Passionate Steward - 10th Anniversary Edition

112 THE PASSIONATE STEWARD
and which leads many Churches to engage in some type of annual
financial appeal. For this reason I believe it useful to review some
of the more common plans and programs to encourage people to
give their treasure in support of the mission and ministry of the
Church. The brief critique of each of these programs should not be
considered exhaustive, nor strictly stewardship based, but rather
includes both secular and stewardship centered criticisms.
IMPERSONAL APPROACHES
Few parishes engage in purely impersonal approaches to
financial appeals, and some—particularly amongst the historic
mainline Churches—not at all. However, such appeals are
implemented by some communities, and are certainly standard
practice in the secular not-for-profit arena. Some of these
approaches have included:
Direct Mail Appeal
In a direct mail appeal, an organization mails letters to its
“donor base” describing its current financial needs, and asking for a
financial declaration (pledge) by return post. The Church is more
likely to get a high rate of return using this method than secular
charities, although the return is only marginally higher. Most
parishioners take seriously the idea that they belong to a community
of faith, and therefore do not respond well to highly impersonal
bulk mailings. Some parishes have attempted, with uneven success,
to improve their rate of return by personalizing the salutation, or by
adding handwritten messages to the standard letter. Experience
shows that parishes which choose a direct mail appeal as their
primary method of eliciting annual financial declarations (pledges)
are rarely concerned with either creativity and/or personalization,
however. Some parishes restrict the use of direct mail solicitation to
specific appeals, most especially at year’s end, in the event of a
financial shortfall. The greatest problem with this approach, aside