To Pledge: Clearly and Directly

Why Do We Pledge: Part II

Pretty much every lay leader I encounter in my work understands about their pledge: the process for making financial commitments. They understand how it works, its timeline, and how it is part of the financial systems of their congregation. This is all to the good.

And most of us forget what it was like to join a congregation. We forget how much information and culture there is to assimilate. Even aside from what inspired that new person to join, whether it is to sing with a group or find spiritual community, it is often a significant task to figure out who people are, where to go, and how to get engaged with a particular activity. Yet many lay leaders will say something like, “Don’t they get it? We have to make them pledge!” – when often no one has really told them.

New members want to know; they have joined a congregation and want to know what part they have in the finances of the organization. They want someone to give it to them straight. That is why I am direct and clear about making financial commitments when I talk to new members and people considering membership. “Stewardship” is a larger conversation, so unless the new person has prior experience, I usually start with just the operational aspects.

[Tweet “New members want to know; they have joined a congregation and want to know what part they have in the finances of the organization.”]

That is also one of the reasons why I prefer the term financial commitment to pledge. Pledge is a coded word; it has a specific meaning to people who are experienced in the congregation, yet that meaning is not part of the usual American parlance. For young adults it may still mean the initiation process when one joins a fraternity or sorority (which may have bad connotations!). For others, it may relate to the Pledge of Allegiance – a completely different thing! The term is rarely defined in our congregations. Financial commitment is more self-explanatory.

In the course of my work, when I start talking about the basics of making financial commitments, new members are grateful and even longer time members will say, “no one ever explained that to me before.” How would I explain the annual budget drive and financial commitments to newcomers? Well, I would assume that the audience is intelligent and well educated, the majority of our constituents are, and yet not well informed about this system.

• We ask you to make financial commitments once a year in the spring (or fall – depending on your congregation’s fiscal year).
• A pledge or financial commitment is the donation amount that you expect to give to the congregation in the coming year.
• If you need some guidance to find the right about to contribute, here is a Guide to help you.
• We gather these commitments from everyone in the congregation and use them to build a responsible budget for the coming year. That is our largest and most reliable source of financial fuel for the congregation’s mission.
• Because as UUs we are dedicated to the democratic system (our 5th Principle), we make that budget available to you before it is ratified, in case you have questions or concerns about it.
• Then we ask you to attend our annual meeting, where someone will make a presentation about the budget, then the members of the congregation vote to approve the budget. Although it sounds unusual, our members have the final say on the budget for next year.
• You pay toward that commitment once the new fiscal year starts and we ask that, before the end of the year, you give at least the amount you stated on your commitment form. These donations can qualify as charitable gifts for your IRS filing.
• We will send you a quarterly report on your donations, and a summary statement at the end of every year.
• There are a number of other ways to give financially to the congregation, so if making a financial commitment is not the best way for you, please come talk to me and we will find a solution.

Of course when I am actually part of this orientation, I also make sure to talk about why the congregation is important to me, and why I give my financial resources to support it. This usually includes my personal story about how I figure out how much to put on my financial commitment form, and how I pay toward that commitment. Without that personal part, it is not only pretty dry, it is also me telling them what to do rather than asking them to join me in this practice.

Bottom line: Don’t assume! You actually have to tell people how to participate in the Annual Budget Drive. And you have to tell people about making financial commitments. Yes that means talking about money.

[Tweet “You actually have to tell people how to participate in the Annual Budget Drive. Yes that means talking about money.”]

Watch for the next posting, which is about how our financial commitments fit in with our democratic values and support our communications, both helping us engage the congregants and gain feedback from them.

Mark Ewert is a stewardship consultant with the Stewardship For Us team. Mark can be reached at mewert@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.