The success of FaithWorks is the result of faith-inspired work by volunteers to raise the funds required, along with faith in the generosity of our parishes, the corporate community, foundations, and individuals to respond to the needs of people who need our help. The name FaithWorks, suggested originally by Suzanne Lawson and Ward McCance, parishioners of St. Peter, Cobourg, has certainly lived up to its promise.

Those who remember the birth pangs of FaithWorks may be surprised at its longevity. It was created to help ensure diocesan financial support for outreach ministry at a time of deep fiscal uncertainty. By the early 1990s, the level of parish assessments had become unsustainable. Deep cuts to the diocesan operating budget had decimated key areas of ministry. Outreach support provided through the fund-raising campaigns of the 1980s would run out by the end of the decade.

The problem was exacerbated in 1995, when Ontario’s “Common Sense Revolution” eliminated funding for key social services throughout the province. With the loss of government support, faith communities struggled to respond to the ever-widening gaps in the social safety net. The diocesan response was to create an annual parish appeal, the proceeds of which would protect outreach ministry from fluctuations in future budget years.

With faith in the power of the Holy Spirit to inspire abundant generosity, the first FaithWorks campaign was planned for the spring of 1997. The fundraising goal was set at $1.35 million, with a vision of 100 per cent participation by parishes. The campaign fell well short of its objectives, raising just $686,898 with only 65 per cent of parishes participating. Despite the disappointing results, faith in the potential of FaithWorks remained strong.

A speakers’ bureau, launched under the leadership of Joan Francis, a parishioner at All Saints, King City, helped to spread the good news of FaithWorks throughout the diocese. In 1998, Diocesan Council approved a measure that allowed parishes to retain 15 per cent of the funds raised through FaithWorks to support their respective local outreach ministries. In addition, each episcopal area would retain five per cent of the parish totals for area outreach.

These enhancements quickly paid off. The 1998 FaithWorks campaign raised $1,083,611, a 58 per cent increase over the previous year. Eighty per cent of parishes participated and it was becoming apparent that FaithWorks had the potential to breathe new life into diocesan outreach ministry. As FaithWorks took hold, many parishes took advantage of the campaign’s offertory envelopes to encourage giving throughout the year, while some parishes made FaithWorks an option for those who participated in the Pre-Authorized Remittance (PAR) program.

In 2004, the FaithWorks Corporate campaign was launched under the leadership of Peter Misiaszek, who had recently joined the diocese as the director of Stewardship Development. Tony Van Straubenzee, a parishioner at Christ Church, Deer Park, served as the first FaithWorks Corporate campaign chair. In its first year, FaithWorks Corporate raised $232,000 toward the campaign total and quickly became an important element of the annual campaign. A FaithWorks endowment was created in 2008 and has become a significant source of revenue that helps protect against fluctuations in campaign proceeds.

In 2003, 80 per cent of FaithWorks proceeds came from parishes. Today, parishes contribute about 60 per cent of FaithWorks revenue. Additional support is provided by corporations, foundations, individuals and income from endowed funds. In anticipation of the adverse impact that the diocese’s Our Faith-Our Hope campaign might have on annual support, the FaithWorks Allocations Committee had set aside a healthy reserve from previous years’ income and was able to provide a sustained level of funding until FaithWorks revenues normalized.

In 2015, FaithWorks raised $1.67 million, the best result in its history. It continues to provide essential operating support that allows its ministry partners to serve the needs of some of the most marginalized people in our diocese and around the world.  An ongoing process of discernment helps to ensure that FaithWorks will remain a vital, dynamic, and relevant ministry.

The post FaithWorks at 20: a brief look back appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

The name FaithWorks was originally suggested by Ward McCance, a parishioner at St. Peter, Cobourg, and a long-time supporter of diocesan outreach. FaithWorks was created in response to shrinking budgets – at the diocesan and provincial levels – at a time when the fabric of Ontario’s social safety net was becoming frayed. Within three years, FaithWorks came to be embraced by 85 per cent of parishes as our shared diocesan appeal for outreach ministry.

