An email from Conference Minister Rev. Dr. Bill Lyons went out to all Southwest Conference church moderators and treasurers of record. The topics may be of interest to other church leaders.

CREATING CULTURES OF GENEROSITY

This is a link to the third in a 3 part series of articles on creating a culture of generosity in your congregation. Parts 1 and 2 can be accessed from this page. It’s a good place to start, and not the training material I use in person. If your congregation would like to schedule generosity weekend I am very glad to visit your church (Friday-Sunday) and do more in-depth leadership training, congregational training, and preach. My material is based on the Lily Institute School of Philanthropy’s Executive Certificate in Religious Fundraising course I completed. To schedule a Generosity Weekend you may contact my executive assistant, Genevieve Benham.

Extravagant Generosity During a Pandemic from Andrew Warner, UCC OPTIC Office

ONLINE GIVING

Last night the SWC staff learned that many churches already use online giving platforms. For churches that do not, one option used by many of our congregations included the UCCegive (Vanco); you will find that information here: UCC Electronic Giving webpage If you have further questions about online giving information presented by Liana Rowe, you may contact her at lrowe@uccswc.org

LEGAL QUESTIONS

Here is a summary sheet explaining the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and its possible impact on your church. Highlights of this law which goes into effect April 2, 2020 are found on the attached summary sheet. Please note that Authorized ministers employed for that purpose may be exempt from these laws. There is no prohibition on providing a policy with similar provisions for ministers, and settings of the United Church of Christ may wish to do so; the Southwest Conference recommends doing so as a best practice.
IRS rules for classifying workers changed in 2017. The IRS has provided very useful guidance for deciding whether your workers need to be classified employees or contractors. The impact of these rule changes on churches has been that many workers treated as contractors now fall under the ‘employee’ classification and must be treated as such.

WHAT TO DO IF SOMEONE IS EXPOSED TO COVID-19

PLAN E: E is for Exposure. Two congregations in the SWC have had someone who may have contracted COVID-19 participating at in-person church activities and potentially exposing other participants to the virus. These are the steps that the SWC advises congregations follow under such circumstances. Please call me (602-317-2724) if you believe you need to initiate this action plan. I am here to be an objective resource to assist you in determining if action is needed. Please DO NOT use this action plan UNLESS someone at an in-person church activity has potentially exposed others to COVID-19.

Plan S: S is for staff and the document is a template you may find useful for handling staff exposure to COVID-19. May none of us need to use this policy. Having it in place before someone becomes sick is useful.

PLAN H: Southwest Conference Staff Working From Home is attached. This document provides useful information about connecting to the SWC staff during the next few weeks.

Barbie Whiteman shared First Church Phoenix's experience with Givelify, mentioned by Chris Wickersham during the Zoom call:

First Church UCC Phoenix has used Givelify online giving app for almost 3 years. No set-up or monthly maintenance fees. Transaction fees are similar to those of other apps shared on Bill’s screen last night. Unique giving categories can be set-up… using defaults or customized descriptors. These can be changed at any time according to your seasonal appeals or special offerings. ACH credits (less the fees) post directly to the church’s bank account within a day or two of the donation. Email notifications are received for every individual donation. Data export functionality is available with transaction detail for donors and donations in several formats. This reporting allows for easy recording to giving records. Personally, I encourage the online banking bill pay functionality offered by most financial institutions for our regular donors, as I am particularly fee-averse. I am a retired banker 😊. We’ve been highly satisfied with Givelify.

Lastly, here are notes from our zoom call and the link to the recording of the call.