Emergency Savings/Congregational Financial Assessment Program
We all want rostered ministers to be satisfied and effective in their ministry. This helps serve God’s mission in the world.
The Resourceful Servants Emergency Savings program has sought to enhance rostered ministers’ satisfaction and effectiveness in ministry through a focus on financial wellness. Previous participants in the program have experienced substantial positive impact on their individual financial situations. Many no longer live paycheck to paycheck and have even built emergency savings accounts of several months’ income.
Although participation in the Emergency Savings program provided clear benefits to the individual financial situation of participants, these participants said they needed additional tools to manage the finances of the congregations and organizations they lead.
To address individual financial wellness and preparedness to manage the finances of a congregation or organization at the same time, Resourceful Servants is providing the opportunity to participate in the Emergency Savings program in combination with its Congregational Financial Assessment. This combined program encourages you to improve your individual financial situation, knowledge, and practices, and fosters the skills and confidence needed to manage the finances of your congregation or organization. Through participation in this program, we hope the financial practices of your congregation or organization might also improve and become more sustainable.
These improvements in individual and communal financial health increase financial comfort, which contributes to a higher level of satisfaction and effectiveness in ministry.
Emergency Savings/CFA Program
The Emergency Savings/Congregational Financial Assessment program offers eligible rostered ministers the opportunity to build up their own savings reserves and improve their skills in managing finances in a congregation or organization at the same time.
If you are an ELCA rostered minister serving a call to a congregation or organization, and you have less than six months’ income in emergency savings, you are eligible to apply for this program. The churchwide organization has funding to match the contributions of 300 ELCA rostered ministers.
Emergency Savings
Participating rostered ministers contribute to a dedicated savings account with the ELCA Federal Credit Union. These contributions are matched dollar for dollar up to $50 per month, for a period of up to two years. At the end of the program, participants will have received up to $1,200 in matching funding ($600 per year). Matching funding is provided through generous donations from the ELCA Mission Investment Fund and the Lilly Endowment, Inc.
Congregational Financial Assessment (CFA)
Rostered ministers and their congregations or organizations proactively engage in a review of their financial systems relative to 21 healthy financial practices. Each practice includes an invitation to assess the congregation or organization’s current proficiency in the practice and resources intended to help with implementation. Ultimately, the congregations or organizations involved develop a plan to address one specific financial practice.
How to Qualify and Apply
The Qualification and Application period for the Emergency Savings/Congregational Financial Assessment program has closed. Notifications of selection to program participants were sent out on October 4 from the Resourceful Servants email account.
The recording of the informational program webinar held on August 24 is available here.
The recording of the program webinar on logistics held on October 26 is available here. The recording of the webinar held on December 5 with identical content is available here.