Drafting and Presenting an
Effective Narrative Budget
Jim Newman
(Retired) Director of Stewardship and Financial
Development
Anglican Diocese of Niagara
October 18, 2008
Today’s workshop
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The Impact of a Narrative Budget
A very important insight
Tools and Techniques
Saving development time and effort
Telling your story
Keeping it simmering all year long
Inquiry from a Rector
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Would I come to a parish meeting to talk
about doing an every-member visitation?
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Would I talk about stewardship too?
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Some problems
At the meeting . . .
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Body language . . .
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Comments . . .
“I don’t want to do an every member visitation.
People will just think I’m asking for their
money!”
“Let me show you something . . .”
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It’s a booklet about your parish
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It’s called a Narrative Budget
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If you like it, I’ll show you how you can
modify and improve it . . . easily!
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The impact was amazing!
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The body language changed completely!
Remember that person who said:
“I don’t want to do an every member visitation.
People will just think I’m asking for their
money!”
parishioners
She interrupted with:
“We could take this along when we go on our
visits, couldn’t we!”
So what is a Narrative Budget?
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the sacred story of the ministry of a parish
One of the most important ways we can effect
on-going stewardship education
an essential element in educating your
congregation about how their money is being
utilized to support the ministry of the parish
An important insight
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Donors don’t give their money TO the
church…
…they give THROUGH the church to touch
the lives of other people
Donors will give generously when they
feel their money is making a difference
Churches have a different starting
point
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Our faith calls us to view the deployment
of money much differently than secular
institutions
The difference
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A Line Item Budget is an accounting tool
A Narrative Budget is an educational and
visioning tool
We need both but we must be more intentional
in how we use both
Line item budgets
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do not show how money
is being invested in
ministry
do not show how
volunteer time and talent
are impacting parish life
Worst of all – they do not
inspire!
PROPERTY
PUC (Light, Heat & Water)
Telephone
Insurance
Maintenance & Supplies
Actual
$ 7,983.00
$ 821.00
$ 1,620.00
$ 6,854.00
A Narrative Budget
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Clearly shows how money is being
invested in the various components of
parish life
Helps donors to re-frame what the parish
is all about
A Narrative Budget
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Inspires donors and helps them see their
donations are really making a difference
Is a proven tool for increasing financial
commitment to the ministry of the parish
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So how does a parish create a Narrative
Budgeting?
It looks like a lot of work!
Every parish has several key
components of ministry . . .
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Pastoral Care
Christian Education
Worship and Music
Evangelism and Hospitality
Outreach
In-reach and Fellowship (Parish Life)
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All parish expenditures can be allocated to
these six ministries
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Pastoral Care
Christian Education
Worship and Music
Evangelism and Hospitality
Outreach
In-reach and Fellowship (Parish Life)
Notice that ADMINISTRATION is not a category
on this list
Line item budget
PROPERTY
PUC (Light, Heat & Water)
Telephone
Insurance
Maintenance & Supplies
Actual
$ 7,983.00
$ 821.00
$ 1,620.00
$ 6,854.00
A Narrative budget allocates those
costs to Ministries
Actual Outreach Worship
PROPERTY
PUC (Light, Heat, & Water)
Telephone
Insurance
Maintenance & Supplies
$ 7,983 $ 2,794 $
$ 821 $ 164 $
$ 1,620 $ 567 $
$ 6,854 $ 2,399 $
798
164
162
685
A Narrative Budget:
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Combines allocated costs, ministry
descriptions, and future plans
It’s meaningful, motivating, and inspiring
Creating a Narrative Budget
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There are lots of people in your parish
who will assist you to
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Allocate costs to ministries
Develop the spreadsheet
Create graphs
Write descriptive comments
Assemble the narrative budget document
BTW, you can . . .
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Download spreadsheet templates and text
from Niagara’s website
www.niagara.anglican.ca
Modify them, fill in your own data, and
generate pie charts for your parish’s Narrative
Budget
Reduce development time by 75% OR MORE!
