Foothills Unitarian Church 1815 Yorktown Avenue Fort Collins, CO 80526 Phone/Fax: 970-493-5906 www.foothillsuu.org [email protected]
5 Year Plan Update
May 18, 2008
Approved 5 Year Goals 2008-2009 Proposed Action Plans Communications Team Report Life Span RE Team Report Membership Team Report Physical Site Team Report Social Action Team Report Foothills Unitarian Church 5 Year Goals Adopted May 20, 2007
A. Actively plan to accommodate the needs of our members. 1. Meet the variety of worship and pastoral care needs by achieving the UUA ministerial staffing guidelines. 2. Develop an integrated Life Span Faith Development Program with appropriate staffing. 3. Complete a physical site plan by May 2008 to address: a. more consistent and energy-efficient heating and cooling b. utilizing technology to improve sound and visual support c. more efficient space utilization, and d. identifying alternatives for providing additional space, as necessary. 4. Implement a more effective organizational structure by 2009. 5. Develop a plan to adequately and successfully welcome and integrate potential, new and established members into the life of the church by 2008. 6. Develop a plan by 2008 to improve the effectiveness of communications within our church community. 7. Enhance congregational stewardship by developing new funding strategies by 2009.
B. Become a recognized leader in the Fort Collins and UUA communities. 1. Develop a process in 2008 by which the congregation can focus its efforts to have a greater impact on community issues. 2. Take a leadership role in raising community awareness and addressing social justice issues. 3. Develop a communications outreach plan to communicate more effectively with the Fort Collins community. 4. Implement a program to encourage greater participation in UUA/MDD activities and events. Foothills Unitarian Church 5 Year Plan 2008-2009 Proposed Action Plans
Communications Team: Establish a Communications Committee with appropriate task groups to address PR, Intercom, website, and proofreading/editorial review. Provide coordination with other committees regarding communication issues and needs. Update the website. Place an IDEA BOX in the lobby and put process in place to review and respond to input. Increase radio advertising (i.e., KUNC, KRFC). Reduce number of inserts in the Intercom to same time and money.
Life Span RE Team: Conduct regular meetings of RE staff and volunteer RE coordinators to provide continuity of programming and transitions between life stages. Form a team of volunteers to coordinate childcare for all major church activities and events Explore the expansion of our OWL (Our Whole Life) programs to include high school and adults. Form a team of volunteer drivers to provide transportation to evening RE programs. Provide ministerial presence and support for youth and young adult programs as staffing allows. Provide more ministerial resources for life transitions and small group ministry. Conduct a survey to identify the needs of youth, young adults, and adults. Form a group for post high school/college aged young adults (18-24) and recruit a volunteer coordinator. Continue to support a group for older young adults (~28-35) and recruit a volunteer coordinator.
Membership Team Enhance the welcome for all who attend Sunday services, especially those who are first-time or repeat visitors. Expand efforts to help potential new members to more fully explore membership; coordinate and link the UU history and principles class and the preparation for membership class. Follow up immediately with new members with regard to pledging, integration, and volunteerism. Begin the task, in cooperation with other committees and teams, of finding out exactly who our friends and members are and how their relationship with the church could be enhanced.
Physical Plant Team: Gain congregational consensus on the priorities for long-term facilities needs. Better understand the scope of work and potential solutions prior to hiring an architect. Further explore all potential solutions, including better utilization of the current facility, and incremental expansion, among others. Better understand what the congregation is willing to financially commit to an expansion program.
Organizational Structure Team: Working with the staff and committees, develop a more efficient and effective committee structure to be presented to the congregation for approval in 2009. The model to be recommended by the structure team will resemble that used by JUC and other large congregations with committees joined under "cluster" headings with the cluster or Council granted budget and authority to act after reaching consensus within their council. We would recommend more use of "task force" teams rather than sitting committees for specific tasks such as church expansion and the like.
Social Action Team: Create an interim Social Action Council to implement and test the process for establishing social action teams/projects. Query the congregation for current and potential future social action projects and establish one or more action teams to work on projects beginning this year. Explore social issues as areas for social witness by the congregation.
Stewardship and Ministerial Resource Teams: Form Action Planning Teams and develop proposals for next year. Communications Task Force Report
Members Keith Hupperts – Chair Alex Barnett Carole Van Gorder Julie Estlick Kerri South Cherry Sokoloski Kimm Batavia
Overview The communication task force was organized as part of the results of the 5 year planning team’s initial group meetings held in homes and at church. One aspect of improvement identified during those meetings was in regards to church communications. Comments from the meetings fell into two broad categories intra-church communications and external communications.
