February 2, 2009
Another FRS Publication?
The Stewardship Biweekly of the First Religious Society in Newburyport (FRS) will be published for the foreseeable future during the week that the Steeple Biweekly does not appear. Its content, which is under the oversight of the FRS Finance Committee and the FRS Administrator, will deal with taking care of the FRS, being good stewards to it, most specifically to taking care of it financially.
Finance Committee Revenue Task Force
Over the past several months, a new task force, the FRS Finance Committee Revenue Task Force, has been brainstorming and researching alternative approaches to funding our church. The task force includes these hard-working parishioners: DD Allen, Rebecca Brodish, Peter Cullinan (2009 Canvass Chair), Tim Fountain, Bill Heenehan (FRS Finance Committee Chair), Jay Iannini (Task Force Chair), Sandy Manley, Sarah Spaulding, and Forrest Speck.
To manage its mandate, the task force at first divided into the following subgroups:
| Benchmarking |
Demographics |
Message |
| Tim Fountain |
Rebecca Brodish |
DD Allen |
| Bill Heenehan |
Peter Cullinan |
Jay Iannini |
| Sandy Manley |
Forrest Speck |
Sarah Spaulding |
|
But after several meetings, the group had added another area of exploration, Channels, and somewhat changed the membership of the subgroups:
| Benchmarking |
Demographics |
Message |
Channels |
| Tim Fountain |
Rebecca Brodish |
ALL |
ALL |
| Bill Heenehan |
Peter Cullinan |
| Sandy Manley |
Forrest Speck |
|
Revenue Task Force Report by Area
Benchmarking
Where does FRS stack up in terms of giving based on other UU communities? A comparison of FRS giving to that of other UU communities shows that the FRS mean and median pledge are well below the average.
| |
Other UU Communities |
FRS |
| Mean Contribution |
$1,694 |
$1,123 |
| Median Contribution |
$1,141 |
$600 |
|
More data from this comparison to follow
in an upcoming Stewardship Biweekly
Follow-on Question: How can the FRS comfortably reset its giving level to increase the median contribution?
Demographics
How can we best approach the various constituencies that make up our community? The demographics subgroup came up with numerous suggestions of groups and events that we could approach with a message of stewardship. These include (in no particular order) Jazz Vespers, Membership/Hospitality, Worship, Social Action, Historical, Adult Education, Women's Alliance, Religious Education, Music, Welcoming Congregation, Retired Guys Out to Lunch, and Lunch with the Minister. Additionally, this subgroup would like to be involved or represented at all scheduled meetings to introduce a concept of stewardship in ways specific to the group meeting. The stewardship message must connect with all levels of the FRS community: visitors, attendees, volunteers, and members.
Message
How can we tailor our canvass message, based on a concept of stewardship, to involve more than our financial commitment? The Task Force has found this question to be a stimulating, spiritual experience. Though the message work is still in development, the members of the Task Force have several concepts they feel should be included. The message of stewardship will be the basis of the new messaging, and the questions that the messages answer are these: What draws us here? What are we asked to do? How do we make that happen?
Channels
What methods of communication can the stewardship campaign rely on to deliver messages? Besides the channels used previously, the FRS should consider other possible channels to spread the message of stewardship: tent signs before services, Stewardship Biweekly (You're reading it!), e-mail outreach, web services like ConstantContact and evite.com, social networks like Facebook, stewardship-related responsive readings, talks at already scheduled events, and specific stewardship events.
Other Areas to Explore:
- How can the FRS make stewardship a constant, year-round message?
- Should the FRS have a Volunteer Director?
- Should the FRS consider altering its current committee structure?
- How can the FRS do a more thorough job following up with those shopping for a church?
Send suggestions for the Stewardship Biweekly to any one of these:
Bill Heenehan, Finance Committee Chair, w.heenehan@chgstrategies.com
Jay Iannini, Revenue Task Force Chair, jay.iannini@gmail.com
Peter Cullinan, 2009 Canvass Leader, p.cullinan@comcast.net
John Mercer, Administrator, frsuu@netway.com
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