Letter from Geoff Gavett, VP for Finance

ANNOUNCEMENT OF PROPOSED CHANGE TO POLICY ON
CONFIDENTIALITY OF CHURCH PLEDGING DATA

April 6, 2006

Dear UUCSS Members:

I serve as your Vice President for Finance on the UUCSS Board of Trustees.

The Board is soliciting opinions and comments from the members of the congregation on a proposed amendment to UUCSS policies regarding access to pledging data. If adopted, the proposed amendment will allow the individuals holding the following positions to access pledging data:

I will first describe the previously existing policy; explain an administrative modification to the policy that has already been adopted by the Board; and then explain a pending motion to further modify the policy to expand access to our Minister and President of the Board.

Prior Policy Relating to Confidentiality of Pledging Data

Prior to the Board of Trustee’s March 2006 meeting, the policies of the Church contained the following provision relating to access to pledging data:

In order to maintain confidentiality of individual or household pledging data, only the Canvass Chairs(s), the Collector, and the Treasurer shall have access to the data they must have to perform their specific functions.

Administrative Modification to the Policy

Since the adoption of the policy set forth above, there have been many changes to the Church’s governing structure and to its method of doing business. For example, the position of Vice President of Finance was included as a Board of Trustees position after the original policy was adopted. In addition, due to the growth in the church’s membership, a paid bookkeeper has been hired to assist the Church in maintaining comprehensive financial books and records. The Church has also employed a database program to maintain membership data to generate a number of reports and letters, including letters to the membership required to confirm annual charitable donations for tax purposes. Finally, the Board recognized that access to the pledging data was essential to assist the Membership Committee in maintaining current membership roles.

At its meeting of March 2006, the Board approved a modification of the existing policy to recognize an expanded list of Church officer and employee positions that would be approved to have access to this data. That list now includes the following positions:

1. Vice President for Finance;
2. Treasurer;
3. Collector;
4. Canvass Chair(s);
5. Individual Canvassers, but only with respect to the members to whom they are assigned for purpose of the Canvass;
6. Bookkeeper;
7. Church Database Manager; and
8. Membership Committee Chair.

The Board felt that these changes were necessary to conform the policy to the existing governing and administrative structure.

However, the Board also felt strongly that the confidentiality of the data should be reinforced with each individual who holds an approved position. The policy was therefore further amended to require that each individual holding a position entitling them to access to pledging data also sign a Confidentiality Agreement acknowledging the policy and agreeing to return the hard copy or delete the electronic version of any such data maintained by them when they cease to hold the position. It should be emphasized that the individuals occupying these positions are authorized to have access only to the extent necessary to perform their duties. They are authorized to discuss the data only with other individuals holding an approved position.

Additional Proposed Modification to the Policy

In addition to the changes already made by the Board, I have proposed that the list be expanded to include two additional positions: the Minister and the President of the Board of Trustees. The Board recognized that the proposal to add these two positions involved a more qualitative change to the policy. Therefore, the Board consensus was to notify the congregation of the proposed change and solicit comment from the membership.

Reasons for Expanding the Policy

Prior to proposing an expansion of the policy, I asked the UUA whether there was any denominational policy or recommendation regarding the Minister's or the Board President's access to pledge data. I received the following response from Ralph Mero, Director of the UUA Office of Church Staff Finances, who has given me permission to re-publish his comments. Ralph wrote:

Like most Protestant denominations, UUs are breaking out of the traditional conspiracy of silence around church giving.  More and more congregations now make that information available to the minister as well as key officers, and I estimate that at least half of UU parish ministers know who is contributing how much to the church budget.

My nine-year’s experience responding to inquiries from congregational leaders and ministers about church finances convinces me that it is very important that the minister know the amounts of individual pledges, and also the progress that members are making in paying those pledges.   Other key leaders privy to this information will be the congregational President, Treasurer, Canvass Chair, and, often, the church administrator.

This approach will not be well received by all UU givers, but I feel it is much healthier if every person or couple making a pledge receives a letter acknowledging the amount of the pledge that is signed by the President, the Canvass Chair, the Treasurer, and the Minister.

Let’s ask the opposite question?  Why shouldn’t ministers know the amount of individual pledges?  Concerns might be: -          She might treat some people differently if she knows their pledge amount.
-          People might be embarrassed if she knows how little they give.
-          She might leak this information to others.

These concerns would appear to raise other more important problems of trust, fairness, and confidentiality to deal with.

In my view, the two most important reasons for the minister to know pledge amounts are:

-          So the minister knows who thank for their generous gifts, and “generous” is not always the same thing as “large.”  Some pledges by persons of modest means represent a higher percentage of disposable income than bigger pledges by persons who are really wealthy.  Unless givers are individually and warmly thanked by the minister for their support of the congregation, levels of generous giving are not reinforced.

-          So the minister will be alert to the need for pastoral intervention if a member doesn’t pay the pledge he or she made at the beginning of the year, or if the level of payment drops significantly.  This may signal financial or other difficulties in the household that the minister should be aware of.  The pledge can always be written off or the rate of payment delayed if circumstances warrant.

I will add to Ralph’s comment a third point as to why the Minister’s knowledge of and input on pledging data is important: In evaluating the results of a Canvass or other fundraising drive, it is often difficult to understand why the congregation’s patterns of giving trend one way or another. In my authorized capacity, I have studied the data at great length and have concluded that I would be greatly assisted by the input of the Minister in interpreting the data and in planning a fundraising drive for 2007.

I also note that we entrust our Minister with a number of matters that are confidential in nature and therefore feel it is incongruous for us to not trust her with the issue of pledging data.

Finally, I believe strongly that past fundraising efforts at UUCSS have been hampered by difficulties we have experienced in discussing monetary issues and the relationship between money and our Church's mission and vision.  I hope that this e-mail will begin the first of many conversations within UUCSS about stewardship, our hopes and dreams for UUCSS, and the role of generosity in our individual and communal lives.

Your Comments on the Proposed Change

The members of the Board are seeking your comments and questions on the proposed policy change.  The Board members hope to receive responses to this proposed policy prior to the April 2006 Board Meeting by getting responses via e-mail, hard copy correspondence or in person. E-mail comments may be sent to Board@UUCSS.org. This address is routed only to the serving Board membership. Hard copy correspondence may be directed to the Church office to the attention of the Vice President for Finance.

Consistent with her monthly practice, our Board President, Maud Clarke, will be available after services on April 23 at the Choir Loft to answer the questions of church members on any issue they care to raise. This would be an ideal opportunity to discuss your comments in favor of or against the proposed change in policy. You also should feel free to approach any of the Board members to convey your thoughts. The current Board Members in addition to Maud and me are Mark Ferrenz, Olivia Pickett, Laura Ellis, Jeanette Fast Redmond, Meredith Massey, Neil Donovan, and Jenny Kelley.

Rev. Liz has asked that I also mention that she would be available and glad to discuss this issue with any member desiring her perspective on this issue.

Lastly, our Board Meetings are open to the members unless the Board sits in executive session. This policy will not be considered in executive session, and any member desiring to address the Board on the issue is welcome to attend on Tuesday, April 25 in the New Miller Room at 7:30 p.m.

I thank you in advance for your patience in reviewing this announcement and for your feedback on the issue.

Geoffrey S. Gavett
Vice President for Finance
UUCSS
(h) gstetsong@comcast.net
(o) ggavett@gavettdatt.com