The Communications Task Force was organized to: review the comments from the congregants add additional communications items to the listing prepare a plan to begin addressing these items over the course of the next five years
Process The team met in January to discuss the comments from the congregation and comments from community members. This discussion was also a brainstorming session to attempt to identify as many communications issues as possible and opportunities to address those issues. The first meeting resulted in a large set of issues, and actions that could address the issues.
A task force survey was developed to allow team members to prioritize the possible actions that could be taken. We reviewed the expected impact of the change, when the change should be performed in the five year cycle, the ability for the church or a committee to realize the change, and an order of magnitude of the costs.
The team met again in mid-March to discuss the results of the survey and prepare the proposals detailed below.
Proposed Actions
Year 1 Number Description 1 Establish a Communications Committee:
The role of this committee will be to provide direction in setting communications policy, as well as organize and execute the actions detailed in this report over the next 5 years.
The task force did not feel that it was appropriate to make numerous recommendations without also providing a framework and organization to ensure that the actions were performed.
It is expected that this committee would have sub-committees to address specific areas of communications. For instance, a sub-committee for the web page, a sub-committee to perform editorial reviews of publications, etc.
There is also the possibility of combining some of existing committees to create the Communications Committee or perhaps providing communications coordination to other committees. Denominational Connections, Public Relations, InterCom, Campus Outreach, and others may all benefit from a coordinated FUUC-wide communications strategy while also maintaining their distinct identities.
Most task force members are willing to continue working together, along with members from other existing committees to improve our communications.
2 Website updates:
Create a Website sub-committee to define the content to be placed on the website and ensure that information on the website is up to date and refreshed on a regular basis.
We recommend that a team of people be responsible for reviving the website, both in appearance and in content.
Our understanding is that an upgrade of the website appearance is underway. However, the content of the website has yet to be fully defined. We recommend that during year 1 the website should undergo a significant update including: up-to-date content appearance improvement the current InterCom a calendar of upcoming events other church news (potentially information from the various committees, board meeting minutes (or a synopsis), caring committee announcements, joys and concerns)
As part of the update a plan for the ongoing maintenance and content management will need to be defined. A primary goal of the website refurbishing must also be to create a site that allows the administrators to easily post new materials. The plan will need to address training the people who will be responsible for updating information on the website. This is currently expected to be performed by office staff.
As part of the website upgrade, we recommend that the congregation try to make more use of electronic content. We should encourage people to utilize the website, and or their email accounts to receive documents such as the InterCom, the Adult Enrichment catalog, & Intercom inserts. This approach is greener and cheaper. 3 Document proofreaders:
Simple punctuation and typographical errors are often able to be corrected with a quick review prior to publishing. Therefore, we recommend the establishment of a group of people to proofread documents such as InterCom, Orders of Services, and other documents published by the church.
This group would typically need to provide a quick review of the document for any typographical, punctuation, and other simple corrections. It would not be expected that the reviewers would need to perform editorial changes to the documents. Reviews need not take much time – 5 or 10 minutes. A quick response to the request would be required as deadlines for printing often do not provide much more than a few hours for review.
4 InterCom inserts:
Reduce the number of inserts in the InterCom. Inserts often add to the costs of the mailing, require additional effort for the InterCom team, since they have to collate the inserts into the newsletter, (often at the last minute) and require additional paper.
Instead of inserts, the task force recommends the use of the church news section of the website.
We understand that some inserts may still be necessary. However, we recommend that if the number of inserts will increase mailing costs we prioritize which inserts are essential. This means some may not be included.
5 Idea box:
Some people have requested an idea box to be placed in the lobby area. We agree that this is a good idea and recommend that an idea box be created. This may be an actual box, or just a notebook.
We also realize that with an idea box there is a certain level of responsibility to act on the comments and ideas. At a minimum, the person submitting the idea or request needs to be acknowledged and the idea needs to be forwarded to the appropriate person for discussion and action. The congregation must also realize that the act of submitting an idea may not result in the idea being implemented.
We feel that the initial review and contact can be coordinated by the office staff and that follow-up contacts should be the responsibility of the party best able to address the idea (potentially church staff or committee members). 6 Advertising:
The team feels that we should think about more and/or better advertising of our presence. We currently advertise in the Coloradoan and the Loveland papers on a weekly basis and in the yellow pages ad. However, none of the team members were aware of the advertisements in the paper, so we need to review the ad and assess its effectiveness.
