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Thank you for making Treasurers Day a big success!
What a wonderful turnout we had! Thanks for attending and for giving us great direction on what you need most in the future. We're already planning next year's Treasurers Day around your advice. In the meantime, we hope each following issue of this eResource will be a help as we cater it to the topics you've suggested. For starters, since you asked about endowment policies, here's two upcoming ECF webinars you can register for:
Plan now for Treasurers Day 2015: Sat., March 14
We heard that you liked the timing of this year's Treasurers Day, so we plan to stick with it next year. Please mark your calendars for Saturday, March 14, 2015. We will most likely keep the 9 am to 3 pm hours, and we'll let you know when we have identified the location.
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Please ask your parish clergy!
Is your church participating in the 92nd annual Good Friday Offering? If not, might you consider it?
Since 1922, Episcopalians have supported the ministries of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East with the Good Friday Offering. Funds raised help Christians in the Middle East maintain a peacemaking and stabilizing presence in the region, serving their neighbors regardless of faith background.
To make a donation to the Good Friday Offering, write a check payable to the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, with the memo "Good Friday Offering," and mail it to:
DFMS - Protestant Episcopal Church US
P.O. Box 958983
St. Louis, MO 63195-8983
For more information, contact the Rev. Canon Robert Edmunds, officer for the Middle East.
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The spiritual side of finances
During tough economic times, it can be a challenge to think clearly about the parish budget.
Vestries rightly worry about deficits, losses, and funding gaps. But Episcopal financial and strategic planner Elizabeth Whitten argues that when vestries shift the budgetary focus from deficits to abundance, they are in a better position to make decisions.
In this article from ECF Vestry Practices, Whitten helps reframe the way vestries look at income statements, encouraging people to consider important questions about impact -- not only what the church is spending where, but also who benefits. That creates a good framework to use when tough decisions are needed.
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How to create a legacy fund
You want to grow a planned giving program, but you don't know quite how. Here are two online resources to show you the way:
This PDF from the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia provides a simple, digestible, but comprehensive step-by-step look at how to get your legacy fund up and running -- from the planning phases through a sample charter and sample worship elements for an annual Legacy Sunday Celebration.
This webpage from ECF Vital Practices offers tips on creating a legacy society brochure and enrollment form, including sample text for each. It also links to an article entitled "Legacy and Generosity," a deeply personal story of one family's approach to living and leaving a legacy.
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