Stewardship Q&As from GA

I had the wonderful experience of co-leading a workshop at General Assembly with my wife, Rev. Roberta Finkelstein, an Accredited Interim Minister, and Andrea Lerner, a UUA Transition Specialist.  The workshop was about Stewardship for Congregations in Transition.

Check out the slides and handouts at the following link:
http://www.uua.org/finance/fundraising/presentations/congregations-transition

We had so many questions from the large audience that we were able to address only a subset during the session.  So I decided to answer some of the remaining questions here, with help from Roberta. The questions and answers are applicable to most any congregation.

1. How do we have fun doing stewardship?

First of all, your leadership team really needs to believe that planning and implementing a stewardship campaign is fun! You need people who are comfortable talking about money and making the connection between generous giving and a thriving congregation. Recruit accordingly.

Second, choose a theme for the campaign that lends itself to light-hearted approaches. One congregation chose the theme “Lucky Us!” for their interim year stewardship campaign. They did this in the face of lots of consternation about the transition, and used it to remind people of how much was going well in their lives. They used a four leaf clover as their logo and even gave their interim minister a four leaf clover pin as a farewell gift!

Third, let all of the volunteers know that the goal of the campaign is to engage as many people as possible rather than to raise a particular amount of money. In the long run, congregational financial health is best served by having everybody feel that they have a stake in the outcome.

Finally, include several fun social events in the campaign calendar. A kick-off could be a talent show or a set of silly skits during a pot luck dinner. A thank you party for all the volunteers at the end of the campaign will insure that they want to come back next year.

2. How do we get people to volunteer for one-on-one campaigns?

First, see #1 above – make sure people see how much fun we’re all having! Here are other ideas:

(1) invite people personally, emphasizing why they would be good at this and why it’s important
(2) ask people who have done this before and enjoyed the experience to share their stories
(3) emphasize that you will offer training and support throughout the process
(4) if people are on the fence, suggest they commit only to come to the training and decide at the end whether they’re comfortable signing up

3. How should tactics change by congregation size?

Keep in mind two important points when designing a stewardship program for any size congregation. One, the most effective stewardship process involves personal engagement.  Two, it’s a good idea to change things up and not follow the same process every year.  With these points in mind, you can design a strategy that works for any size congregation — and one that’s tailored for yours.

For small and mid-size congregations, one-on-one personal stewardship conversations is the best approach for most but not all years; alternate these with small group gatherings and miracle Sundays.  As congregations get larger, it is harder to reach everyone for one-on-one conversations.  So how about reaching one-third of the households each year for a three-year cycle, then going with small group sessions for a year or two?   In all congregations, but especially in the largest, it’s important to supplement the annual drive with robust, personalized communication strategies and effective use of technology to reach people at various times during the year.

4. Is there a better term than “pledge unit”?

I too am not a big fan of “pledge unit” which sounds like something a robot would say. How about “pledging household” or “supporting family”  or “donor household?”  Other ideas?

5. What are best stewardship practices for a congregation with a new settled minister following a rocky interim?

When a congregation goes through a difficult transition, there may be a temporary downturn in attendance, membership and/or financial support.  Stewardship practices alone cannot counter this larger congregational cultural phenomenon.  If you had sound stewardship practices through the transition (a strong communication plan, personal one-on-one conversations, a mission based budget, and a strong case for how contributions impact the quality of congregational life) then just keep at it during the downturn. Don’t assume that these tactics are no longer working; they will work again when people rally around the new minister. If you did not have these practices in place, now is the time to get started, taking advantage of the new ministry to introduce new ideas and practices. 

Barry Finkelstein is a stewardship consultant with the Stewardship for UsTeam, supporting the UUA. Barry can be reached at barry@stewardshipforus.com

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.