One form of advertisement that all task force members agreed upon was to become ‘Day Sponsors’ on KUNC and KRFC. Cost for a day sponsorship on KUNC is $360/day.
We recommend selecting one day, a week or two prior to a significant church event, (perhaps a concert, Halloween pumpkin carving night, new member Sunday) to advertise ourselves. We may also want to review advertisements that the UUA has done and make use of some of their newer materials.
Year 2 Number Description 7 Branding:
Begin to establish a ‘brand’ for our church that will help it be easily recognized at any event that the church hosts or participates in. This may mean colorizing the ‘Horsetooth logo’ chalice, or replacing it with a new logo.
The ‘logo search’ could be a competition within the church community; asking church members to develop logos and having the congregation select the favorite. This logo would then be used as part of all of our documents, signage, website, etc.
8 Signage:
Work with the ‘Buildings and Grounds’ committee to begin planning for new Drake Street signage. We would prefer to get a new sign that we can advertise upcoming events such as sermon topics, concerts, community forums and more.
We believe that this sign may be expensive, so we would propose to fund it through a special funding drive, canvassing for a donor that would want to know what their money was being spent on, or by making multi-year funding requests to the endowment committee & the board of trustees and receive a portion of the funding each year. 9 Additional marketing:
Before we pursue additional advertisement opportunities other than KUNC we recommend that FUUC contact the UUA to receive any information that they have in regards to marketing a UU church. We see FUUC making use of the UUA ads published in Time Magazine and republishing them in the Coloradoan.
10 Additional website updates:
After, or in conjunction with, completing the content management aspects of year 1 to ensure that information is current and useful. Start to prepare to offer additional services and information online. Over the course of the remaining 3 years: Develop the ability to offer the taped services online, starting with audio and potentially offering video in the future (with permissions from the minister to publish any copyrighted materials) Provide a secure ‘login only’ area to publish member information such as the Church Directory, a Services Directory Host, or provide links to online community building tools such as member blogs, with the goal of making portions of the website an interactive forum to promote the sharing of ideas
11 Information from the Board:
Review reporting of board decisions and ensure that congregation is getting adequate information. If changes are required, look into better reporting methods.
12 Community Events:
Sponsor a booth at community events such as New West Fest, Pride in the Park and the Sustainable Living Fair.
Have a FUUC banner created that can be used at these events with the new/improved logo on it. Organize staffing for the both, have FUUC & UUA handouts available, as well as, small give-aways to generate booth interest.
Year 3 Number Description 13 Long term advertising plan:
Put into place an advertising plan based upon information & materials provided by UUA and input from the team and congregation. 14 Host additional community events:
Organize and host more community events such as the uranium mining forum. This will require solicitation of ideas from the congregation, potentially using the congregation to ‘recruit’ speakers. Perhaps this can become a Speaker Series with community members, CSU Professors, and others coming to talk about a variety of topics.
15 External communication:
Establish a policy, and review process, for documents that are published by FUUC, or FUUC affiliated groups, which are to be distributed outside of the church community.
16 Coloradoan:
Establish a relationship with Coloradoan staff, and present general interest story ideas to them. (Day of the Dead celebration, community garden, whatever)
17 Continuous website updates:
Since technology is ever-changing, we feel website improvement will need to be a continuous improvement project. We can utilize this tool both internally and externally to improve communication within the church and broader community.
Year 4 & 5 Continue moving forward with all aspects of the communication plan based upon current progress, assessment of new needs, and success of changes to date.
Look at the possibility of having a Communications Coordinator on staff – either as a paid part-time position or on a volunteer basis to assist in communications activities internally and externally. Life Span Religious Education 5 Year Planning Team Report
Preface: Exploring religious truth, meaning and experience is central to Unitarian Universalist faith, and faith development is central to our liberal religious education. In communities and as individuals we seek lives of meaning anchored by values and a commitment to promote principles of justice, love, trust, safety, tolerance and encouragement. We want to deepen in spirit and nurture our souls; we strive to contribute to and shape the wider world for the greater good. We recognize that we are part of an interdependent web of life.
