ECCU Blog

Have you ever attended a Christian Management Association (CMA) brown bag luncheon? If not, April is a good time to get in on one of these monthly events if you’re in the San Jose or Sacramento area. They provide an informal roundtable atmosphere to network with your ministry peers and engage in a guided discussion led by an industry expert.

Two luncheons are scheduled for April:

April 12 (Thursday) from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.
Crossroads Bible Church
1670 Moorpark Avenue
San Jose, CA 95128

April 13 (Friday) from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.
Epic Bible College
4330 Auburn Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95841

These luncheons are open to all ministry executives. The San Jose luncheon is geared specifically for business administrators, chief financial officers, and IT/technology staff, while the Sacramento luncheon will be of special interest to business administrators. CMA members attend free; cost for non-members is $10 (pay at the door). Everyone brings their own lunch and no RSVP is required.

To learn more about these luncheons, email Pam Boersma at pam.boersma@cmanational.org or visit www.eccu.org/resources/events.

There are three ways to communicate. You can tell people something. You can show them. Or you can do both. A couple days ago I told you that ECCU is presenting a panel discussion workshop at the upcoming Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA) National Conference. It’s called How to Build a Better Budget. I also told you that the panelists know whereof they speak when it comes to ministry budgeting.

Starting with today’s post, I’d like to show you that these people know their numbers. How? I emailed three questions to each one of them and asked them to respond from their ministry and financial perspective. Consider this a preview of the richness of the discussion you’ll get to experience by attending this workshop.

First up is Billy Burnett, executive vice president and CFO with Joni and Friends.

MBG:  What top three priorities should guide the budgeting process?

Billy:     First, make sure it aligns strategically and tactically with your ministry’s mission. Second, be sure it’s based in biblical and financial reality. And third, be sure to tap into the collective wisdom and experience of your entire organization.

MBG:  What are two or three major changes you’ve made to your budgeting process and what was the result?

Billy:     One is that we switched to a live budget preparation, collaboration, and approval process. The benefits were that we got instant approvals and people walked away from the process with their budgets in hand. Second is to shorten the budget preparation time, which resulted in sharper focus and better planning.

MBG:  How can an attendee prepare to gain the most value from this workshop?

Billy:     I’d say come with a list of objectives. Include problems you’re facing that need solutions. And come prepared to contribute to the group by describing things you’ve done that have proved to be fruitful.

Like I said, these panelists know how to budget. Their workshop will be on Thursday, April 11, from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.

To register for the CLA conference, visit www.claconference.org.

One of many lessons ministries have learned in recent years is the importance of cash reserves—having funds available when you need them. Without adequate reserves, the pursuit of your ministry’s mission may be in jeopardy.

One source of good guidance about cash reserves for your ministry will be at the 2012 Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA) National Conference in Orlando, Florida. The conference runs from April 10 to 12. ECCU Ministry Development Officer David Lee and Senior Banking Consultant Mark Jones will present a workshop titled Cash Reserves: Why you need them. How to build them.

Between them, David and Mark have been serving ministries at ECCU for more than 40 years. Here’s what you can expect to learn from their session:

• What constitutes reserves and why they’re so important for every ministry
• About the process a ministry goes through to set a cash reserves target
• About the struggles and benefits ministries have experienced as they worked to achieve their cash reserve goals

If you attend the CLA National Conference this year, plan on joining David and Mark for this session on Wednesday, April 11, from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m.

To register for the CLA conference, visit www.claconference.org.

The 2012 Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA) National Conference in Orlando, Florida, will be a prime venue for us to demonstrate ECCU’s commitment to investing in ministry. During the three-day event (April 10–12), we’ll present two financial workshops and show videos at two general sessions that illustrate the kingdom impact ECCU member ministries are having.

The two workshops are part of the conference’s educational program:

• ECCU Ministry Development Officer David Lee and ECCU Vice President and Senior Banking Consultant Mark Jones will co-present “Cash Reserves: Why you need them. How to build them.” on Wednesday, April 11, from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m.
• “How to Build a Better Budget,” a panel discussion moderated by Mark Jones, will be offered on Thursday, April 12, from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. The panel will feature three seasoned ministry financial experts: Hugh Burns, vice president of operations for the Denver Rescue Mission; Billy Burnett, executive vice president and CFO with Joni and Friends; and Vonna Laue, audit partner with CapinCrouse LLP.                 

Conference attendees who register at ECCU’s booth in the conference exhibit hall will be eligible to win a new iPad^®. (For the complete Official Rules*, visit www.eccu.org/cla-sweepstakes.)

Are you going to the CLA conference? You can learn more and register at www.claconference.org.

I came across this great reminder of simple but important ways to thank and communicate to donors from Nonprofit Marketing Guide.

I especially love this suggestion: “Write a Greeting Card, Not a Business Letter.” It probably stands out to me because I have been on the receiving end of such a thank-you. One ministry I support does this very well. Even with an automatic monthly donation, I get a personalized thank-you note from a different person in the ministry each month.  They tell me how important I am to the ministry and how my gift is making a difference.  Even though I still get a receipt, it’s the personalized note that really makes me feel connected with the individuals and ministry as a whole. This is certainly a different feel than when I just get a generic thank-you letter from another ministry I give to.

Have any of these nine ideas been used at your ministry? Do you have other meaningful ways to thank your donors?