Date: 11/26/03 4:46:30 PM Eastern Standard Time

 

To: Gary Ladka, President, UU Church of Fort Lauderdale

       Scott Bejlovek, Building Expansion Committee

       Rev Gail Tapscott, Minister

 

CC: Mary Higgins, UUA District Representative

       Wayne Clark, UUA Director of Congregational Fundraising Services

 

From: David Rickard, UUA Congregational Fundraising Consultant

 

Subject: Assessment Visit Report

 

On November 21-23, 2003, I made an assessment visit to the Unitarian

Universalist Church of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  On Friday afternoon, I got a tour of the current facilities from the president and the chair of the Building Expansion Committee.  That evening, I had supper with those two, the minister, the director of religious education, and all but two members of the Board of Trustees.  On Saturday morning, 32 persons attended the Assessment Workshop.  On Saturday afternoon, twelve returned to discuss my preliminary findings and recommendations. The president and the chair of the Building Expansion Committee joined me for lunch on Sunday where we had further discussion about the recommendations.  The Assessment Visit Report is attached.

 

This congregation has had a troubled history but seems to be stabilizing and beginning again to grow.  Several important members left to join the River of Grass Congregation in Weston, FL, about five years ago.  Membership has returned to the levels prior to the River of Grass new start, but the financial support has not kept up.  Pledges from members and friends provide just over half of the $170,000 operating budget, making the programs vulnerable to a sudden reduction in income from rentals ($35,000), special fundraisers, and other sources.  Operating reserves are virtually non-existent.

 

Several years ago the church received a bequest that could be used only for building expansion; its current value is over $300,000.  In 2002, a Building Expansion Committee was directed to come up with a plan to meet the most pressing space requirements of the congregation.  It has done that, but the price is more than double the amount in the bequest.

 

My assessment is that this congregation needs to develop a Vision and

Mission Statement and use it as the basis for developing a dynamic strategic plan that addresses the issues of fiscal and program stability before proceeding with any building expansion.  I have suggested that we conduct a Searching for the Future workshop as a means for jump starting that process and use the data generated from it to update the long-range plan adopted over two years ago.  The new strategic plan can also help to validate the space requirements and place them in the context of the congregation's vision and mission statement.

 

I expect that the Board of Trustees will make a decision on the

recommendations at its meeting in December 2003.

 

Dave

David L. Rickard

rickardd@comcast.net

"We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give."  Winston Churchill

 

Attachments:

 

Assessment Visit Report

 

Tentative Schedule for a Capital Campaign

 

Committees for the Building Program

 

What Is "Searching for the Future"?

 

Data Corrections