Foothills Unitarian Church would like to incorporate well integrated Unitarian Universalist religious education curricula which are designed to support the needs of individuals at all stages of growth and faith maturity. Curricula are available for developing and deepening our faith; understanding our Unitarian Universalist heritage and identity; exploring Jewish and Christian heritage, from which we draw our roots; studying world religions and their traditions; learning about multi-culturalism and the ways in which we can develop anti-oppressive anti-racist identities in our selves and others; and social justice, which undergirds our philosophy of how our faith is lived out in the world.
RE Life Stages: For purposes of better understanding the varying needs of our congregation, the team used the following life span categories. Of particular help was the use of the terms Explorers, Pioneers and Settlers presented at the UUA Large Church Meeting. It attempts to align young adults more by life stage or maturity level rather than a specific age. We felt this was significantly better than trying to address “Young Adults”, ages 18-35, as a single group. Similarly, we broke out Adults into categories based upon feedback from the neighborhood meetings. While the programming may appeal to multiple groups, there appear to be some unique needs in some life stages which we need to better understand.
1. BirthPre-kindergarten (0-~4 years) 2. Pre-Kindergarten5th grade (~5-10 years) 3. Middle School (~11-13years) 4. Youth (~14-18 years) 5. Explorers (~19-23 years – post high-school/college age, may be in school or working) 6. Pioneers (~24-28 years – more mature, post under-grad or early career) 7. Settlers (~28-35 years – establishing career, may be married without children) 8. Adults with younger children (pre-high school) 9. Adults with children in high school/youth programming 10. Empty Nesters (mid/late career couples who most likely have adult children and perhaps young grandchildren) 11.Single Adults (mid/late career individuals who may be divorced or widowed, may also be “empty nesters”) 12.Seniors (Retired individuals or couples who may have health issues) OPPORTUNITIES 5 YEAR GOALS SHORT-TERM GOALS
Childcare for all Hire a PT childcare Recruit a team of volunteers church-related coordinator, who will coordinate all activities and events eliminating the need childcare needs for church- for each activity/event sponsored events and coordinator from activities having to do this task Life-Span OWL (Our Provide OWL curricula Offer Owl for grades K-8 Whole Lives) Program for grades K-1, grades Explore offering OWL for 4-6, grades 7-9, high school and adults grades10-12, young adults, and adults Support for life Ensure we have Ask existing ministerial transitions. This is an sufficient ministerial resources to provide more area that is can best resources to provide support for life transitions be addressed by small group ministry and small group ministry as ministerial resources, and to provide support time permits not religious education for members of all ages facing life transitions Ensure coordination Life Span RE Council Paid staff and volunteer and transition support in place to provide coordinators to meet on a between the various oversight for entire RE regular basis to provide life stages RE program more continuity among programming programs and life stages Several members have Provide sufficient Conduct an survey to better difficulty attending staffing to address the understand specific needs Adult Enrichment varying needs of adults by life stage programs in the with young children Recruit volunteers to provide evenings through seniors transportation for those including day-time and unable to drive to evening nigh-time programs, programs activities, and events Our biggest Hire a Young Adult Provide limited ministerial shortcoming is Minister to guide and presence/support for youth addressing the needs coordinate the & young adults with existing of Youth through religious activities of resources Young Adult this age span and Conduct a needs (See more detail below) conduct weekly assessment for all young worship services adult ages (18-35) Paid staff for each life stage Weekly young adult worship service Recognized CSU Group Active group and program for Pioneers
Specific Recommendations for Youth - Settlers: Life Span Category Long-Term Goals Short-Term Goals Youth (High School Age More worship and YRUU bridging follow- ~14-18) music up Expanded staff hours Ministerial Support Explorers (Post high- Congregation Start core group school/ college age, may committed to offering YRUU bridging follow- be in school or working UU programming to this up ~19-23) age group Paid and/or volunteer Official CSU group coordinator recognition/presence Worship component on campus Ministerial presence or Paid Campus Outreach trained lay leaders Minister or Coordinator Place to meet
Pioneers (More mature, Active group and Needs assessment to post under-grad or early program understand how to career ~24-28) Ministerial support reach this age group Worship meeting place Volunteer coordinator Paid staff to ensure there is a member/minister contact
Settlers (Establishing a Active group Consolidate current career, may be married Programming specific energy without children ~28-35) to their needs Continue meeting Ministerial Support through summer Worship meeting space Assessment as to how Paid staff to better meet their member/minister needs Volunteer and/or paid coordinator
Presented by the Life Span RE Action Planning Team:
Anne Haro-Sipes Bill Bethurum Courtney Duncan Eleanor VanDeusen Keith Hupperts Marc Salkin Marion Wells Melanie Smith-Nichols Rick Wells Rob Cifelli William Weyenberg The Five-Year Plan Membership Team Report
This is our great covenant: To dwell together in peace, to seek the truth in love, and to help one another.
