Rachel Maxwell
Stewardship Consultant
Rachel brings communities together to finance the things they value most. She is committed to stewarding our Unitarian Universalist communities toward healthy relationships with money and value. Her TEDx talk focuses on how we might create value together.
She has been immersed in community finance for six years, co-founding and leading an innovative crowd-sourced lending platform, Community Sourced Capital. CSC helped neighborhood businesses raise funding in the form of zero interest loans from the people who knew and loved them—essentially people shared money. In its three years of operation, CSC made 100 loans involving over 6000 people. Rachel is also an experienced visioning facilitator and strategic advisor.
As a leader in her own Unitarian Universalist congregation, she is passionate about helping more of our congregations fund their missions and visions.
Comments on Working with Rachel Maxwell
Rachel’s work as been invaluable
Your work and presence and experience have been absolutely invaluable. You are worth ten times what we are paying you.
Rev. Elizabeth Stevens, UU Church of the Palouse, Moscow ID
Clarity and direction to move forward
Rachel’s investigative work, presence and presentation have provided us with the clarity and direction to move forward in fulfilling our dream of radical welcome.
Patty Daus, Chair Building Task Force, UUCC, Columbia, MO
Our biggest financial problem solved
Part of Rachel’s success was definitely due to her personality and a trustworthiness and knowledge that came through in her interactions with congregants. Even though we didn’t go into a Capital Campaign as we were anticipating, our biggest financial problem ended up being solved.
Rev. Chris Hockman, UU Church of Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi TX
Capital Campaign Strengthened Our Community
Capital Campaigns can be times of high stress in a congregation. As a BIPOC minister, this time held extra worries for me. Rachel’s understanding of Unitarian Universalism and commitment to anti-racism and anti-oppression work helped us grow stronger from this campaign. It was a joyful, community-building experience that strengthened our shared ministry!
– Rev. Katie Romano Griffin, Senior Minister, All Souls, Indianapolis
Empowered and Equipped to Meet the Challenge!
Impactful Guidance
Rachel Maxwell served as our fundraising consultant during a critical time for our
church. She motivated our volunteers with an array of proven training tools and
strategies, making everyone feel both empowered and equipped to take on the
challenge. Deeply knowledgeable about capital campaigns for churches of all sizes,
denominations, and histories, Rachel brought a wealth of experience that proved
invaluable in tailoring the campaign to the unique needs of our congregation.
Tailored Approach
A specialist in all facets of fundraising, what also sets Rachel apart is her refusal to use
a cookie-cutter approach. She invested time and effort to understand our steadily
growing congregation and the urgent needs of our aging facility. This personal
approach, combined with her comprehensive understanding of major fundraising for
faith-based organizations, meant every recommendation and strategy was relevant and
effective for us.
Enduring Results
We highly recommend Rachel to any church seeking a knowledgeable and genuinely
committed fundraising consultant with a track record of success. Not only did we reach
the capital campaign goal that emerged from her research and analysis, we are still
getting a steady stream of new pledges. Rachel’s expertise in guiding our campaign
was put to use almost immediately, but it is of enduring value.
— Ellen Mathia, Co-President, Board of Trustees, All Souls Church of Indianapolis
It’s really worth the money
Understandable, visual, powerful presentation
Rachel did a great job of distilling a lot of information into understandable, visual, powerful presentation.
Rev. Dr. Nori Rost, All Souls UU, Colorado Springs CO
Wow!
It’s been a long slow process (8 years!) but with your guidance, Rachel, St. John’s has raised $1,767,000 – wow! It’s been so great to work with you throughout our fundraising process. Your practical advice, your ability to ground the team during moments of anxiety, and your belief in what we were trying to accomplish were all essential for our success. Thanks for being our guide and cheerleader!
— Joetta Prost, Capital Campaign Co-Chair, St. John’s UU Church, Cincinnati OH