fundraising techniques

[cellio]

(Written last night.)

The Jewish approach to fundraising -- or, at least, fundraising for the synagogue -- is really starting to get on my nerves.

Any organization with activities and a building has operating expenses. Churches rely on donations (I believe that's pretty much universal); synagogues collect annual dues, with fixed fees. I have no problem with this part of it; in fact, I think it's remarkably frank and up-front to do it this way. It forces the organization to be explicit about expected expenses, and it confronts the member with some approximation of his fair share of that. (Yes, of course those with limited means get adjustments. Part of my fair share is supporting folks like that, because I can.) I think this approach is good. The vast majority of operating expenses come from dues, augmented by things like interest, rental fees, fees for certain optional activities, and so on.

However, I hadn't realized how much additional fundraising tends to be involved. Further, the approach to that additional fundraising is much more in-your-face than I care for.

In the last year I have paid dues (of course) and been solicited (successfully) for an endowment campaign. There were some issues with the latter, but it came out ok. I have also been solicited for attendance at a fancy fund-raiser dinner, donations of goods for an auction at said dinner (obviously they wanted pricier items here; people in tuxes don't bid on small-ticket items), a direct cash donation to a different fund-raising activity (a food festival), labor for said food festival (described as "every congregant's duty"... um, no), and a bevy of smaller items. Most of these solicitations have been targetted and delivered in person. Many of them have made me feel like I am dealing with a very slick used-car salesman. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. (I did not contribute to any of these for that reason.)

Some of this is because I'm a board member, but most of this is carrying through to the rest of the congregation. I get the impression, in chatting with other board members, that this is considered normal in synagogue life. We are not doing more of this than anyone else, it seems, and are doing considerably less than some other congregations.

At tonight's board meeting the president gave a little speech about how we're going to need fund-raising activities (like that fancy dinner) every year just to meet operating expenses, and we need people to organize them. Now I thought that the endowment campaign we're doing now was to raise operating funds (so we can keep dues increases down), and asked about that. He basically said that yes, that campaign will eventually produce operating income, but we're always going to need fund-raising, even after that happens, and blah blah blah. (If that's true then we have a problem with our dues computation, yes?)

Now as a board member I've seen the budget, and I don't really see what he's seeing in it. But it became clear that we were having a cultural difference, not a fiduciary one, so I stopped pressing. I think the real issue is that it seems perfectly natural to him -- and to most of my fellow board members, apparently -- to take this approach to fundraising. It's natural and it can do no harm, so of course we do it. Or something like that; this is my interpretation, not something that anyone said explicitly.

Churches, on the other hand, pass the basket when they have additional needs. It's relatively unobtrusive, and it doesn't put any individual congregant in the position of having to deal with a used-car salesman in his face. If you can give you give; if you can't you don't, and no one really gets hassled over it. It's all pretty anonymous, actually, except if you need tax receipts. And near as I can tell, it's pretty successful. I think we could learn from them.

Comments

[ealdthryth.livejournal.com]

I had never heard of the concept of dues before. That's an interesting approach. It would never go over with UUs though. THe first church I attended did not even pass the plate because it smacked too much of other denominations and reminded people of what they had left behind that they didn't like. There may have been other reasons, but that's what I remember. Instead they relied on pledges and a donation box in the lobby. At that time they were lay-led. Now they have a minister, so things may be different.

We are just starting our budget process for the 03-04 fiscal year. Here's how it works in our congregation. The chairs of the main committees (about 10) submit budgets as do the Board members. The CFO and the finance committee add the fixed expenses to the budget. Then we (the finance committee) decide income numbers for the various standard income-producing activities. These are primarily 3 fundraisers - an auction, a fancy dinner, and a book sale - and a thrift shop. There are a few miscellaneous income categories but those are the main ones aside from the big two - plate and pledge. We pick a number for plate contributions based on prior years. What is left is the pledge goal. We then have a pledge drive starting the middle of March. The closest we come to your dues idea is that we take the pledge goal, divide it by the number of pledging units (how's that for an impersonal term), and tell people the average pledge amount that will reach the goal. People have until the end of April (I think) to turn in cards with what they are pledging. Then the finance committee may revise the budget based on the results of the pledge campaign. At the congregational meeting in May, the congregation votes to accept the budget (or not).

I don't feel that our fundraisers are too intrusive. A couple of years ago we added the book sale in the spring. The other two have been around for a number of years, so people look forward to them. I quite enjoy the auction. Our contribution to the auction for the past 3 years has been a medieval dinner for up to 30 people. For a few Sundays before the auction someone gets up during the announcements part of the service to talk about it. It has a theme, so people dress funny and do the announcement in an entertaining way.

We don't usually ask people about their pledge during the year. This year we are considering calling people who have not paid anything on their pledge by the halfway point in the year. If we decide to do that, I'm sure it will be handled tactfully. The most we do is put a reminder in the Sunday bulletin or the newsletter for people to pay their pledges. We send out statements in January showing contributions for the calendar year and the current fiscal year so far.

We are just getting to the point where we openly talk about money, which is a big step forward. I have never understood the opinion that we shouldn't ask for money. We have a lot of operating expenses. The members of the congregation should be informed about what it costs to run the place.

[cellio]

I like your congregation's approach to pledges and budgets. You might consider letters rather than phone calls for pinging people at the half-way point. Including an envelope in the letter makes it even easier. (I'm assuming that you would not be prepared to accept a credit-card number over the phone, so the phone call reminds him that he needs to do something next time he's sitting down with bills or whatever, but doesn't give him a physical thing to put in the pile. Also, letters are less time-consuming for your staff.)

We have a book sale each year too, and it seems to go over well. (I certainly make use of it. :-) )

I have never understood the opinion that we shouldn't ask for money. We have a lot of operating expenses.

I agree with you. Something has to pay for the heat, the new roof, the custodial fees, and so on and so on. There's nothing unsavory about this.