It seems obvious that church membership is vital to our faith community. No members, no church. Well, perhaps it’s not quite that obvious. A coming together of a group of people on Sunday, whether or not they’ve signed a book, is little more than a regularly scheduled meeting. Our covenant clearly calls for a higher standard of community and purposeful focus. While it is natural for members to go through seasons when their involvement in the church and its activities is less intense, the covenant envisages a membership whose minds and hearts and lives are informed by the principles for which our chalice is a physical symbol. The suggestions in this report are intended to foster and sustain such a congregation through the various stages of the membership process. It will be clear that our ideas overlap (not impinge upon) other areas of church life being studied in the full five-year review. That is as it should be.
The bulk of this report will be a bulleted list of the qualities and processes we envision becoming a consistent signature of our congregation over the next five years. As with other processes that require consistency and a high level of organizational responsibility, we believe that the achievement of our vision will require the focus of a Membership Coordinator to be hired in the near future. The key responsibilities of this position will include record-keeping, recruitment, and integration of new members in partnership with the Membership Committee. Even this may seem outside our charge, we also urge strongly that Foothills hire a Volunteer Coordinator as soon as possible. The Team’s judgment, supported by the example of institutions like Jefferson Unitarian Church, is that these two employees would work together to connect both new and long-standing members to committees, volunteer opportunities, church initiatives, and leadership activities. The result over the years would be a congregation engaged in the ongoing effort to live the principles we profess. We understand from the latest budget update by the Board that funding of even one of these positions is unlikely in the next fiscal year, but this is a five-year plan, and we will try to keep these hires on the table.
In five years, how should our church look and behave with regard to welcoming visitors, embracing potential new members and integrating them into our community, and helping current members to be actively engaged in the church and its principles? Understanding that some of the items below are currently a part of our church life, here are the elements of the team’s vision.
Welcome A few spaces in each parking lot marked “Visitors.” Clearer signs outside the church guiding visitors to the entrance. Ministerial presence (when possible) or a greeter outside or inside the door to greet everyone and guide newcomers to the visitors table, the coat racks, or the RE building. A newly-focused foyer in which (for example) the UU principles are prominently displayed, along with the theme for the day’s service and an organizational chart of the church administration and committees. Ushers who will try to connect newcomers with current members as they enter the sanctuary. [Ushers and greeters might well receive more focused briefing about their duties.] Before the service, ushers welcome people who choose to sit in the social hall in order to make them feel included in the service. Active efforts by the congregation to seek out newcomers in the social hall between services or after the second service. Path to Membership A call (currently by the Membership Committee chair but perhaps ultimately by the Membership Coordinator) to all newcomers who fill out the blue card. An active effort to track their continued attendance and to answer questions they might have about the church and membership. In some cases a personal invitation to participate in the next preparation for membership classes. The preparation for membership classes run by a rotating team of Membership Committee members and other church leaders, in consultation with the minister and with his/her participation. A two-part and overtly connected set of classes, the first dealing with the history and principles of Unitarian Universalism and Foothills itself, and the second with the organization and the funding of the church (including pledging and a clear path to service and participation). Activities that encourage the development of a bond between those exploring membership at Foothills Unitarian Church.
Short-Term Follow-Up to Membership Pictures and names of new members from each class displayed in the foyer or social hall. [Pictures of new babies and older adoptees as well.] “New Member” name tags for a time after enrollment. A table or bulletin board in the social hall to spotlight activities of interest to or specifically for new members. Hospitality for new members (e.g. potluck) and their specific inclusion in other events (e.g. dinners in the home) which will bring new members into contact with experienced members. A conversation between the new member and someone from the Membership Committee or the Membership Coordinator exploring what interests and talents the new member brings to the church and its work, on the one hand, and where in the church structure the new member might fit. The strong encouragement (not requirement) that new members create/join a small group ministry in which they can explore with one or more experienced members a facet of the UU principles or the call to service.
