Round Tables

Running a successful endowment and planned giving program feels impossible.

Volunteers rarely have either the time or the experience to pull off a solid planned giving/endowment program. These volunteers are dedicated and very bright, but they need experience in very diverse fields of investments, marketing, administration and governance.

Committees are essentially like islands. Each one seems to have their own specialty, usually different from all of the others. Transporting ideas between 15-20 island-committees through individual meetings is extremely time consuming and an inefficient indirect way to convey information. Building on each other’s good ideas can take years, and momentum inevitably dies.

One solution that works is a series of Direct Meetings with others in the same position:

Gather everyone together to exchange ideas, experience and materials. Direct round-table communications and a direct literature exchange brings the power of (##) churches to each single church. With these resources, a single church can re-position its committee to focus more on their own implementation of readily usable ideas and materials.

Occasional meetings (every 6 months) keep each of these committees actively engaged.

Invited

The typical attendee is a representative from any church in a 90 minute radius that has an active planned giving/endowment committee. Active committees can focus on advanced skills, techniques, and endowment repair-work. This is not necessarily an appropriate venue for start-ups or inquirers. At the outset, the target size might be large enough to offer a breadth of experience and small enough to have open conversation. In Washington DC, after 4 years, approximately 35 attend. The large size would not have worked at the outset, but in its current form attendees know each other well and it does not inhibit open discussion.

Making It Relevant and Topics Covered

At the first meeting, it is worthwhile for each representative to introduce themselves and offer a self-assessment of their committee – sharing their top 3 successes and their top 3 challenges. The representatives note who can help them/whom they can help. This improves the quality of open discussion and future presentations.

After introductions, there can be one or two mini-presentations on a program or particular aspect of a program that has worked. The presentation includes the plan, the materials and the results.

Some of the most-requested topics:
• Marketing to congregations.
• Investment oversight.
• Investment policies and procedures.
• Legal and fiduciary responsibilities.
• Annual reporting to the congregation.
• Fixing past perceived and real mismanagement.
• Fighting the annual and capital campaigns.
• Naming gifts.
• Legacy societies.
• Record keeping.
• How to spend endowments.

Sample of the Format

Mid-week from 10AM – 12PM (Many remain until 1PM)

15 min. - Gathering with coffee and pastries
- Each representative distributes their materials to each place at the table (marketing, articles, policies, annual report, etc.)
20 min. – Intro’s and description of their each attendee’s program (to incl. successes and challenges)
15 min. – Presentation on a small initiative – usually a solution to a problem
45 min. – Keynote: presentation of a larger concept that has worked and can be easily used and/or duplicated by the churches present
Lunch – open discussion

In 6 months, do it again.... and then again. It works.