Ewert partnered with Elizabeth Ann Terry, UUA Congregational Giving Specialist and Connie Goodbread of the UUA Southern Region to present a workship: Congregational Stewardship That Engages All, in Knoxville TN

JUNE

  • Kay Crider and Rachel Maxwell partnered with Jessica York, UUA’s Director of Congregational Life, on a workshop at the UUA’s General Assembly  in Spokane, WA: Money, Power & Meaning: Amplifying Our Collective Power

APRIL

  • Mark Ewert is presented a workshop at the UUA MidAmerica Regional Assembly (April 5-7, St. Louis, MO) :Celebrating Diversity with Equitable Stewardship

MARCH

  • Mark Ewert partnered with Joe Sullivan, Congregational Life Staff for the UUA New England Region and Elizabeth Ann Terry, Congregational Giving Specialist with UUA Stewardship & Development to develop an in-person workshop that Mark and Joe delivered in Milton, MA titled: Integrated Stewardship That Engages All      

JANUARY 2019

  • Mark Ewert partnered with Rev. Dawn Cooley, Congregational Life Staff with the UUA Southern Region on a webinar titled: Planning Your Pledge Drive – Late!

COMPLETED ACTIVITIES IN 2018:

       OCTOBER 2018

  • UUA Central East Region – Leadership Day, Liz Coit presented the workshop: Reenergizing and Sustaining Annual Stewardship Drives and the People Who Run Them
  • Rachel Maxwell and Kay Crider hosted a webinar sponsored by the the UUA’s Pacific Western Region: Healthy Giving in Congregations

      SEPTEMBER 2018

  • Liz Coit and Mark Ewert are partnered with Patricia Infante, UUA Congregational Life Staff for the Central East Region, on a 2-part webinar series: Thinking About Running a Capital Campaign for your Church or Fellowship?

JUNE 2018

      • Mark presented as part of two workshops at General Assembly  in Kansas City in June, 2018. They we                                    re:
        • Calling Future Ancestors – Shaping Our Legacy Today, with Rev. Laura Randall, Wake Now Our Vision Legacy Campaign Director. It is Saturday 6/23/2018, 1:30  – 2:30 PM
        • Stewardship, Justice, and White Supremacy, with Elizabeth Ann Terry, Unitarian Universalist Association Congregational Giving Specialist; Rev. Jacqueline Brett, Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Assistant Minister for Congregational Engagement; and Jessica Cloud, Starr King School for the Ministry Vice President of Advancement. Thursday 6/21/2018, 3:00 – 4:00 PM

    MAY 2018

        • Bill and Mark hosted a webinar, A Year-Long Stewardship Calendar: What does a Stewardship Team Do the Rest of the Year, Outside that 4-6-Week Annual Campaign?  twice:,  on Tuesday, May 22 and again on Wednesday, May 30.

    APRIL 2018

        • Kay and Barry hosted a webinar called Stewarding Loans for your Projects on Monday, April 23, 2018.      

    ACTIVITIES IN 2017:

    JANUARY 2017

        • Barry led a workshop, in collaboration with the Central East Region, titled Effective Stewardship and Annual Drives on January 14, 2017. 

    MARCH 2017

        • Mark presented the webinar “Alternative Facts About Planned Giving” on March 7 and 8.

    APRIL 2017

        • Bill led a Stewardship Workshop at the Central East Region Leadership Day on April 1, 2017 at Cedar Lane UU Church, Bethesda, MD.
        • Bill provided a Stewardship Workshop at the Southern Region Leadership Day on April 8, in Charlestown, SC, which was live cast to the other Southern Region leadership gatherings on that day.

    MAY 2017

        • Barry, in partnership with Rev. Renee Ruchotzke, was a keynote speaker and workshop leader at the Akron/Cleveland, OH cluster on May 6, 2017.  The theme for the program was Drawing the Circle Wide: Money, Membership and Shared Ministry.

    OCTOBER 2017

        • Bill provided two iterations of a webinar, hosted by the Southern Region, on Boards and Stewardship to congregational board presidents throughout the Southern Region on 4 and 5 October.
        • Kay and Barry provided a free webinar, Help! I Have a Stewardship Question, to call-ins from congregations around the country on October 16, while Bill and Mark did the same on October 26. Well over 100 stations from all five UUA regions logged in for the two webinars.

    DECEMBER 2017

        • The Stewardship for Us provided its Fourth Annual Report to UUA leadership, reviewing activities and outcomes for this year and primary team goals for next year. A synopsis of that report will be reproduced in our blog early in the New Year.

    ACTIVITIES IN 2016:

    DECEMBER 2016

        • Mark presented a webinar on Donor Advised Funds (DAF), an often overlooked but powerful tool for giving.

    NOVEMBER 2016

        • Kay, with Rev. Jan. Christian of the Pacific Western Region,  presented the webinar, Ways to Improve Congregational Giving (Some Tried and True and Some Very New).
        • Barry was a  Plenary Speaker and a workshop leader at the Central East Region’s Defying Gravity Conference on November 12, 2016 at the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock, Manhasset, NY.  Barry’s talk was titled: Expanding the Circle of Unitarian Universalism through 21st Century Stewardship; his workshop  explored the topic of Best Practices in 21st Century Stewardship in more detail.  

