Eight Ways Congregations Raise Pledges:
A Quick Survey for Finance Committees

Perry Bell

From Action Information,
Volume XVII, No. 4, July/August 1991, pp. 10–11.

Here are the options local churches can choose among when they carry out their finance drives each year. (Note that these are properly called "finance drives" not "stewardship drives." Many programs of "stewardship" have narrowed to become financial drives or even gimmicks to try to get people to give more money for particular causes. Far from being exempt from criticism in this regard, the church is among the chief offenders.)

Though every year "new programs" are offered, there are really only a few ways to raise funds. Here is a simple way to evaluate the eight basic methods.

Two lines are drawn, one representing monetary investment and the other representing people investment, and the finance drive is then plotted against those two lines. We will review eight kinds of fundraising programs and evaluate them using the chart above.

1. The Faith-Promise Plan stresses the divine-human dimension of financial commitment rather than loyalty to the church or its mission. Members are not asked to submit commitments or estimates of what they will give, instead, they are asked to make undisclosed faith-promises of the amount they will strive to give as their lives are blessed. Names do not appear on faith-promise cards, only amounts. As a separate act of commitment, each member is asked to submit a card that does have a name on it, indicating that a faith-promise has been made. With this information, a committee is able to follow up with those who did not respond and have some confirmation of anticipated income. The faith-promise plan is low on both scales. it saves time, planning, and money, and it assures confidentiality. It appeals to the best in members and can motivate some people to grow toward the habit of pledging without much call for commitment. This approach reaches only highly committed members. Since no binding commitments are made, it is difficult for congregations to set goals and budgets.
   
   

2. The Cottage Meeting Plan depends on enlisting each member to attend a meeting in someone's home. At each meeting, a carefully trained team of leaders makes a presentation highlighting a proposed program. The small group meetings are often held simultaneously to give them a dramatic appeal. Commitments are often requested during the meetings, but can be made later at a worship service. The cottage meeting plan is low in monetary commitment, but very high in people commitment. You will need to recruit several people to host and extend invitations to the meetings and a significant proportion of the congregation must attend. Because people are organized into geographical or interest groupings, interest is generated, fellowship is strengthened, and people engage with one another. On the cost side, the plan is time consuming, requiring careful organization and training. It is often difficult for large congregations to organize. Sometimes, negative voices can emerge and dominate a meeting, Extensive follow-up is also required.
   
   

3. Loyalty Sunday concentrates on a single twenty-four-hour period when every member of the congregation is expected to participate in a highly charged worship service when commitments are received. In the evening, a victory dinner is held. An outside guest leader is often recruited to lead these events. The main energies of the congregation are directed toward promoting a very large attendance for loyalty Sunday. Loyalty Sunday requires little time, training, calling, or investment in materials. Featuring a single, effective presentation, this approach can also be combined with other approaches. There are several drawbacks. There is little opportunity for dialogue. Loyalty Sunday reaches only those in attendance, tending to miss shut-ins, nonresidents, or fringe members. The extensive follow-up required generally places a heavy burden on a few people.
   
   

4. The Congregational Dinner is similar to Loyalty Sunday except that all the energies are directed toward making one dinner the big event of the year. An outstanding presentation is prepared, usually by the top leadership of the church. Commitments are seldom received at the dinner, but are presented at a worship service later. A congregational dinner plan provides face-to-face contact, requires little time, and costs little for materials. The dinner itself can be self-supporting. It can make good use of audio-visuals and does strengthen fellowship. It does not reach shut-ins or uncommitted members.
   
   

5. Personal Delivery is a generic name for several kinds of programs such as Circuit Rider, Pony Express, Run for the Roses, Turkey Trot, and others. It involves organizing the congregation into several chains or trails or families. The first family is to call on the second and deliver a packet of materials including commitment cards. The second family calls on the third, and so on until the chain is complete. The signed commitment cards are usually returned in the packets. Occasionally, they are presented later at a worship service. Personal delivery programs involve a large number of people, though little training and little time is required of each one. They highlight confidentiality and are often fun, stimulating a creative, playful spirit. They often reach uncommitted members. Monetary cost can range from low to moderate, depending upon whether a canned program is used or not and how many gimmicks are purchased. There are limitations: the delivery system can break down, the process can become more important than the objective, the process affords little dialogue about the work of the church and little opportunity for stewardship education.
   
   

6. Effective Mail Appeals depend on a series of carefully written letters sent to every member of the congregation over a period of several weeks. A final letter includes a commitment card to be mailed or brought back to the church. Some of the letters can be handwritten and/or written to specific members. The program may also involve personal calls on those who do not respond. The mail appeal requires little time, leadership, or training. It does give some people opportunities to use their creativity. It is nonconfrontational. Financial costs are low to moderate, with postage and secretarial help being the largest costs. These programs lack face-to-face dialogue, so the materials being mailed must be top quality. They also resemble secular appeals for funds, and they lack an efficient way to receive commitments.
   
   

7. Telephone Appeals are similar to mail appeals except that contact is made by telephone. Callers must be carefully trained to make effective presentations. The plan works best when the callers have access to a bank of telephones and also to leaders who are familiar with church program and administration. Commitments are made during the telephone conversation and verified by mail. This method is low in financial cost and requires little time except for the callers who must be adequately trained. It does give opportunity for questions, answers, and the expression of feelings. Unless materials are distributed beforehand, it is difficult for callers to refer to them. Confidentiality is sacrificed, and the whole family is not involved. The method smacks of business solicitations and calls can be easily terminated.
   
   

8. The Every Member Visitation is a plan to make personal contact with all members of the congregation in their homes. It involves training callers to make careful presentations on Christian stewardship, noting congregational dreams and goals. Since each two-person team is expected to make only five or six calls, extensive recruiting and careful training of callers is required. Commitments may be received by the caller or presented at a worship service later. The every member visitation is a plan that demands high people involvement, includes all church members (except nonresidents), provides for face-to-face discussion, is effective in achieving congregational goals, allows for personal growth and acceptance, is a starting point for stewardship education, involves the total congregation, and includes needed follow-up. The main limitations are the large number of callers needed and the fact that calls are often interpreted as simply requests for money.

There are many variations of these methods, but these eight programs are the basic ways of carrying out finance drives.

Occasionally, new gimmicks are tried. Some churches program individual giving from previous years into a computer along with the budget increase, producing a number that is suggested as that person's or family's fair share for the next budget year. Programs such as "Budget Share" use modern technology such as computers to provide the materials that are then used in one of the programs outlined above.

At the time this article was written, Perry Bell was the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Waupaca, WI.

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