Stewardship Committee

Meeting Minutes of March 5, 2009

Attendees: John McCall, John Shoos, Ted O’Meara, Gretchen Reynolds, Dave Scheffler, Peggy Murray

John McCall opened the meeting at 6:30 p.m. with a prayer.

We spent some time reviewing the 2009 Budget Breakdown summary, noting that the total church households has been fairly steady for the past 4 years, while pledging households have decreased from 406 in 2000 to 277 in 2009. Average pledge amounts and total pledges have increased during that period.

John pointed out that there is a risk that we are depending on a few large pledged.

There are some households that have not filled out pledge cards, but continue to give at the same level as last year.

The budget assumption for total pledge dollars is calculated by adding 10% to the pledge amounts for new pledges that will be received during the year, and deducting 4% for “uncollectable” pledges.

Some thoughts that were shared:

We need to find a way to ask people to tell us their intention so that we can plan the budget appropriately. Adjustments will be made through the year according to the reality.

It was suggested that we might want to give some alternatives to an “annualized” gift to address uncertain times. Possibly quarterly pledges, flat amounts per month or holding additional appeals.

How can we capture the group not pledging? Should we look at a separate or different appeal to those who didn’t pledge last year? Possibly consider a 2 prong approach with a different message for those who will give no matter what, and those who do not see giving as part of their commitment as a church member.

Should we address those who drop cash in the plate, and suggest that they request and use envelopes?

Would it help to change the term “pledge” to “an estimate of giving” to better sell the idea, and the fact that uncertainty is understood, and it is OK to adjust a pledge if necessary due to changing circumstance.

It might be helpful to deliver “off calendar” messaging about the price we pay for not knowing what our income will be – unnecessary or difficult budget cuts, etc. and how dependent our work is on the support of our members.

We discussed looking at the demographics of our membership and tailoring our message to different groups.

An on-line pledge card, availability of PayPal, or information about on-line banking might be of interest to some people.

Total cost of our envelope system (mailed monthly) is $1560/year. Should we consider sending envelopes to everyone who hasn’t pledged and contact them if they ask to be removed from the mailing? Could we add a pledge card to the envelopes for a month or two?

We discussed the stewardship process for last year and agreed that it felt like it went on for too long, without any beginning or end. We need to begin to think about what we want to do for next year. Some initial thoughts included looking at the demographics of our givers versus non-givers, hosting some sort of celebration to mark the end of the campaign, looking for ways to measure the impact that our messages have on pledges.

All present agreed that they will continue to serve for 2009, and Gretchen Reynolds has agreed, with the unanimous support of the group, to act as the Convener for next year.

John mentioned that his Sabbatical will begin on May and run through Labor Day. On that basis, we agreed we need to meet again sometime soon after Easter to begin our discussions.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.

Respectfully,

Peggy Murray