Springtime Message for our Stewardship Teams: Stay the Course, but Stop and Smell the Flowers

Across the country, many UU congregations are heading toward the finish line of their annual stewardship campaigns. Some are deep into time-bound spring campaigns; others are in the spring phase of year-round giving and pledging; others are collecting from a fall pledge drive; and still others are hard at work on combined annual stewardship and capital campaigns.  Regardless of what stewardship strategy is underway, the entire congregation is involved – inspiring leadership from ministers and lay leaders, frequent testimonials from members, spirited celebrations throughout the pledge drive, and an active, ever-visible stewardship team making personal connections and inviting generosity from everyone.

Whether you are nearing the end of the annual pledge drive or are anywhere else along the continuum of congregational giving, it is a good time for the Stewardship team to stop and smell the flowers, literally. Take time out to relax and regroup. Yours is considered one of the high-stress volunteer jobs in our congregations, even though everyone acknowledges its critical function.  It is also considered one of the most difficult to recruit for year in and year out, and a cause for burn-out. 

We frequently assume the challenge is asking for money, especially from friends and acquaintances. While this could be a source of stress for some, so is the Stewardship team’s assumed responsibility for raising even more money to cover increasing annual budgets for staff, programs, and upkeep.  As we all know, paying for the ministries, programs, education, music, social action and community that we all cherish is a shared responsibility in our UU denomination.  Remember the stewardship team is there to give us all the opportunity to support what we value and increasingly need to stay whole in today’s disturbing world.

This Springtime blog is dedicated to every stewardship volunteer – those from the past, present and future.  Thank you for your service and dedication and for giving us that opportunity to financially support one of the most central parts of our lives – our UU congregational community.  

Ideas and suggestions to help you start planning for next year now:

1. Set the stage for giving success by expanding the stewardship team’s reach through enlistment of committee chairs to encourage generosity during their own meetings and events. 
2. Focus stewardship messages on support for ministry, pastoral care, programs, community strength and growth, outreach, music, young people, and lifelong education, not on “keeping the lights on.” 
3. Base stewardship goals on:
   • past giving patterns as well as the projected financial budget (the most important determinant of how much is raised this year is what was raised last year); and
   • attaining greater than 80% participation of congregants in the annual pledge drive (average participation ranges from 65% – 95%). 
4. Never be apologetic or feel guilty about asking for money or for your stewardship appeals.  Your role is an expression of your own deep commitment to the congregation and your gratitude. Remember that as you ask others to acknowledge their own commitment and gratitude.
5. Continuously communicate ongoing pledging results through all the main avenues of communication.
6. Continue to use the most personal approach possible – in-person, individual emails, individual phone calls.
7. Plan on a post-pledge drive Stewardship team meeting to celebrate each other and share reflections and ideas for next year’s drive.  Write them down; start a calendar.
8. Even if it is the job of your office administrator or treasurer to follow up on pledge fulfillment, you can support their efforts by committing to monthly bulletins of thanks and gratitude each month throughout the year.  These one- to two-paragraph messages can add a message about what the congregation’s generosity has recently accomplished.
9. Seriously consider making your stewardship team commitment a minimum of 2 years.  The function of stewardship is best served by experience and continuity.  Stewardship team co-chairs could stagger leadership, so there is always someone who was part of the drive in the previous year.
10. Acknowledge and lift up your own leadership role as stewardship volunteers:
    • Ask the minister or lay ministerial leader to add a covenant statement between the stewardship team and the congregation at the start of the annual campaign.
    • Take time during canvasser training and orientation to focus on resilient leadership, self-awareness, and inspired story-telling for gift solicitations. These can help counteract burnout and stress.
    • Create ways for stewardship team members to support each other.
    • Celebrate both the little and big successes.
    • Reward yourself for a successful day, weekend, week or month of stewardship work. (e.g., buy a new book, take a hike, meet with an old friend, get yourself a mocha latte…whatever works for you).
11. Make use of existing resources for new and tried but true ideas. There is a treasure trove of stewardship training materials, webinars and blogs from the UUA, Stewardship for Us and individual congregations.  For more information, start with UUA’s Leader  Lab.

And finally, if you’re heading to Spokane, WA for General Assembly (June 19-23), please join Stewardship for Us and UUA Congregational Life for a special workshop, “Money, Power and Meaning: Amplifying Our Collective Power,”  Thursday, June 20^th 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm PST in Room 100A at the Spokane Convention Center.

Liz Coit is a stewardship consultant with the Stewardship for Us team. She works with congregations on stewardship programs, capital campaigns, and strategic planning and can be reached via the UUA’s Congregational Stewardship Resources page (http://www.uua.org/finance/fundraising/consulting), or through your regional staff.