Long-Term Membership The membership process does not end with the recruitment and infolding of new members. If it were to do so, we would lose as many members through attrition and stagnation as we gain through recruitment of new members. The Team’s vision of long-term membership is implied by what we have said above. Members stay with us and grow spiritually when they and their families are valued and cared for, when they feel that they are of use in worship and service, when they feel enlightened and challenged in their search for truth and meaning, when they have a voice in the congregation. Such outcomes are not the product merely of consultations with or sermons by our ministers. They depend on our joint commitment to shared principles in our great diversity. Some possible elements:
Tracking attendance and making calls to those who seem to have chosen (or have been compelled by circumstances) to separate themselves from the life of the church, the object being to discover why and, if appropriate, to invite them back. Sending recognition of birthdays, births/adoptions, or deaths to members of the congregation. Continuing the evolution of the order of service currently in progress, including making more opportunities for lay participation. Expanding and making more transparent opportunities for small group ministries, for social action, and for assistance in the governance and maintenance of the church.
The Team: Judy Gates, Marla Nelson, Lenny Scovel, Rosemary Bergstrom, Bob Bergstrom. 5 Year Facilities Action Planning Team Report Congregational Update April 6, 2008
Team Members � Jerry Hanley (Chair) � Leonard Sokoloski � John Dunkle � Gregg Osterhout � John VanGorder
Physical Site Action Planning Team Charter � The charge of this team will be to develop a plan to address more energy-efficient heating/cooling and effective space utilization, employing technology to improve sound and visual support, and exploring various alternatives for meeting the space needs of the Church during the next 5 years.
Activities-to-Date � Toured Plymouth Congregational’s new addition: � $2.2M � Two capital fund drives, 5 years apart � Infrastructure (roof, A/C, windows, etc.) � New office wing � New Art exhibit hallway � New Choir room � Modifications to sanctuary (raised platform, etc.) � Additional restrooms � Expanded parking lot � Reviewed current activities of permanent Facilities Committee � Immediate needs of facilities already being addressed through annual budgeting process � With permission of Board, 5 Year Planning Team has focused on long term expansion alternatives � Discussed process used by expansion committee 12 years ago (Bob Martin and Allan Kirkpatrick) � Discussed “high level” expansion approaches with Don Bundy, Architect’s Studio � Architect involved in expansion 12 years ago � Where can we expand? � What might we expand? � Where are we land limited? � Very rough estimates per sq ft for upgrading or expanding facilities � Discussed selling current property with Rhys Christensen, Realtec (commercial real estate): � What might we get for this property? � What are existing properties selling for? � Cost for new construction � Site development � Building construction � Investigating use of solar heating for office Expand Current Facilities � We are land locked, so expansion possibilities are limited � Parking space is dependent on sanctuary occupancy � Need to be aware of easement lines, mountain views, and roof slopes � Can expand incrementally � Options discussed (but not limited to): � Expand office (highest priority) to East � Expand sanctuary into current social hall � Build new social hall in current patio area (between social hall and RE building) � New foyer / art gallery � Upgrade kitchen � Additional parking in SE corner of lot � Use of green technology � Additional restroom facilities � Roughly additional 3500sf – 4000sf building
Sell Current Property � Purchase another existing facility � Dependent on an acceptable property being available � Any upgrading required? � Dependent on selling our current property � Less expensive than new construction or expanding current facility New Construction � Find suitable site � Any site infrastructure or offsite work required? � Improved intersection, utilities, etc � Purchase land and pay off? � Construction loan, start construction � Sell current property � Convert construction loan into permanent mortgage � Move to new location
Rough Cost Comparisons Low High Total $ Total $ # sf Description Est /sf Est /sf Low High Comments
Value of existing church $ 100 $ 110 15,000 $1,500,000 $1,650,000 Includes land
Current estimate for expansion 4,000 $1,200,000 $1,400,000
Cost of new Add'l 4000 sf construction $ 150 $ 200 19,000 $2,850,000 $3,800,000 includes land
Cost of purchasing existing facility $ 100 $ 110 19,000 $1,900,000 $2,090,000 4-5 acres? Expansion Estimate (Details)
Cost/sf Cost/sf SqFt (Low) (High) Total Total
(Midpt Est) (High Est)
Expand sanctuary into current social Hall 1,600 $ 30 $ 50 $ 48,000 $ 80,000
Build new social hall in existing patio area 2,000 $ 200 $ 220 $ 400,000 $ 440,000
Expand Office to East 1,152 $ 200 $ 220 $ 230,400 $ 253,440
Upgrade kitchen, foyer, etc. $ 100,000 $ 200,000
Additional parking in SE corner of lot 31 $ 2,000 $ 62,000 $ 62,000
- Additional excavation due to grade ??
