ECCT parishes have historically experienced great variations in their Stewardship results, which have had little to do with income levels of the communities they serve. Our parishes have tremendous variation in the levels of pledge participation. In addition, parishes serving communities with comparable income levels have considerable variations in average pledge amounts. Effective Stewardship Appeal campaigns can affect both these important drivers of parish finances. This session touches on Stewardship Appeal campaign content and practical and effective process management. The Reverend Adam Thomas and former ECCT Canon for Mission Finance and Operations Louis Fuertes discuss:
- Defining your parish’s Stewardship Appeal goals and focus
- Recruiting a Stewardship Appeal Team
- Defining the scope of Stewardship Appeal activities
- Developing and delivering an impactful central message
- Augmenting it with messages for different current and prospective pledgers
- Utilizing different media channels for conveying these messages
- Creating a work plan, schedule and responsibility map
- Embracing spreadsheet madness! (for focusing, tracking and reporting)
- Conducting a candid “after action” evaluation to guide next year’s Appeal
Adam and Louis hope that leaders of ECCT parishes – both large and small – will benefit from this session, and the opportunity to network with colleagues whose Stewardship efforts do so much to advance God’s mission in their parishes and in communities across our diocese. We encourage discussion and sharing at the conclusion of our presentation.
FACILITATORS: Louis Fuertes served as Canon for Mission Finance and Operations for the Episcopal Church from 2014–2019, following earlier work coaching parishes on financial issues under Canon (now Bishop) Audrey Scanlon. He previously served as his home parish’s Treasurer and has co‑chaired its stewardship appeal for the past three years. Before church work, he spent 20 years in commercial banking and nine years as a management consultant. A spry Baby Boomer, he enjoys cooking, traveling, gardening, music, and time with his three grandsons. He holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in Engineering and an MBA.
The Reverend Adam Thomas began his ministry with the people of St. Mark’s in February of 2014, after having served two previous parishes in Massachusetts and West Virginia. “The best part of ordained ministry,” says Adam, “is walking with people through the most important moments of their lives – both the joyful and the sorrowful.” He has a passion for preaching, writing novels, and playing board games.
Event Timeslots (1)
Session One (9:45–11:15 AM)
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