Generosity Learning Opportunities

The Learning Opportunities page highlights upcoming webinars and presentations across the United Church of Christ on stewardship and generosity.

Learning opportunities are available for those interested in building a stronger financial foundation for a sustainable ministry.

We sincerely hope and pray that you, your family, and your community are doing well and staying healthy while navigating this time of pandemic. Even while social distancing, the United Church of Christ is bringing communities together in new, healthy, and meaningful ways. Your ongoing support of the United Church of Christ has already made a big difference in the time of COVID-19:

You have equipped and trained our churches to host online worship services and meetings
You are standing with our global mission partners on the front lines of addressing the pandemic and caring for those who become ill across the world
You have made it possible for thousands of UCC members to call on their representatives and senators to implement just legislation for the most vulnerable among us – the elderly, the sick, the poor
You showed our churches how to shift from in-person offering plate giving to receiving sustaining gifts electronically and through the mail

Yet, as you know, this is just a small sampling of the work we do together, nearly 5,000 churches and 825,000 people strong. In addition to addressing the pandemic, we need your help to continue to serve our churches and the world. With a gift today, you will be doing things like:

Providing inspiring, theologically-sound, creative worship resources
Training new leaders for the church
Dismantling racism
Cleaning up the 100 toxic super polluters we recently identified and named publicly
Equipping our churches to address the drug crisis sweeping our land

We are extremely grateful for your past donations and ask that you renew and consider increasing your support in this critical time with a gift to the UCC Annual Fund today.

For more information on how the United Church of Christ is managing the crisis, please visit https://www.ucc.org/coronavirus.

2023 STEWARDSHIP WEBINARS

Webinars offered from 6:30 to 7:30pm Central Time

Apr 26 – Rethinking What God Calls Volunteers to Do

Registration: https://ucc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZModOqtqT4vGNI4Cr7C2c3C0N18Ta97FVp9

Rev. Bridget Flad Daniels of Union UCC in Green Bay, WI, and Rev. Elana Larson of the National Ministries will reflect on ways to engage volunteers and hear God’s call to something new when you can’t find volunteers. They will help us think about ways to make more dynamic volunteer experiences.

May 24 – Building an Endowment

Registration: https://UCC.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYscOCqqDgrGNQ-gPb0Cyrv_MR8m8hWFEzc

An endowment can support a congregation and its wider mission. But where do you start? This webinar will provide ideas and policies for creating and growing an endowment for your congregation. Rev. Andrew Warner will draw on his experience with the Wisconsin Foundation UCC when discussing how to raise, manage, and use endowment funds.

Jul 26 – Discover Your Why: How a Clear Purpose Strengthens Evangelism, Giving, and Impact

Registration: https://ucc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMldeCurzwrHdb-aw3gx8dgb9y5DOLA_reu

Andrew Warner and Kent Siladi will talk about the importance of understanding the “why” of your congregation. You will learn methods to articulate this reason for being of your Church. Together, we will consider how to use the why to motivate and engage people.

Aug 23 – Narrative Budgets: Telling your Story by the Numbers

Registration: https://ucc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYoc-2oqzgjH9zSbpYi1tZtg4lgg0b8c909

A narrative budget translates the line items of a traditional budget into a story of how your congregation makes a difference in the world. It can be a helpful tool for a stewardship campaign or annual meeting. By telling the story of our congregations’ impact, we can inspire generosity in our donors.

Sept. 27 – 5 Ways to Make an Impact: Understanding the Hopes of Our Donors to Create Change

Registration: https://ucc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pc-mqrzwqHNfMJz-tbKacUhHI2uqsSJNl

Once a upon a time, donors gave out of a sense of obligation and loyalty. Today, most donors care about the impact they make in the world. How do we understand the motivations of our donors? What kind of change do they want to make in the world? Andrew Warner will talk about five basic ways donors look to create change. We will discuss ways to discuss your congregation’s impact on your community.

Oct 25 – Donors Who Don’t Come to Church: Engaging Donors Outside of Sunday Morning

Registration: https://ucc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMtcuytqjIsG9xU9h-_NWtWW0Gk7bMS3wUc

People find multiple ways to engage in the life of a congregation. Congregations often do well at engaging people who attend in-person services regularly, volunteer and donate. But how do we meaningfully engage people online? How do we inspire those who don’t give to donate? Connect with those who share our values but are not interested in worship, in-person or online. The webinar will help us think together about various ways to engage donors beyond Sunday Morning services. Presented by Rev. Andrew Warner, CFRE, Generosity Outreach Officer, National Ministries, United Church of Christ.

Cultivating Generous Congregations Seminar

Can fundraising be ministry? Can stewardship be spiritual? The Cultivating Generous Congregations Seminar for pastors and lay leaders offers an opportunity to explore faithful, practical, and tested ways to promote generosity in our congregations. We will draw on current research, seek guidance from the wisdom of scripture, and discuss the best practices in church-based fundraising. Pastors and leaders participating in this program will be equipped to lead an effective stewardship campaign and, more broadly, help their congregation reclaim generosity as a spiritual practice.

$300 for Two Leaders – additional spots in the seminar available at $150/person.