Landscaping 5,000 $ 5 $ 25,000 $ 25,000
Totals $ 865,400 $ 1,060,440
Fees (city/county, architects, etc) 20% $ 173,080 $ 212,088
Contingency 10% $ 103,848 $ 127,253
Grand Total $ 1,142,328 $ 1,399,781
Where Do We Go From Here? � Congregation decide on whether to expand current church or purchase existing/new property � If expand current church: � Request $20,000 for 2008 – 2009 budget � Interview and hire architect � Develop preliminary plans, determine costs, and run a capital fund campaign � Get ‘er done!!
What do we get for $20,000? � Series of workshops open to congregation to determine needs & goals � Develop 2 – 3 alternatives � Layouts � Rough cost estimates (large contingencies) � Review with congregation, pick one alternative � Generate 3-D rendering Report of the Social Action Five-Year Planning Team Foothills Unitarian Church
Preface
This proposal for a social action program and process for Foothills Unitarian Church is grounded in the principles and commitments we affirm, namely,
The inherent worth and dignity of every person; justice, equity and compassion in human relations The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within the congregation and in society at large The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all Respect for the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part
“By living our UU principles we seek to be a force for healing and a light of reason and understanding, promoting justice and compassion among ourselves and in the larger community.” (Adopted May 1997)
In light of these principles and the sense that (in the words of Richard Gilbert) “The Unitarian Universalist movement lives under a prophetic imperative, a religious mandate for the corporate address of the church to the systemic problems of society,” Foothills Unitarian Universalist Church commits to a coordinated effort to engender social concern in the membership in the following ways: social service (direct provision of service to those in need), social education (study of unjust social conditions to learn causes and foster change), social witness (speaking out on unjust social conditions), and social action (acting congregationally to produce change). We suggest the following process, based on the Rochester Model, be used to organize this effort.
Nothing in this proposal should be construed as interfering in any way with the individual social action efforts of members of the congregation. Rather, it is intended to ensure that this faith community as a whole maintains a visible and effective program of social action in the community and encourages its members to pursue such action both on their own and as members of social action teams established by the church. Proposal
1. Establish a Social Action Council. The Council, which replaces the Social Action Committee, coordinates and administers all social action activities of FUU Church.
2. The Social Action Council, with the advice and consent of the congregation and in consultation with the minister, facilitates the social action activities for the year, approves and, if necessary and feasible, funds individual projects, evaluates all projects, and reports regularly to the congregation on activities. 3. The Social Action Council accepts proposals for projects from members of the congregation. The minister may also propose projects, but a team of at least five members of the congregation must sponsor each project and accept responsibility for carrying it out. (See proposal format below.)
4. By May 2009, hire a social action coordinator (see attached position description) and/or obtain ministerial support.
Responsibilities of the Social Action Council
Facilitate congregational involvement in social outreach.
Ensure that social responsibility becomes and remains an integral component of the life of the congregation.
Increase congregational awareness of social action opportunities consonant with UU values.
Develop a comprehensive program of social action, service, witness, advocacy, and organization.
Administer a flexible and democratic process that maintains continuing projects and nurtures new ones in the context of available resources.
Manage the social action budget, submitted in conjunction with the church annual budget (see attached).
Propose and coordinate fund raising activities needed for social action projects.
Communicate, preferably monthly but at least quarterly, on all current and active social action projects and expenditures.
Coordinate church resource needs (e.g., space, copying) of the social action project teams.
Evaluate and promote partnerships with other organizations or faith communities to facilitate Social Action Council goals.
Propose social witness opportunities for congregational action, e.g., statements of principle, positions on social issues, advocacy for social programs.
Develop and coordinate social action teams to carry out planned activities. Establish rules and procedures as necessary for communication, accountability, recognition, and other essential functions of the Social Action Council and the project teams.
The Social Action Council will consist of a chair, a budget officer/recording secretary, one or more members-at-large, and the coordinators of all active social action teams. The Social Action Coordinator (if hired) and the minister will be ex officio members of the Council (terms of officers of the Council should be at least two years). The Council will meet at least once a month, and minutes of all meetings and budget records will be maintained by the appropriate officers and be open to any member of the congregation. The initial members of the Social Action Council will be appointed by the Board of Trustees after the annual congregational meeting, if the proposal is approved by the congregation. Thereafter, Council members will be elected from among interested members of the congregation.
