Annual Budget Drive

De-bunking Fundraising Myths – Part 8 (of 12)

We’ve all heard myths about fundraising.  These often lead us to do the exact opposite of what we should be doing to raise money.  We’ll be running a twelve part series de-bunking fundraising myths to take a close look at these false assumptions about giving.

This is the eighth in the series and we will run one each month (if you can’t wait to a year to read all of them you can purchase the book Beyond Fundraising: A Complete Guide to Congregational Stewardship and read them in Chapter 1: The Spiritual Roots of Stewardship).  Do we want to paint a picture of our congregation as a sinking ship?

As always, we encourage you to leave comments.

Fundraising Myth #8

Myth: If people only understood the dire financial straits of the church, they would feel guilty and increase their annual financial commitment.

Truth: In spite of Garrison Keillor’s notion that “guilt is the gift that keeps on giving,” nobody wants to throw money at a sinking ship. Emphasizing a financial problem may actually drive people away from the faith community. It is more effective to focus on the positive ways that annual contributions will be used once the money has been received. Have a discussion about the successes of current giving. Talk about how much money is being used and emphasize how much better the programs and ministries will be when the giving is increased. Again, people want to know what difference their financial contribution will make.

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Annual Budget Drive, Fundraising, Myths, Operational/Organizational Aspects

‘Secret Ingredient’ in Religion Makes People Happier

The following post has been excerpted from the December 9, 2010 issue of Science Daily and shared with us by stewardship consultant Larry Wheeler. The article supports our long held belief that there is a clear connection between community building and successful annual budget drives; stronger congregational communities create many financially committed donors.

Does your congregation have that secret ingredient?

‘Secret Ingredient’ in Religion Makes People Happier.

While the positive correlation between religiosity and life satisfaction has long been known, a new study in the December issue of American Sociological Review reveals religion’s ‘secret ingredient’ that makes people happier.

“Our study offers compelling evidence that it is the social aspects of religion rather than theology or spirituality that leads to life satisfaction,” said Chaeyoon Lim, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who led the study. “In particular, we find that friendships built in religious congregations are the secret ingredient in religion that makes people happier.” (more…)

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Annual Budget Drive, Art of Thriving, Fundraising

“All we ever do is talk about raising money!”

Here’s a short story recently shared by a lay leader. Sound familiar?

“We used to have a lot of fundraisers to help balance our annual budget. Most notably, we ran a fall at-your-service auction and a spring yard sale. After a  while, people got worn out from all the hard work and the excruciating pressure of needing to raise a certain amount of money each time. It got harder and harder to recruit volunteers to run these events.
Then, someone had an epiphany: ‘Not only is this really hard work, but, for the most part, we are just exchanging money among ourselves.’ And then someone estimated the amount of time required to run each fundraiser. It was easy to see that conducting fundraisers to balance an operating budget was not at all cost effective.”

Fundraisers to build community are great. Fundraisers to support external ministries are also great. Using fundraisers to balance an operating budget . . .not so much. (more…)

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Annual Budget Drive, Fundraising, Operational/Organizational Aspects

De-bunking Fundraising Myths – Part 6 (of 12)

This is the sixth of the twelve part series in de-bunking fundraising myths (if you can’t wait to a year to read all of them you can purchase the book Beyond Fundraising: A Complete Guide to Congregational Stewardship and read them in Chapter 1: The Spiritual Roots of Stewardship). We’re examining these myths closely to clear-up these false assumptions about giving.

How involved do people want to be when they give the congregation money?

As always, we encourage you to leave comments.

Fundraising Myth #6

Myth: People want to make their contributions without getting involved in the messy decision-making process of the congregation.

Truth: Many want to share their opinions about how the faith community’s internal programs and global ministries are conducted. For some, having an opportunity to provide decision-making input is a tangible benefit of giving. It is a way of investing in the programs and ministries of the faith community.

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Annual Budget Drive, Capital Campaigns, Myths, Operational/Organizational Aspects

Vanco Services – how they can help your congregation

In past blog posts we’ve mentioned Vanco Services.  For this post we asked Vanco Services to share some more information about how they can help your congregation and some specific information about their work with UU congregations.

Guest Author, Stephen J. Rose, Director of Marketing, Vanco Services, LLC

As a provider of electronic giving solutions to thousands of churches, Vanco Services, LLC is pleased to share insights we’ve gained over the past 15 years that may be helpful to Unitarian Universalist congregations.

