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Should we conduct our capital campaign concurrently with our annual stewardship program?
by Jill White
Church Building & Loan Foundation
“Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”
- Proverbs 3:9-10
Your church has decided it’s time for a capital campaign to raise funds to address deferred maintenance or to repurpose your facility for a new and exciting ministry opportunity. But when should you hold the capital campaign?
A common opinion is to conduct the capital campaign at the same time as the annual stewardship campaign, and to many, this seems like a good idea. However, conducting a capital campaign concurrent with your stewardship campaign may not be a good idea for several reasons:
- Timing for each campaign is different. Church Building & Loan Fund guided campaigns occur over 13 – 15 weeks. The annual stewardship program can take 3 months or more, depending upon the type of program the church conducts.
- When conducted simultaneously, messaging around each campaign can be confusing. The annual stewardship program raises funds to support the church’s operating and mission budget, while a capital campaign raises funds for capital projects. When the campaigns are run concurrently unless the messaging is clear, the congregation is well-informed, and they understand how the campaigns are different, how and for what purposes the funds raised through each program will be used, confusion can occur and both campaigns are likely to suffer.
- Rather than giving their best gift to both campaigns, members may divide their pledge across the two campaigns. Pledges to the operating budget are usually given from individual income. Pledges to a capital campaign often represent gifts from members' accumulated assets or things like real estate, vehicles, artwork, copyrights, appreciated stock, or sterling silver. Separating the campaigns with appropriate messaging will result in members giving their best gifts to both programs.
A capital campaign can be an enriching experience for the congregation. It allows the congregation's growth in faith, energizing spirit, and transformative generosity and mission to the community and world. For the congregation as a whole, a campaign can result in a deeper understanding of giving, helping to create a culture of generosity. For individual congregants, it can be the greatest faith-raising experience of their lives. Running the campaigns concurrently does not elevate the capital campaign to the special event it can be in the life of the church.
If you have additional questions or would like more information about conducting a capital campaign, please get in touch with Jill White, Lead Regional Mission Interpreter, UCC Church Building & Loan Fund, at whitej@ucc.org. For an overview of CB&LF’s Capacity Building Services, visit cblfund.org.
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