Starting next month (February) we are launching a new way for you to pledge your financial support to RVUUF. Instead of an annual canvass or pledge drive, we’ll be experimenting with a year-round fundraising program to help connect people to each other, to their values, and to the mission of the congregation.

Why make a change?
Over the nearly 20 years of my ministry, I’ve seen a lot of Pledge Drives. Some were creative and effective. Some were almost stealth, as if talking about money was embarrassing or inappropriate. From year to year, the (sometimes dramatic) differences led to very different outcomes, both in the amount raised and people’s feelings about supporting their congregation. The financial health of these congregations was dependent on the skills, time, and energy of each year’s volunteers. And more often than not, those volunteers were hard to find.

In almost every congregation , the annual canvass was a time of anxiety, stress and worry. In almost every congregation, people actively avoided helping ask for money. In many, they also avoided the events and activities that were carefully planned to inspire them to give. This did not seem to be an effective way to raise money or morale.

One congregation was different. A few years before I arrived, they had instigated a year-round pledging process that shared responsibility for raising financial support among the minister, the staff, and a few volunteers. Over the two years I served as interim minister, financial support and stability grew and so did the congregation. People even began to volunteer to help; so many that I had a waiting list for Pledge captains!

How did that happen?
The year-round approach to pledging changes a lot of the ways we think about and handle raising money. The first important thing is that it eliminates the anxiety of starting from zero every year. There is no one time of year when we say, “Wait. We don’t have the pledges! We can’t plan anything until we know what people will give!”

Instead, we assume that the support of our members is reliable. We don’t need to chase them down to get them to give, we only need to ask them once a year to consider increasing their pledge (when possible) to keep up with inflation and help the congregation’s programs grow. This alone has a great impact. No more worrying that a lackluster Pledge Drive will mean losing staff or programs. We can move forward with a sense of confidence in each other.

How does it work?
I won’t bore you with all the details, but here are the basics:

• Each giver (or household) will be assigned to a month. That is the month in which they will be asked to consider the amount and impact of their gift and be asked if they want to increase or adjust their pledge. The minister and staff are responsible for making this request.
• Each month will have a volunteer Pledge Captain. They will check in with the staff over the course of the month to see who responded to the request and maintained or increased their gift. The Pledge Captain’s main job is to say “thank you!” They will send thank you notes to each giver, as well as inviting them to an event (of the Pledge Captain’s choosing) as a way to get to know them, hear their thoughts about the congregation, and express even more gratitude! If someone has decreased their giving, they will let the minister know so that appropriate pastoral follow-up can be offered. (Most decreases are due to dissatisfaction with the congregation or difficult personal circumstances. Either of these is cause for the minister’s attention.)
• There will be a special, 13th Pledge Captain for new givers. For one year, this specially-trained Captain will help newcomers learn about the philosophy and values that support our commitment to giving and generosity. They will have an opportunity to ask questions, get to know other newcomers, and learn both how and why we support our congregations ourselves. As they learn about the congregation, we will also invite them to volunteer, supporting RVUUF with their time as well as their treasure. After this initial year, they will be assigned to a regular group.
• We’ll be evaluating this new system all along the way to make sure it is effective in several ways: raising the money we need to fund a growing congregation, connecting people to each other and to programs and opportunities in the congregation, and enabling us to better use our volunteer time and energy, worrying less about money and having more time and energy to support the congregation’s mission.

I hope that gives you enough of the basics to begin to understand both how and why we’re trying this new way. If these ideas excite you and you’d like to get involved, just let me know. The better supported this new program is from the beginning, the more likely it is to succeed. I believe that we have a real chance to improve the financial stability of RVUUF and have fun doing it. Anything is possible! Our theme for January is “Possibility” after all!

Love Will Guide Us,
Rev. Sean