Reflections from UUA General Assembly 2014
by Bill Clontz, UUA Stewardship Consultant
This year’s General Assembly is now in the history books, and a fine one it was. A record number of workshops (including one co-hosted by yours truly), a healthy turnout, and an air of transition, as many long time leaders at various levels of the UUA are retiring or ending elected service about now.
One of the best things about GA is that it encourages, almost forces, us all to get out of our shell and think about the broader meaning of being a UU beyond our campus, experiencing being in community with thousands of other UUs. It’s a lesson we can apply in stewardship as well.
I am always a bit surprised when I find a congregation struggling with some aspect of its stewardship program as though they were all alone and they were facing a completely unique problem. Each situation does have unique aspects, but so too does each have aspects that many others have faced successfully.
GA is the physical embodiment of the connectivity that awaits us, if we choose to reach out. It is a reminder that we have help all around us. There are hundreds of UU congregations out there ready to share their lessons learned with you as well. Here are some of the options available to you right now to tap into that collective wisdom.
The Congregational Stewardship Network (CSN): The Congregational Stewardship Network has provided stewardship consulting services to hundreds of Unitarian Universalist congregations since 1985. CSN provides a variety of services to individual congregations, clusters, Districts, and Regions, including Next Steps Visits, support for Annual Budget Drives and Capital Campaigns, advice on Planned Giving, Financial Feasibility Studies, Mission and Vision Development, Strategic Planning, and advice on Building Loans and Grants. Find CSN at http://www.uua.org/finance/fundraising/consulting/index.shtml.
UUA Email Groups (list serves): Over 200 specialty groups exchange ideas and archive discussions. Two of the best are those dedicated to LEADERSHIP and MONEY (stewardship included). Find them at http://www.uua.org/lists/.
UU Facebook Labs: There are well over two dozen of these , one in particular focusing on stewardship. Good discussions often lead to private follow on exchanges of helpful information. To find them, sign into Facebook and enter “UU Lab” in the search window and you will find a list of sites you may join.
FORTH: FORTH is a stewardship development program designed to help Unitarian Universalist congregations grow a year round culture of stewardship. The program includes FORTH Partners, an interactive community of congregational leaders who meet online, on the phone, and sometimes in person. Find out more about FORTH at http://www.uua.org/finance/fundraising/forth/development/index.shtml
Clusters: Clusters are, in my view, the wave of the future. They are small groups of congregations that come together to share information and ideas. Most are located close to each other to facilitate face to face meetings, but some are focused on particular issues and may be thousands of miles apart. They communicate quite well using Skype, Zoom, AnyMeeting, or any number of other tools ready to use. Clusters also pool their resources to sponsor stewardship workshops with their Regions and the Congregational Stewardship Network. Send me a message at bclontz@uua.org if you have questions about such workshops.
UUA, Regional and District References: Many districts and Regions have substantial online resources in the form of samples, on demand workshops, etc. , as does the UUA (www.uua.org/stewardship) Take a few moments to peruse UUA, regional, and district sites for information on stewardship. By the way, you can usually gain access to the information available in other districts and regions, not just your own. The Central East Regional Group (CERG) in particular has a vast library you may wish to check out (www.cerg.org).
So you are not all alone out there! Reach out, learn from others and offer your lessons and experience to others as well.
Bill Clontz is the Southern Region’s UUA stewardship consultant and a member of the Congregational Stewardship Network. You can reach Bill through the CSN, through the Southern Region staff, or at bclontz@uua.orgbclontz@uua.org. Learn more about the CSN at http://www.uua.org/finance/fundraising/index.shtmlhttp://www.uua.org/finance/fundraising/index.shtml .
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