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Insights sought on potential capital campaign

By Melissa Lauber
UMConnection Staff

How much are you willing to invest in the  church’s future? It’s a question to which leaders  of the Baltimore-Washington Conference are  excited about hearing an answer.

Early in 2013, the conference will hold a series of  regional listening days to gather insights into levels of  interest for a capital funds campaign and how such a  campaign can best resource local churches that may be  seeking innovative solutions to budget challenges.

Initial thoughts revolve around a campaign built on  partnership. The conference would provide extensive  training from a professional fundraising agency to  interested local churches. Local churches would then  conduct their campaigns and return a percentage of  the funds to the connectional church.

The feasibility of such a campaign was raised by  members of the annual conference at the 2012 session  in May. Members asked that a comprehensive study  be undertaken to explore a capital campaign as a way  of financing the conference’s 2020 Vision, whose goals  were adopted.

CCS, a firm that specializes in fundraising, development services and strategic consulting, was brought  on board. Their consultants conducted interviews  with 157 conference leaders and received input from  an electronic survey completed by 212 lay and clergy  members of annual conference.