Generosity Plan (Adopted June 4, 2026)
Status
Implementation status: Adopted by the Board of Finance, June 4, 2026.
Individual elements below carry their own real timing and status; several remain in process even though the plan as a whole is adopted.
The Plan and Its Posture
The Generosity Plan is Mayflower's year-round giving and generosity work: how the church forms, thanks, and speaks to its givers across the whole year, not only in the Sunday offering moment. Its posture is gospel-driven, not guilt-driven. Generosity here is understood as a response to grace, not a fundraising tactic.
This plan is the giving and generosity side of the church's finances. It is built on its own track alongside the FY27 budget, and the two meet at two points. First, the September Stewardship Arc names the funded FY27 priorities to the congregation, so the message speaks concretely. Second, the recurring-giving push feeds the FY27 income assumption. The plan does not rebuild the budget.
Adopted Elements
The Board of Finance worked through the generosity plan worksheet and adopted the following elements, each with its owner and timing.
1. September Stewardship Arc
A four-week series on 2 Corinthians 8 to 9, preached September 6, 13, 20, and 27, 2026. This is the church's generosity message. It begins the Sunday after Back-to-Church Sunday, following the conclusion of Acts on August 30. Approved by the elders 2026-06-03. The board confirmed the arc as the generosity message and does not redesign it.
- DRI: Anton. Backup: Jerry.
2. Financial Discipleship Teaching
Adopted as a video series with an accompanying study guide, timed for January.
- DRI: Anton and Jerry.
3. Recurring-Giving Push
Adopted as a focused encouragement toward automatic, recurring giving, which steadies the church through summer and lean months. Timed late May to early June, with Marge as primary spokesperson.
- DRI: Marge. Backup: Anton.
4. Appreciation Gathering
Adopted as an annual gathering that thanks the body for its giving and service. Folded into the January congregational meeting rather than held as a separate donor-only event.
- DRI: Anton, Marge, Jerry.
5. Year-Round Giving Communication
Adopted on a quarterly cadence, sent under a Board of Finance cover letter, with a pastoral discipleship article twice per year pre-approved by Gail. This is the rhythm of speaking to and thanking givers across the whole year.
- DRI: Anton and Gail.
6. Annual Special Offering
Adopted for February as a prior-year end-of-year offering addressing the prior-year shortfall, with prior-year giving clearly distinguished from current-year giving and tracked year over year. A possible model designates ten percent to an external ministry; that designation is not yet decided (see Open Questions).
- DRI: Marge and Cindy.
7. First Element to Start
Quarterly giving communication is the first element to begin, ahead of the elements timed later in the year. It launches with the July Bell Ringer and the July congregational meeting.
- DRI: Jerry and Anton.
Giving-Initiative Owners and Backups
The board assigned owners and backups for each initiative so no task remains vague. "DRI" is Directly Responsible Individual. By design, the DRI is not, by default, the pastor.
| Initiative | DRI | Backup |
|---|---|---|
| Overall plan / board lead | Anton | Marge |
| September generosity message (arc) | Anton | Jerry |
| Financial discipleship teaching | Jerry (with Anton) | --- |
| Recurring-giving push | Marge | Anton |
| January appreciation gathering | Anton, Marge, Jeremy | Cindy, Gail |
| Year-round communication | Anton, Gail | Cindy, Marge |
| Annual February special offering | Marge, Cindy | Jerry, Anton |
| Giver follow-up | Cindy, Anton | Edith |
| Estimate-of-giving cards | Not currently used; confirm removal | --- |
Open Questions / Still to Confirm
These items were adopted in principle but remain genuinely open:
- Giving-gap target. The board will establish a measurable target, timeline, and contingency for closing the current giving gap. In Process (Board of Finance).
- Online-giving target. Confirm whether the FY27 online-giving goal is a ten-point or a ten-percent increase in online-giving share, by November 1, 2026 (Board of Finance).
- External designation on the February offering. Decide whether ten percent of the annual special offering is designated to an external ministry (Marge, Cindy).
- Estimate-of-giving cards. These pledge cards are not currently used by the church. Confirm whether they remain in the plan or are removed as non-applicable (Board of Finance).
Governance & Document References
- Mayflower Constitution and Bylaws — Board of Finance, Church Treasurer, and Financial Secretary sections
- [Board of Finance minutes, June 4, 2026, on file]
- [Generosity Plan board worksheet, June 4, 2026, on file]
Page template for the Mayflower operations plan, adapted from Michael Lukaszewski's Streamline: How To Create Healthy Church Systems.