“I am Lost, but I am Making Record Time!” – Part I

 

Making Better Use of Congregational Data Can Help Us Find Our Way

I heard the quote in the title of this blog as a young pilot many years ago.  A World War II pilot radioed that report in –he had no idea where he was, but he was making great progress somewhere.

In providing stewardship support to our congregations, I sometimes feel as though that quote is about us. Numbers seem dry, but tell important stories about our our communities. It’s hard to know where you are going if you don’t know where you are. Taking  time to develop and study the numbers helps us be netter leaders.

There are statistics that I believe leaders should know if they are to understand their congregations. 17 data points and 1 more to ignore.  I know what you are thinking:
“17! Is he nuts? Who has all that data and what would we do with it, anyway?”
Bear with me – this is a conversation worth having, even if it does make for a somewhat longer blog this time around.

The first 10 of these data points almost every congregation has readily accessible. Not enough leaders and members consult them sometimes, but they are easy to generate. The next 7 take a little effort to generate, but the returns can be impressive for congregations of just about every size.

This blog will list all 18 data points (including the one to ignore) and elaborate on the first nine. The remaining data points will be discussed in the next edition of this blog. For those interested in knowing more and seeing how these data points work together to make a whole picture – read on.

(1) Membership: Obvious perhaps, but having an accurate description of what constitutes membership in the bylaws and keeping an accurate count in accordance with those terms escapes some of us. For all regions except the Southern Region (which uses the GIFT  model), this number also determines the level of gifts we are asked to contribute to the UUA and the regions. Note that the definition of membership is up to each congregation, and we seem to have quite a variety of definitions. It requires a conscious effort, usually a couple of times a year, to ensure your count is accurate within the terms of your bylaws.

(2) Sunday Attendance, RE Attendance (Adult and children’s RE): Many consider these numbers more important than membership, as they reflect most of the active, engaged members in your congregation, both in terms of volunteering and pledging.

(3) Percentage of Budget Provided by Pledges: If the congregation relies on more than about 10-15% of its operating budget from sources other than regular commitments from the members, there are inherent risks and vulnerabilities, and perhaps an indication that members do not feel truly vested in the operation of the congregation.

(4)“Average Cost per Household” to run your church: This is arrived at by dividing the budget by the number of member households. This is one benchmark to share with new members as they consider their initial commitment levels.

(5) Percentage of Members Pledging, if your bylaws do not ask a pledge of all members: Increasingly, congregations state in the bylaws that making and honoring a pledge is a part of membership; some require only a recorded contribution of record during a given year. If a pledge is not expected as a part of membership in your congregation, how many of your members choose to pledge, how many do not?

(6) Mean and Median Pledge: Many people ask about the Mean (average) pledge, though it is of limited utility. A more useful measurement is the Median pledge (1/2 of pledges are more than this amount, ½ are less). If there is a significant difference between the Mean and the Median,  there is a wide gap in gifts distribution across the congregation.

(7) Number of pledge/contribution waivers: Every congregation that has an expectation of pledges should have a simple, discrete waiver policy to be used when needed. It is helpful to know how many waivers are in place and for how long.

(8) Percentage of households/members that are not Pledging: Know many are only making a Contribution of Record (COR), and what is the mean and median COR. Are there any member households that do not pledge and have not made a COR?

(9) Percentage of pledging friends: Many congregations have nonmembers that are active in the community and who regularly contribute. Know how many of these are in your congregation, and the mean and median levels of these commitments.

The next edition of this blog will elaborate on the following data points:

(10) Pledges that have not Increased or have Decreased over the past 2 years?

(11) Number of pledging units self-declared as Fair Share donors?

(12) What is the Quartile distribution? (See last month’s Stewardship for Us blog)

(13) How many are new pledgers (first 2 years)? Mean and median of new pledges?

(14) Families active in RE and their distribution among pledges and COR population?

(15) Where is your Board in Fair Share Giving and quartile distribution?

(16) Percentage increase/decrease in total pledges/mean/median on last 3-5 years?

(17) When was the last time you employed Visiting Stewards, with good training?

(18) Wrong!–How much of a pledge goes to “UUA dues?”

Bill Clontz is a stewardship consultant with the Stewardship for Us Team, supporting the UUA. Bill can be reached at bill@stewardshipforus.com ,via the UUA’s Congregational Stewardship Network, (http://www.uua.org/finance/fundraising/index.shtml ),  or through your regional staff.

This blog has a new posting no less than once a month. You may find it and more at our website, www.stewardshipforus.com. You are welcome to sign up for stewardship updates at the blog. Comments and discussion are always welcome; share your experiences with us.