PHASE IV
CONTINUE THE VISION … WE LIVE BY GRACE
- Goals are reached and funding for projects is realized
- The mission plan is being carried out
- Goals and strategic plans are reevaluated and adjusted if necessary
- The campaign is concluded with a celebration
- A legacy stewardship (planned giving) program is in place for the future
Celebration
It is important to put closure on the capital campaign and celebrate the results. Planning this aspect of the program is not an “add-on.” It is as essential as everything that precedes it.
This can be done in a combination of ways, including but not limited to:
- Celebration Event
- Story in the church and diocesan newspapers
- Letter from the Rector
- An annual report
Events and annual reports take more work but have wonderful long term results. The event can be a special acknowledgement of the offering in a worship service. Perhaps the Spiritual Emphasis Team can develop a prayer of thanksgiving or other addition to the liturgy to be used. This should feel like a party and include opportunities to celebrate the workers for the offering, the mission work that will be made possible by the campaign, and the overall vision and mission of the diocese.
The annual report is the appropriate place to thank workers, list givers, outline the steps that will take place in the coming years to implement the ministries to be funded, and report on results from the preceding year. It becomes the summary and official record of the capital campaign. It does not need to be elaborate. In fact, simple is often better. The goal is to present information completely and accurately without becoming vulnerable to an accusation of unnecessary extravagance.
Key components of an excellent annual report are:
- Restate the goals to be accomplished by the capital campaign
- Review of the work to be funded
- Financial accounting of income, expenses, and distribution of the funds
- Stories of lives saved and changed by the proceeds of the offering
- A list of those who contributed—include gifts in honor or in memory
- A list of those who worked
- Photographs of mission activities or offering activities
Lists of contributors and workers have some inherent hazards to avoid. When it comes to lists of givers, many Episcopalians find the custom of listing givers in categories based on the amount of the gift, as done by most charities, uncomfortable when the Church does it. They do, however, find an alphabetical list with all the names in the same size type a good way to recognize givers. This format honors the widow’s mite the same as the millionaire’s. We are not consistent in our approach to honoring givers. Most of us have no problem with naming buildings after large donors or plaques listing donors, especially when these are in honor of loved ones.
The other potential landmine is the possibility of omitting a name. Lists of names published as a way of recognizing and thanking givers should have a date reference, something like “gifts recorded as of June 1, 20??.
If you are going to thank givers, don’t overlook the workers. And with all of these lists, proof them for name, typing, and spelling errors at least one more time than you think necessary. This is where you will find out just how good your database is and how accurately it is being maintained.
Gathering Wisdom
After the celebration, evaluation is the next critical activity. The most important questions to address are:
- Has every giver received at least one thank you note? (You can’t ask this too often.)
- Did we accomplish our most important goals? This can be measured several ways, possibly:
a) Did every household receive spiritual emphasis materials that encouraged with God?
b) Did every household receive materials that invited them to explore their own participation in the vision and mission?
c) Did every household receive an invitation to give and a vehicle for making a gift (giving envelope or some other device)?
- What percentage of the households took advantage of this opportunity?
- How many persons or households were identified where a personal invitation to give would be made?
- How many of these invitations were delivered?
- What was the response?
- Did the capital campaign team members receive adequate training for the work?
- Did gifts equal or surpass expectations?
- How effectively did we tell the story of our mission?
- What did we do well?
- What would we like to do better or differently in a subsequent campaign?
- What strategies can help us to improve on this year’s efforts?
Hands-on Opportunities
Writing a check is one kind of experience of empowering mission but as organizations like Habitat for Humanity demonstrate, labor is another. One object of a capital campaign is to encourage congregations to continually be discerning and lifting up the work and use of our gifts to which God calls us and inviting everyone to participate in that work. As part of the work of continuing the vision, be attentive to hands-on opportunities.
Adapted from The Alleluia Fund: A Guide for Dioceses and Congregations
