Congregational Meeting to Vote on
Capital Campaign Consultants
March 7, 12:30 PM
Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/822691346
Join by Phone Call: +1 (206) 337-9723
Meeting ID: 822 691 346
At our July 2020 annual meeting, Our Redeemer’s voted to take out a loan of $800,000 to cover the remaining cost of our vision-aligned building renovation. When our building is complete (scheduled for mid-August), whatever portion of that loan we have expended will come due as a monthly mortgage. The loan was acquired with the understanding we would undertake a capital campaign to offset or even do away with the mortgage.
The Council interviewed two firms: Olson Advancement, with Pastor Steve Olson, who led our original capital campaign, and Generis Generosity, a national organization with 30 years of experience coaching and guiding congregations. Generis’ approach is not simply to raise funds, but they work with congregations to clarify the vision for giving, and develop a “make-it-last” generosity mindset to outlast the campaign.
Council was impressed with Generis, and recommends we hire them. Because any expense in the budget over $10,000 is more than Our Redeemer’s constitutional limit, we will vote on this. Technically, Generis’ $28,000 fees will not be part of our annual budget, and will come from the capital campaign, but that was not included in the renovation budget, so congregational approval is sought. Jennifer Perrow and Pastor Kristen Capel from Generis will join the congregational meeting by Zoom, make a presentation and answer your questions. (This meeting will not require check-ins or Personal Identification Numbers.)
Our Generosity Team plan to work with Generis for the next few years on our annual pledging emphasis and to develop Our Redeemer’s awareness of all our current generosity, and future possibilities.
Want to see the Generis proposal? Please contact Karie Stearns, administrator@ourredeemers.net.
MEET JENNIFER PERROW AND PASTOR KRISTEN CAPEL ~ the Generis Generosity Consulting Team
Greetings, people of God at Our Redeemer’s! We have so enjoyed meeting Pastor Kathy and having brief conversations with some of your leadership over the past months. We want to begin by saying that the spirit of joy, depth of relationship, and engagement in community at Our Redeemer’s have deeply impressed us. We are beyond excited by the opportunity to walk alongside your leadership to help you articulate a vision for your beautiful new space, reduce the debt you have incurred, and help accelerate generosity at Our Redeemer’s for years to come.
The two of us bring nearly 50 years of combined experience to this engagement. Kristen has been an ELCA Pastor for 18 years and has led many successful annual and capital appeals. Having served ELCA congregations of a variety of sizes, she has the ability to “read the room” when it comes to the unique giftedness of each congregation she encounters. Her grounding in Lutheran theology and worship, and experience as a visionary leader will help provide guidance as Our Redeemer’s seeks to articulate a vision for continued community engagement and ministry in Ballard and around the world.
Jennifer brings years of experience helping churches build and sustain stewardship programs that prompt spiritual growth in congregants and result in additional resources churches can utilize to engage in missional work in their communities. She happens to live right down the street from Our Redeemer’s, so her years of watching the church’s engagement in the Ballard community gives Jennifer the contextual framework to better engage the people and community partners.
We teamed up early in the pandemic to specifically provide free resources and support to ELCA pastors around the country who needed immediate help; and we have completed an annual campaign together during COVID, and several campaigns individually, so we have learned some things about how to adapt given our current ‘virtual’ reality.
We would consider it a deep privilege to come alongside Our Redeemer’s in this season to help you articulate your vision and raise resources for “the next great thing” that God wants to do in your church. On the homepage of your website, you have described yourself as a church committed to “compassion, community and justice for all” — we agree with you and applaud you as you continue to discern how your church can share Christ’s compassion and work for justice in the lives of your congregants and the people in surrounding communities.
As a team, we believe that the single most important thing a church can do is to clarify its vision. With a beautiful new space and a desire to open your doors to the surrounding community, we can’t think of a more appropriate time for Our Redeemer’s to uncover the next layer of God’s vision for your future. We would be delighted to help lead you through a Capital Appeal process that helps clarify vision, builds excitement and engagement within your congregation, gains Our Redeemer’s visibility in the larger community, and fully funds your vision.
With joyful anticipation –
Jennifer Perrow and Pastor Kristen Capel
If you have any difficulties or questions relating to accessing this meeting, please call Katlin Dickinson-Laurence at 206-783-7900.