We may not have expected the pandemic to last as long as it has, nor that we’d be facing a resurgence of it now, but despite its manifold challenges and heartbreaks, the pandemic did not stifle the resilience and generosity of many congregations during this year’s Annual Stewardship drives. By the time congregations were launching their FY 2022 pledging drives; online services were the norm; and people were demonstrating adept and creative production of worship and other church activities on Zoom and social media. We’ve seen explosive use of online and mobile payment methods alongside traditional check writing and mail-in contributions. We are also seeing some common annual pledge drive themes arise this year: resilience, staying strong together, broadening our beloved communities, and staying in covenant together.
In Spring 2020, Stewardship for Us conducted a survey on the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on last year’s stewardship campaigns and pledge fulfillment. With 89 respondents, the survey revealed better than anticipated financial and participation results. However, responses indicated that many congregations had started their annual pledge drives before the full-on ‘lockdown’ went into effect in mid-March.
For Spring 2021, we wanted to gather comparable information and invited UU congregations to participate in a follow-up impact survey to gain information and perspective on how they are faring in the second year of this pandemic. We posted a short survey through our blog to obtain wider understanding about congregational stewardship and the adjustments congregations have made in this challenging time.
This blog summarizes survey highlights compared to 2020.
In sum:
- Strong participation in the survey – 92 congregations compared to 89 last year.
- More than 75% of participating congregations achieved 90% of their campaign goal, up from 55% in last year’s survey.
- Only 4 of 71 respondents achieved less than 80% of their financial goal.
- Congregations used a combination of techniques to ensure social distancing – e.g.,outside services, multiple localities, encouraging porch and backyard neighborhood clusters.
Pledge fulfillment remains strong, with congregations reporting little change from “normal” times to since March 2020. Fulfillment increased or remained unchanged for 84% of congregations. 60% of congregations are currently experiencing fulfillment at better than 95%, and another 30% reported 90% to 95% fulfillment rates.
The survey included a range of congregations based on annual budgets and membership size. Actual pledge drive methods saw a surge in email as the primary means of communication, and many congregations continued to use regular mail, Commitment Sundays, and even personal stewardship conversations. Several congregations cited production of videos that were posted on YouTube and Facebook.
Pledging and payment options were largely unchanged from our 2020 survey, with online (through church website) pledging and automatic pledge payments representing the most widely used. The list of “other” pledging and payment options continues to grow – we heard the following mentioned in the 2021 survey:
During the Open Forum on August 6th, a spontaneous poll asked participants how optimistic were feeling about stewardship in their congregations. A slight majority – 58% – cited somewhat optimistic “..the people who have hung in with us have been generous…”; and another 21% were super-optimistic and positive about their congregations’ generosity. Thirteen percent were worried; 8% were uncertain: “…depends on long this dang pandemic hangs on.”
What we do know for certain is that the future holds uncertainty – there is no better time than the present to count our blessings, cherish the beloved community, and never back down from our resiliency, commitment and generosity to support our spiritual homes, values, and future generations of UUs.
For the Powerpoint Summary of the Second Annual Survey on the Impact of COIVD-19 on Stewardship Drives, click here.
You might also find the Survey on Stewardship Practices from UUA’s Stewardship Development team a useful resource: https://www.uua.org/finance/fundraising/stewardship-resources
Liz Coit, Kay Crider, Mark Ewert, Barry Finkelstein, and Rachel Maxwell are your Stewardship for Us team. Please send questions and topic suggestions for our blog or online Friday Open Forum series to Team@stewardshipforus.com
Stewardship Consultant Barry Finkelstein has been a Unitarian Universalist congregational stewardship consultant since the Fall of 2007 and has worked with over 50 congregations on annual budget drives, capital campaigns, and strategic planning. Reach Barry at Team@stewardshipforus.com