Letter to the Pastor
Dear Pastor,
I have been working with Ed Horne, Chairperson of the Conference Council on Finance and Administration; Jeff Rarich, Executive Director of the New York/Connecticut Foundation; and Ann Pearson, Director of Connectional Ministries, to develop new approaches to raise capital, both short-term through one time giving and long-term through planned giving. I am a member of the New York Annual Conference Board of Trustees and was appointed Chair of the Camp/Retreat task force by Bishop Lyght. We have developed an exciting new education program for pastors and, in particular, for members of your congregation.
Our program has been endorsed by the NYAC Board of Trustees, the Council of Finance and Administration, the New York/Connecticut Foundation and the Office of Connectional Ministries.
Our stewardship philosophy is simple:
- We need to do more for our congregation before the church expects more from its members.
- We must demonstrate that we genuinely care about our members' livelihoods and share their financial burdens.
- We must show that, indeed we care so much, we will provide financial planning services to each and every member of our congregation who chooses to pursue a free personal consultation.
- We must show that we care so much that we will provide estate and elder care planning services at a discount of up to 50% for our members.
When we help our congregation get on solid financial ground, it's a "Win - Win - Win" for everyone. Our congregation benefits, our church benefits, our members providing services at a discount benefit.
Our program has been designed for active participation throughout the calendar year. Stewardship programming must be ongoing, not just thought of in the context of an annual campaign. I will be happy to send you a PowerPoint presentation that describes our program in greater detail.
This program has already achieved success at Woodbury and Smithtown UMC. We have been able to generate substantial free will offerings and we are actively pursuing planned giving opportunities with specific individuals who have expressed an interest in this component of our program. Feel free to contact Barbara Melzer or Tim Riss about the merits of this program. Indeed, Jeff Rarich has said to me that he cannot provide the services we will be offering. Jeff recognizes that offering something of value to the congregation with no strings attached creates goodwill and greater likelihood that our membership will reciprocate. Furthermore, while Jeff could only recommend strategic solutions, we are able to provide professionals from our congregation who can implement the solution. Is this not, Stewardship in Action!
We would greatly appreciate your thoughts about this program and whether it would be of interest to you.
Peace,
Ed Ruppmann
NYAC Board of Trustee & Chair of Camp/Retreat Task Force
212 816-5993
516 364-1151
edrupp50@aol.com