ASSESSMENT VISIT REPORT
Name
of Congregation:
Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Lauderdale
3970 NW 21st Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
954.484.6734
954.484.6778
fax
Minister:
Reverend Gail Tapscott
(settled in 1999)
954.759.6529 home
RevGailTapscott@aol.como:p>
President:
Gary Ladka
954.969.7221 home
954.650.3228 cell
GLinFLA@aol.com
Contact
Person:
Scott Bejlovec
954.786.0185 home
954.254.8098 cell
bejlovecs@aol.com
Number
of Members: 128
Number of Pledge Units: 99
Annual
Pledge Income:
$86,127
Annual Budget: $171,600
Average
Pledge: $870
Median Pledge: $600
Mortgage: No
mortgage. Member notes totaling
$37,000 are outstanding as of 9/30/03.
Cash
reserves as of 10/30/03:
$2,500
Endowment as of 9/30/03: $185,532
Building
Fund Reserve: $305,800
Do
they conduct a face-to-face Every Member Canvass? No.
Date
and Purpose of last Capital Campaign: The last campaign was in 1985 or 1986 in
order to build the current facility on 21st
Avenue.
List
of anti-oppression and anti-racist Initiatives: None
List
of UUA Staff/Consultants in last three years: None
Does
the congregation have current Vision and Mission Statement and Long Range
Plan? The congregation adopted a mission
statement in 1994 and a long-range plan in 2001. However, one-half of the current
membership has joined since the long-range plan was adopted. Also the congregation, in my opinion,
lacks a clear focus on who it is or wants to be (the Vision) and has therefore
not yet clearly defined its missions.
Describe
proposed project and estimated costs: The present proposal is to build a
second building that would have a social hall, an improved kitchen, and two
accessible toilets. The preliminary
cost estimate is $700,000 to $750,000.
Several
years ago, a key member of the congregation died and left the Church over
$300,000 that can only be used for a building project. The congregational vote to establish the
Building Expansion Committee was premised, in large part, on the need to expend
those funds. For the last couple of
years, the interest earned on this legacy gift has been used to subsidize the
operating budget.
What
steps have been taken to prepare for this project? The
Building Expansion Committee surveyed the congregation as to the most important
building projects. Based on those
results, some preliminary designs have been developed and discussed with the
congregation. The Building
Expansion Committee appears to have been following the will of the congregation,
but now that the projected cost will exceed the bequest and require substantial
fundraising from the members of the congregation, more concerns are being
expressed.
Did
you meet with the minister? Yes. She supports the effort of the lay
leaders but is concerned that the new members have not participated in the
decision. She also feels that it
would be a good idea for the congregation to reexamine its mission statement,
develop a new vision and mission statement, and a strategic plan to guide it in
the future. If successful, such an
accomplishment would mark a major change in the way this congregation has done
business.
What
did you recommend? I recommended that work on the project
as now constituted be set aside until a new Vision and Mission statement is
developed and a strategic plan, based on that vision and mission statement and
containing estimates of income and expenditures for the next five years, is
approved by the congregation.
Without a clear sense of direction, it is difficult to tell if the
current project is the one that responds to the most urgent
requirements.
The
strategic plan is also needed for another reason. Currently, the budget of slightly over
$170,000 is funded by $90,000 of pledges.
The balance of the income comes from rentals ($35,000), income from the
building fund ($12,000), special fundraisers and other sources. Cash reserves are virtually
non-existent. In my opinion, the
continuation of the essential programs of the church is at risk since almost 50%
of the income comes from other than pledges and could drop or be severely
diminished at any time.
In
addition, six members still hold $37,000 in notes from the previous construction
project. Those notes come due at
the end of this year. The plan is
to ask the note holders to extend the loans for an unspecified period of
time. Given the potential problems
associated with member notes, particularly ones that are maturing, I recommended
that the notes be paid off with a short-term loan from the endowment that is
ultimately repaid as part of the capital fund drive.
I
also recommended that the congregation hold a Searching for the Future workshop
as soon as practicable, use the information from that workshop to turn the
existing long-range plan into a strategic plan, and then validate the building
requirements. The details are in
the attached tentative schedule for a capital campaign.
What
action will be taken? The Board will consider these
recommendations at its meeting in December 2003.
When
is a campaign likely to take place? If the recommendations are accepted and
the project or a modified project proves feasible, the capital campaign will
probably be in January 2005.
Comments
about particular consulting needs. The congregation has not done a
face-to-face canvass in a number of years.
It is currently in the midst of this year’s canvass that involves no
personal contact as far as I can determine. As noted earlier, the mean pledge is
$870 and the median $600. Those
figures are low in comparison to other congregations with which I have worked in
Florida.
In
addition to the usual consulting needs associated with a capital campaign, this
congregation could use some help with strategic planning and every member
canvass. It could also benefit from
the District Executive’s help with leadership development and membership growth
and retention issues.
David
L. Rickard
UUA
Congregational Fundraising Consultant
November
25, 2003