Process for Establishment of Social Action Teams/Projects
The Social Action Council will facilitate congregational input into the social action agenda through polling, forums, and other means deemed appropriate.
Each group seeking establishment as a social action team submits a proposal that follows the guidelines (below) for social action teams. Teams that intend or wish to continue their work beyond one year submit their annual report along with an abbreviated proposal.
The Social Action Council determines the procedures to be followed for the selection process, sets the deadlines for submission, and defines the criteria for adoption. These criteria should be discussed each year and may be changed to accommodate changing circumstances or suggestions for improvement. The timing of the selection process will be coordinated with the church budgeting cycle and the annual congregational meeting.
The Social Action Council reviews the proposals as a body and makes recommendations regarding revision and submission to the congregation. Proposals may be revised with Council feedback before submission to a congregational meeting with the Council’s recommendation for or against adoption.
The Social Action Council publicizes the proposals in advance of the annual meeting and actively solicits congregational involvement in the process, including educating church members on their role and the meaning of their vote.
The Social Action Council chair presides over the portion of the annual meeting during which proposals for the coming year are discussed and adopted.
Social Action Teams report on their activities to the Social Action Council throughout the year and provide a year-end report to be included in the Social Action Council annual report. Guidelines for Social Action Project Team Proposals
1. Names of members submitting proposal
2. Definition of problem to be addressed by the group, including its social context
3. Statement of UU principles and larger social action themes that guide or motivate the action
4. Statement of team goals (Goals should be specific, measurable or open to assessment in some way, achievable, and consonant with church values.)
5. Description of activities/strategies planned to address the problem
6. Assessment of scope of project in terms of time scale envisioned (short-term, one year, ongoing)
7. Estimated budget for planned activities, if any
8. Estimated volunteer effort required and assessment of available volunteer commitment
9. Commitment of team coordinator to attend Social Action Council meetings and to provide a report at the end of each year or portion thereof of the project.
The scope of the social action program of the church involves both the adult membership of the congregation and all youth programs engaged in social action projects, although these latter can continue to be managed separately by the youth ministry/religious education team. Nevertheless, these activities should be consonant with the overall intended social action mission of the church and should be regularly reported on along with all projects involving adult members of the congregation. The congregation should receive monthly updates via the newsletter and the website on all active social action projects and proposals for witness or advocacy.
As an initial step toward these ends, this team proposes a multi-part workshop based on the book The Prophetic Imperative by Richard S. Gilbert to be held in Fall 2008. Congregation members who wish to become members of the permanent Social Action Council and other church members with an interest in this important aspect of the life of the church are invited to participate in this workshop, which may become an annual or semi-annual event.
As a second step, the Social Action Council may sponsor a social action “expo” after the workshop to stimulate interest in the program and to generate ideas for future task forces.
The Board of Trustees will need to make by-laws changes to allow for the establishment of a social action council and will need to approve an addendum to the annual budget to accommodate a part-time staff coordinator position before this proposal can be fully implemented. However, an interim council will be appointed by the Board to begin planning implementation procedures and exploring project team ideas in the event that the congregation approves the proposal. Social Action Five-Year Planning Team Budget Request (for the first fully active year of the program)
The Social Action Five-Year Planning Team requests a part-time Social Action Coordinator (10-15 hours per week, 0.25-0.375% FTE) at a cost of $7,500-$11,500 per year, plus 8% for FICA and WC ($600-920). We also request a budget of $1,500 per year to provide seed money, as necessary, for task forces, to provide for normal office costs (copying, phone, etc.) for the Council, and to provide educational opportunities on the work of the task forces and on social justice issues for the congregation.
The duties of the Social Action Coordinator will be as follows:
1. Provide administrative assistance to members of the Social Action Council.
2. Seek out volunteers for various projects from among members of the congregation; maintain communication with the Membership Coordinator to ensure that all new members are made aware of social action opportunities
3. Provide research assistance to the Social Action Council on opportunities for liaison with other faith groups or organizations in the area--to minimize duplication of effort and enhance links to other organizations--and with UUA. Seek out opportunities for the congregation for social witness.
4. Provide public relations services for the church in the area of social action and provide information on the social action program to the editor of InterCom.
5. Serve as an ex officio member of the Social Action Council.
6. Facilitate use of church facilities for social change, e.g., meetings of other social action organizations.
7. Interface with church office staff to provide purchasing assistance for social action needs from appropriate sources.