Drafting and Presenting an Effective Narrative Budget

1. Drafting and Presenting an Effective Narrative Budget Jim Newman (Retired) Director of Stewardship and Financial Development Anglican Diocese of Niagara October 18, 2008

2. Today’s workshop • The Impact of a Narrative Budget • A very important insight • Tools and Techniques • Saving development time and effort • Telling your story • Keeping it simmering all year long

3. Inquiry from a Rector • Would I come to a parish meeting to talk about doing an every-member visitation? • Would I talk about stewardship too? • Some problems

4. At the meeting . . . • Body language . . . • Comments . . .

5. “I don’t want to do an every member visitation. People will just think I’m asking for their money!”

6. “Let me show you something . . .” • It’s a booklet about your parish • It’s called a Narrative Budget • If you like it, I’ll show you how you can modify and improve it . . . easily!

7. The impact was amazing! • The body language changed completely!

8. Remember that person who said: “I don’t want to do an every member visitation. People will just think I’m asking for their money!”

9. parishioners She interrupted with: “We could take this along when we go on our visits, couldn’t we!”

10. So what is a Narrative Budget? • the sacred story of the ministry of a parish • One of the most important ways we can effect on-going stewardship education • an essential element in educating your congregation about how their money is being utilized to support the ministry of the parish

11. An important insight • Donors don’t give their money TO the church… • …they give THROUGH the church to touch the lives of other people • Donors will give generously when they feel their money is making a difference

12. Churches have a different starting point • Our faith calls us to view the deployment of money much differently than secular institutions

13. The difference • A Line Item Budget is an accounting tool • A Narrative Budget is an educational and visioning tool • We need both but we must be more intentional in how we use both

14. Line item budgets • do not show how money is being invested in ministry • do not show how volunteer time and talent are impacting parish life • Worst of all – they do not inspire!

15. A Narrative Budget • Clearly shows how money is being invested in the various components of parish life • Helps donors to re-frame what the parish is all about

16. A Narrative Budget • Inspires donors and helps them see their donations are really making a difference • Is a proven tool for increasing financial commitment to the ministry of the parish

17. So how does a parish create a Narrative Budgeting? • It looks like a lot of work!

18. Every parish has several key components of ministry . . . • Pastoral Care • Christian Education • Worship and Music • Evangelism and Hospitality • Outreach • In-reach and Fellowship (Parish Life)

19. All parish expenditures can be allocated to these six ministries

20. Pastoral Care • Christian Education • Worship and Music • Evangelism and Hospitality • Outreach • In-reach and Fellowship (Parish Life) • Notice that ADMINISTRATION is not a category on this list

21. Line item budget

22. A Narrative budget allocates those costs to Ministries

23. A Narrative Budget: • Combines allocated costs, ministry descriptions, and future plans • It’s meaningful, motivating, and inspiring

24. Creating a Narrative Budget • There are lots of people in your parish who will assist you to • Allocate costs to ministries • Develop the spreadsheet • Create graphs • Write descriptive comments • Assemble the narrative budget document

25. BTW, you can . . . • Download spreadsheet templates and text from Niagara’s website www.niagara.anglican.ca • Modify them, fill in your own data, and generate pie charts for your parish’s Narrative Budget • Reduce development time by 75% OR MORE!

26. Here’s the website www.niagara.anglican.ca Click on Programs, and then Click on Stewardship Development Refer to NARRATIVE BUDGET TOOLKIT

27. A small team approach • Start by getting your full time staff to track how they spend their time for a month • (reviewing day planners is helpful)

28. E.g. Rector’s time: • Christian Education 15% • Outreach 10% • Worship 10% • In-reach and Fellowship 10% • Evangelism and Hospitality 35% • Pastoral Care 20% • Use this formula for related line items that are difficult to allocate e.g. Benefits

29. Some line items in your budget will be easy to allocate • E.g. Church school supplies to Christian education

30. Other items will be more difficult to allocate • E.g. Office Supplies

31. It’s important to remember • A Narrative Budget is directional • Don’t get too caught up on delivering accuracy

32. And remember • it’s an educational tool • Helping reframe minds and getting donors to think about how their donation is used is more important than accuracy • The line item budget still exists

33. Sample pie chart

35. The net message you want donors to take away is • 14 cents of every dollar I give goes to Pastoral Care • 34 cents of every dollar I give goes to Outreach • etc.

36. We can emphasize other messages

37. Creating the “narrative” for each ministry • Download the text from Niagara’s web site • Modify the “bullets” to show the impact the ministry is having in YOUR parish • Your donors will be inspired to take much greater ownership of parish ministries

38. Sample narrative content • Our Ministry of Pastoral Care involves the following services: • taking of home communion to three local nursing homes each month • on call at two local funeral homes and follow up with the mourners from 30 funerals last year • frequent visiting at three local hospitals to care for parishioners recovering from illness • Etc.

39. Getting your story out . . . • Narrative Budgeting booklets • Bulletin inserts • Parish website • Fall Stewardship mailings • Personal contact • Intercessory prayers • Vestry reports • Parish newsletter

40. Using Sunday Worship to tell your ministry stories • Include a bulletin insert each week for six weeks highlighting a different ministry (NB pages) • Pray specifically for that ministry • Ministry Moments: Tell a story about (or by) a person being touched by that ministry

41. You can also find a basic template for calculating and reporting volunteer hours against the six categories of ministry at the same web address

42. Volunteer time for Sunday worship Altar guild – two people X 2 hours= 4 hours Choir – ten members X 2 hours of worship and two hours of practice time = 40 hours Readers, chalice bearers, server, crucifer, counters, sides-people, litanist, 10 X 1.5 hours = 15 hours Totals almost 70 hours of volunteer time per week Over 44 weeks =3,080 hours of volunteer time in Sunday morning worship alone!

43. In an average parish • When you factor in all ministries, we estimate that 10,000 – 15,000 hours per year are volunteered • That’s a significant impact on any local community • Include in your Narrative Budget!

44. Narrative Budgeting is an evolving process • Each year you will get better at it • You’ll add stories about volunteer time and talent, plans for the future, planned giving, etc. • The documents improve with each cycle • People will begin to think of the funding of the ministries of the parish in a new way

45. Vestry Meetings • We need to change how we view money and ministry • Long before vestry you will have begun the process of education and awareness around the Narrative Budget

46. Vestry Meetings • We distribute the Narrative Budget prior to our annual vestry meeting

47. As a faith-based organization be determined in your desire to talk about money and ministry in a new way. • Don’t fall back on the line item budget for future decision making.

48. Vestry will no longer be viewed as the annual BUSINESS meeting of the parish • It will become THE ANNUAL MISSION AND MINISTRY MEETING

49. Parishioners start looking forward to your annual Vestry meeting!! 

50. newmanjf@cogeco.ca