    OCTOBER 2016

        • Kay, with Rev. Jan. Christian of the Pacific Western Region, presented the webinar, Stewardship Transitions for Small Congregations.
        • Bill provided the keynote address at the Southern Region Leadership Conference, Tuscaloosa, AL, on October 15th.

    SEPTEMBER 2016

        • Mark presented a webinar titled, Capital Campaign: Is Your Congregation Ready? In it, some definitions, four opportunities and risk factors for capital campaigns were given. And 10 readiness indicators were provided with in-depth discussion. The webinar was offered at two times.

    JULY 2016

        • Bill offered a free webinar to help leaders decide whether or not your congregation could benefit from working with a stewardship consultant; is this the right time and the type of support you need? Also included were recommendations for working with architects, general contractors, lawyers and financiers/bankers. This webinar was offered on July 18 and repeated on July 21.

    JUNE 2016

        • Barry presented an exciting workshop at General Assembly in Columbus Ohio.  The topic was Stewardship for Congregations in Transition. His partners were Rev. Roberta Finkelstein, Accredited Interim Minister and currently the Developmental Minister for First Unitarian Church of Wilmington, DE; and Andrea Lerner, Metro New York District Executive and Transition Specialist for the UUA Central East Region. The workshop was held on Thursday, June 23 at 1:15 PM.  We hope you were able to join us.  Also check out the following link for handouts.http://www.uua.org/finance/fundraising/presentations/congregations-transition

    February 2016

        • Bill provided  Stewardship Saturday, a day long review of stewardship issues, techniques, and lessons learned for the North Texas Cluster, hosted by Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Plano, TX. February 6th
        • Mark completed a day-long workshop in cooperation with the UUA New England Region called: Stewardship 202: Relevant Faith-Filled at First Parish Unitarian Universalist in Needham, MA on February 27th. For more information go to: http://goo.gl/fA6dq2

    MARCH 2016

        • Mark conducted the Stewardship 202: Relevant Faith-Filled  workshop on March 5 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Concord, NH. For more information go to: http://goo.gl/fA6dq2

    APRIL 2016

        • Barry presented a well-received workshop on Sustainability Through 21st Century Stewardship at the Joseph Priestley District Assembly, April 8-9, 2016 in York, PA.

    ACTIVITIES IN 2015

      • January 2015
        • UU Ministers Association Semi-Annual Institute, Asilomar CA: Barry addressed stewardship, with particular emphasis on small congregations
      • February 2015
        • Georgia Regional Cluster Stewardship Weekend: Hosted by Emerson UU in Marietta, GA. Bill provided Saturday cluster workshops and the Sunday service.
      • April 2015 –
        • UUA Mid America Regional Conference: Mark provided a workshop on new resources for congregational stewardship.
        • UUA Pacific Western Regional Assembly: Mark provided a keynote and workshop on generosity and stewardship.
        • UUA Southern Region and Districts Annual Assembly: Bill provided an all Districts live cast webinar on the GIFT program and provided on site workshop support at the New Orleans location for the South West District.
      • June 2015
        • UUA Annual General Assembly
          • Bill and Mark  provided a workshop on eGiving resources, features, and costs. SLIDES AVAILABLE ON THIS WEB SITE AND VIA THE UUA (as well as the workshop video).
          • Mark, the JPD District Executive Dr. David Pyle, and a lay leader from Colorado presented a workshop on the Year-Round Pledge Drives. SLIDES AVAILABLE ON THIS WEB SITE AND VIA THE UUA.
          • Bill, Mark Bernstein (Central East Region), and Connie Goodbread (Southern Region)  provided a workshop on Leadership Continuity in Congregations and Volunteer organizations. SLIDES AVAILABLE ON THIS WEB SITE AND VIA THE UUA (as well as the workshop video).
      • August 2015
        • Central Florida Cluster: Bill presented a six hour stewardship workshop for 7 congregations in Central Florida, hosted by the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Venice, FL.
      • September 2015
        • UUA Southern Region Leadership Experience at The Mountain Retreat and Learning Center, Highlands NC. Bill served as a Facilitator and provided stewardship training to approximately 70 Unitarian Universalists from all across the South.
      •  October 3, 2015
        • Saint Lawrence District Leadership Day: Barry was one of two theme speakers.  He spoke about ways for our congregations to engage people beyond our traditional membership.  He will also lead a stewardship workshop.
          For more info see:  http://www.sld.cerguua.org/conggrowth/2015leaderday.html
      • October 13, 20, and 27 – repeated on Oct 15, 22, and 29
        • Jumpstart Your Annual Campaign: A 3-webinar series to get your stewardship year and annual budget drive off to a good start.
      • November 14, 2015
        • Bill participated in the Metro NY Leadership Day, Dawning Future. Bill’s Topic: Let’s Talk About UUs, Money, Power, and Secrecy. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
          For a video of the presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtIMpmV8RJk