Here’s the website
www.niagara.anglican.ca
Click on Programs, and then
Click on Stewardship Development
Refer to NARRATIVE BUDGET TOOLKIT
A small team approach
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Start by getting your full time staff to
track how they spend their time for a
month
(reviewing day planners is helpful)
E.g. Rector’s time:
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Christian Education
15%
Outreach
10%
Worship
10%
In-reach and Fellowship 10%
Evangelism and Hospitality35%
Pastoral Care
20%
Use this formula for related line items that are
difficult to allocate e.g. Benefits
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Some line items in your budget will be
easy to allocate
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E.g. Church school supplies to Christian
education
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Other items will be more difficult to
allocate
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E.g. Office Supplies
It’s important to remember
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A Narrative Budget is directional
Don’t get too caught up on delivering
accuracy
And remember
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it’s an educational tool
Helping reframe minds and getting donors
to think about how their donation is used
is more important than accuracy
The line item budget still exists
Sample pie chart
St. Paul's Investment in Ministries in 2004
Outreach
Christian Educ.
$23,412
Music & Worship
$11,869
Pastoral Care
$19,506
Evangelism
Parish Life
$21,078
$47,673
$18,415
St. Paul's Investment in Ministries in 2004
Outreach
Christian Educ.
Music & Worship
Pastoral Care
Evangelism
Parish Life
Parish Life
16%
Evangelism
8%
Outreach
34%
Pastoral Care
14%Music & Christian Educ.
13%
Worship
15%
The net message you want donors
to take away is
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14 cents of every dollar I give goes to
Pastoral Care
34 cents of every dollar I give goes to
Outreach
etc.
We can emphasize other messages
Our Investment in Outreach in 2004
Outreach
34%
Other
Ministries
66%
Creating the “narrative” for each
ministry
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Download the text from Niagara’s web site
Modify the “bullets” to show the impact
the ministry is having in YOUR parish
Your donors will be inspired to take much
greater ownership of parish ministries
Sample narrative content
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Our Ministry of Pastoral Care involves the
following services:
taking of home communion to three local
nursing homes each month
on call at two local funeral homes and follow up
with the mourners from 30 funerals last year
frequent visiting at three local hospitals to care
for parishioners recovering from illness
Etc.
Getting your story out . . .
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Narrative Budgeting booklets
Bulletin inserts
Parish website
Fall Stewardship mailings
Personal contact
Intercessory prayers
Vestry reports
Parish newsletter
Using Sunday Worship to tell your
ministry stories
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Include a bulletin insert each week for six weeks
highlighting a different ministry (NB pages)
Pray specifically for that ministry
Ministry Moments: Tell a story about (or by) a
person being touched by that ministry
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You can also find a basic template for
calculating and reporting volunteer hours
against the six categories of ministry at
the same web address
Volunteer time for Sunday worship
Altar guild – two people X 2 hours= 4 hours
Choir – ten members X 2 hours of worship and two hours
of practice time = 40 hours
Readers, chalice bearers, server, crucifer, counters, sidespeople, litanist, 10 X 1.5 hours = 15 hours
Totals almost 70 hours of volunteer time per week
Over 44 weeks =3,080 hours of volunteer time in Sunday
morning worship alone!
In an average parish
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When you factor in all ministries, we
estimate that 10,000 – 15,000 hours per
year are volunteered
That’s a significant impact on any local
community
Include in your Narrative Budget!
Narrative Budgeting is an evolving
process
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Each year you will get better at it
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You’ll add stories about volunteer time and
talent, plans for the future, planned giving, etc.
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The documents improve with each cycle
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People will begin to think of the funding of the
ministries of the parish in a new way
Vestry Meetings
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We need to change how we view money
and ministry
Long before vestry you will have begun
the process of education and awareness
around the Narrative Budget
Vestry Meetings
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We distribute the Narrative Budget prior to
our annual vestry meeting
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As a faith-based organization be
determined in your desire to talk about
money and ministry in a new way.
Don’t fall back on the line item budget for
future decision making.
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Vestry will no longer be viewed as the
annual BUSINESS meeting of the parish
It will become THE ANNUAL MISSION AND
MINISTRY MEETING
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Parishioners start looking forward to your
annual Vestry meeting!!
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newmanjf@cogeco.ca