In 2014, FaithWorks raised $1.44 million, of which $1,067,892 was distributed to partner ministries; $84,927 was retained by parishes for their own outreach ministries; and $39,518 supported area ministry grants.

Parishes continue to provide the largest percentage of FaithWorks funds raised each year. Parish commitment remains strong; however, it would be unwise to rely solely on our parishes for support. This is why, in 2004, the FaithWorks Corporate appeal was launched. Since then, the corporate community has contributed more than $3 million. Other sources of support now include foundations, individual major donors, online giving, and two direct mail campaigns each year. We are redoubling our efforts to seek a broader base of financial support to ensure that FaithWorks will have the resources it requires for many years to come.

Much has changed over the past two decades. Long-time ministry partners are experiencing higher demand for services than ever before. New ministry opportunities have emerged in communities where there is no FaithWorks presence. All the while, the challenges faced by the most marginalized members of our communities have increased, as cutbacks increasingly force non-profit organizations to shoulder an ever-larger share of the burden for meeting their needs.

As a result, the competition for charitable dollars has grown fierce. Donors have many options for “doing good,” and they expect a greater level of accountability from the organizations that they choose to support. They want to know just exactly how their financial support is making an impact in the community.

Last fall, the FaithWorks Allocations Committee began a strategic review process through which it seeks to ensure the sustainability of FaithWorks well into the future. This will require an adequate level of support for existing ministries, but also will create the potential to assist ministries in parts of the diocese not currently served by FaithWorks. The committee believes that an important focus of this review is to ensure that FaithWorks is more intentionally aligned with diocesan missional priorities. The process has included dialogue with the College of Bishops and key diocesan staff members.

The committee’s work is ongoing, but two messages have clearly emerged. The first is that FaithWorks will continue to support the work of ministries that understand that the funding they receive from the church is helping to further the diocesan mission, which is “to serve Jesus Christ through intelligent faith, godly worship, and compassionate service.” The second message is that organizations receiving funding from FaithWorks must be committed to investing in the ongoing development of their board, staff and volunteers, their governance and management structures, and their own fundraising to support their ministry.

Allocations Committee Chair Shelagh McPherson, a parishioner of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Toronto, is excited about emerging opportunities for FaithWorks. “The committee members believe that there are many ways that we can support our partners; some are financial and some are not. We believe that creating strategic partnerships is one way that we might be able to offer a variety of resources to help our partner ministries build their capacity to serve their communities, and help each ministry achieve a greater level of sustainability.”

For example, a newly-established partnership with World Vision’s Child Well-Being Network will provide training and networking opportunities in areas such as volunteer management, fundraising events, grant writing and project sustainability. W. Clayton Rowe, director of World Vision’s Canadian Programs, is enthusiastic about the partnership. “We appreciate FaithWorks’ commitment to churches and local ministries,” he says. “Through a spirit of partnership, FaithWorks seeks to steward resources to transform the lives of those hidden by injustice. World Vision Canadian Programs anticipates great results through our work together.”

We are also optimistic about the potential for partnering with the Toronto Halo Project to understand the economic impact of FaithWorks ministries on the communities they serve. Dr. Mike Wood Daly, Toronto Halo Project’s executive director, explains: “The Toronto Halo Project is designed to assess the tangible as well as intangible services and resources that communities of faith provide to their surrounding neighbourhoods. The simplest way of thinking about this is as follows: If a community of faith were to cease to exist, what would it cost the City of Toronto to replace the services and resources they provided to their surrounding neighbourhood?”

In addition to the powerful stories of lives transformed that have always touched the hearts of donors and inspired them to generosity, these impact assessments will enable FaithWorks ministries to share their stories in new ways, appealing to a new generation of donors who want to understand how their gift to FaithWorks is making a real difference in addressing the root causes of poverty. Visit www.faithworks.ca to make a secure online donation.

The post FaithWorks turns 20 next year appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.