Special challenges

Seasonal donation slump. Donations tend to track closely with the number of weekly worshippers, producing a seasonal donation slump in most congregations. A church’s operating costs and program expenses continue year round but weekly check & cash offerings are erratic and typically taper off after Easter and then drop—often precipitously—during summer months before recovering in the 4th quarter. Vanco data shows an average 43% decline in weekly giving by paper check from Easter to mid-summer.  Even the most dedicated churchgoers miss services. Vacations, illness and weather (good and bad) all enter into the equation. In the fall of 2009, the flu—and even fear of the flu—depressed attendance at services. Late-year snowstorms in 2009 also kept worshippers at home in some areas of the country—a critical development considering most churches receive up to one-third of their annual contributions during the month of December.
(more…)

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Annual Budget Drive, Capital Campaigns, Fundraising, Operational/Organizational Aspects

A Quiz and the FORTH Report

This week we have a quiz for you.

Answer yes or no to the following questions.

  1. Yes/No Does your congregation have enough money?
  2. Yes/No Do you have an active planned giving program?
  3. Yes/No Is there a predominant culture of generosity in your congregation?
  4. Yes/No Are your board and committee meetings conducted in a consistently positive manner?
  5. Yes/No Does your congregation have a common definition of stewardship?
  6. Yes/No Do you have a year-round calendar of stewardship-related activities?

If you answered no to any of these questions, there is a recent report that might be helpful.
(more…)

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Annual Budget Drive, Appreciative Inquiry, Endowment, FORTH: A Stewardship Development Program, Fundraising, Generosity, Giving and Receiving

Differing Methods of Fundraising at Churches and Synagogues Raise Similar Amounts

A recent study by the Jewish Weekly publication, Forward, concludes that giving levels at churches and synagogues raise similar amounts despite different methods—church dues are voluntary whereas synagogues charge membership dues.

Some churches require a 10% tithing rate, but many rely on the conscience of the member to decide the amount of the donation. In addition, some churches have high numbers of members who do not or cannot donate at the same congregation where other members donate many thousands of dollars. Synagogues charge dues for every member as well as fees for attending high holiday services, although the amount of the dues charged can vary.

Of the congregations surveyed, at the high end was an average gift per family of $7,800 and at the low end was an average gift of $100. For synagogues, base dues vary from $1,000 to $3,000 per family, although some members contribute much more than the required dues. Despite the large differences in voluntary versus required amounts, of those surveyed the median amount of funds raised per-capita by synagogues was $660, only slightly higher than by churches at $640. Mark Chaves, a professor of sociology at Duke University surmised: “Perhaps what the dues system does is even out the giving rather than get you more per capital.”

Historically, American churches and synagogues had similar models for raising money—both charged “pew fees” based on their location. This practice declined in churches in the late 19th century and represented a movement away from the idea that one could buy God’s favor by spending more money on the best seats. Most synagogues also moved away from the 19th century system in order to democratize the funding structure.

How do these results impact our Unitarian Universalist way of raising money through the suggested fair share giving guide and appreciative inquiry? If requiring set amounts from members does not raise more money than voluntary contributions that relate to ability to pay, then three cheers for focusing on equitable contributions and positive achievements to fund our church missions!

Stay tuned for the next installment of the study by Forward, that will focus on how churches and synagogues spend the money they raise.

For more details on the study, see the full article in Forward.

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Annual Budget Drive, Fundraising, Operational/Organizational Aspects, Stewardship Education

Using Credit Cards for Financial Commitments?

From time to time, congregations ask about providing donors  an opportunity to make their annual financial commitments on-line. We have spoken previously about Vanco Services, which offers electronic transfer options. Vanco will manage the process in which donors have their commitments automatically withdrawn from their checking account each month. Currently more than 100 UUA congregations successfully using this service.

But what about electronic payments using a credit card? Historically, we have shied away from this option because of the expense.  However, there has been recent conversation on the UU-Money email list that suggests there may now be a viable option. You can find lots of information about the possibility of using credit cards for financial commitments online.

We would welcome a blog conversation about this option.

  • Has anyone tried it?
  • If so, what have been the advantages?
  • What are some pitfalls to avoid?
  • If not, why?

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Annual Budget Drive, Fundraising, Operational/Organizational Aspects

De-bunking Fundraising Myths – Part 3 (of 12)

We’ve all heard myths about fundraising.  These often lead us to do the exact opposite of what we should be doing to raise money.  We’ll be running a twelve part series de-bunking fundraising myths to take a close look at these false assumptions about giving.

This is the third in the series and we will run one each month (if you can’t wait to a year to read all of them you can purchase the book Beyond Fundraising: A Complete Guide to Congregational Stewardship and read them in Chapter 1: The Spiritual Roots of Stewardship).  We all feel the pinch during an economic downturn; however, this does not spell disaster for our faith communities.

As always, we encourage you to leave comments.

Fundraising Myth #3

Myth: During periods of economic downturn, people can’t be expected to give as much money to their faith community.

Truth: When faced with limited discretionary income, people choose their charitable organizations more carefully. If a compelling case is made in support of the annual budget drive or a capital campaign, they will make significant financial commitments. If a case is not made, potential donors think that the faith community does not deserve to get their money.

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Annual Budget Drive, Capital Campaigns, Fundraising, Myths, Stewardship Education