With the opportunity of The Legacy Challenge, many congregations are interested in launching or improving their planned giving and endowment programs. As with other parts of stewardship, there are different levels of support available to congregations:
- Peer to peer – search websites for sophisticated UU programs and contact those congregations, try the FaceBook UU Stewardship Lab, or UUA listservs.
- Find general info on the web – generic and UU specific, like this: https://www.uua.org/finance/fundraising/plannedgiving
- General Assembly, Regional Assembly, and cluster learning in planned giving is unusual, but don’t give up! The UUA is doing a webinar/call-in series now (with UUA staff members Jay Pacitti & Rev. Laura Randall) and I am doing a session at General Assembly with Laura Randall – hope to see you there!
- Contact Jay Pacitti or Laura Randal at the UUA with questions. They cannot do intensive support, yet are a resource.
- We at Stewardship For Us present webinars, and there are blog posts on our website (this!)
- Stewardship For Us consultants can also provide individualized education and consulting for your congregation.
Planned giving is not something you can just “start” – it needs serious preparation. Many congregations are in a position where they have accepted gifts that they cannot use, their members rigidly “defend” the endowment, spend it down in a way that risks the resource, or there is significant conflict over endowed funds (big money = big conflict). We have worked with congregations that have large restricted gifts that have been in place for over 100 years, and the restrictions don’t make sense any more – which is a problem. The solution to these problems is the prepare well and craft a good program before you launch.
Mark Ewert is a stewardship consultant with the Stewardship For Us team. Mark works with congregations on their Long Term Stewardship programs and can be reached at mewert@stewardshipforus.com, via the UUA’s Congregational Stewardship Resources page, (http://www.uua.org/finance/fundraising/consulting), or through your regional staff.
Mark Ewert is a stewardship consultant, a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®), and a professional leadership and philanthropy coach (PCC) certified with the International Coaching Federation.
His experience includes founding a nonprofit, working as a fundraiser, and leading a national organization. Reach Mark at Team@StewardshipForUs.com