Getting Ready for the Canvass

Spring brings flowers, baseball and congregation canvass. For many congregation leaders the canvass is a dreaded event. Dreaded because it is intensive, complicated and, well, because it is about money, a topic that makes people uncomfortable. There is no one right way to do a canvass – though there are wrong ways, like just writing a letter. But there are a number of elements that are important regardless of what specific form the canvass will take.

• Planning – it takes time to plan a good canvass. A “thrown together” canvass will rarely be successful.
• Targeted – the overall message is the same, but how the message is delivered and what is emphasized
  needs to be customized to meet the needs, expectations, and information processing style of the different groups in the congregations – senior adults, young adults, people with children, etc.
• Giver Focused – individuals who are already pledging are the best prospect from which to continue to receive pledges and obtain increases. While it is good to get something from everyone, some people do not have a sense of responsibility and will never pledge. Do not waste valuable time and resources on these individuals.
• Mission not budget – money follows mission. The budget is only an accounting tool. Do not canvass
  to the budget. Explain (aka sell) the vision and mission of the congregation. A pre-canvass budget should be shown as goal in programmatic form.
• Emphasize connection and community – help members see themselves as part of a community
  that needs their involvement to flourish.
• Enthusiasm – the canvass team and all the leadership need to show enthusiasm, not dread, about the stewardship campaign. And no “guilt-tripping” people to get them to give.

District staff is available to help congregations. Contact us as 508-559-6650 or BCDoffice@uua.org.

Bill Zelazny, District Executive (BCD in Brief, 2/2005)