Planning tool

The Leader Timeline provides an overview of events for everyone in our community. This timeline adds events which are orchestrated by staff, the Board, or financial volunteers, such as the Treasurer, Finance, Canvass, and Endowment.

July

• Church fiscal year – begins on July 1

August

• Board – identifies a Closure Team of two people who live close to EUUC and who can take the necessary steps to close the church with short notice, such as cancelling services and events due to excessive snow
• Donor Database Manager – sends statements to donors in late August

September

• Administrator – completes and publishes the Annual Report

October

• Board – The Board votes to remove members who have not fulfilled their membership responsibilities.

November

• Endowment – holds a Heritage Society lunch, usually on the 2nd weekend in November, to honor people who have made a commitment to the endowment funds and to ask others to consider doing so
• Finance and the Treasurer – send notices to committees asking for their budget requests for the next fiscal year
• Staff – submit program ideas and projections to the Board
• Minister – reviews the employee job descriptions, duties, and compensation projections for the staff
• Treasurer – receives budget requests from committees and groups
• Finance – submit an article for the December newsletter to request that people submit proposals for the Auction’s Fund-a-Need project

December

• Donor Database Manager – sends statements to donors during the first week of December
• Canvass – Canvass updates the pledge form and the Fair Share Giving Guide
• Board – prepares materials for the Nominating Committee to share with prospective new Board members

January

• Supervisors – conduct employee reviews and submit summaries to the Board
• Treasurer – compiles budget requests based on the submissions from committees and groups. This budget reflects the work our members dream to do and strive to fund, rather than an attempt at creating a balanced budget. Hopefully, these dreams will motivate generosity in pledging.
• Treasurer – creates a Budget Requests Worksheet and submits it to Finance and the Board. This worksheet uses the dollar amounts requested by committees and groups
• Board – creates the Request Budget
• Administrator – makes 25 copies of the Budget Packet for congregational conversations and for those who may not be able to attend the conversations.
• Board – holds congregational conversations on the Request Budget. These meetings are held after each service on two Sundays, and they occur before the canvass begins.
• Administrator – begins setting dates for major events in the next fiscal year.
• Canvass and Board – meet to discuss plans for the canvass
• Finance – rank the Fund-a-Need projects and select one or more of them to recommend to the Board

February

• Donor Database Manager – sends statements to donors during the first week of February
• Canvass – kicks off the campaign on Chocolate Sunday
• Canvass – hosts Chocolate Sunday which is the Sunday closest to Valentine’s Day
• Board – reviews the process for the Annual Congregational Meeting and begins making plans
• Board Vice President – schedules the following meetings on the church calendar
  • for the next three years: the Annual Congregational Meeting
  • for the next fiscal year: monthly board meetings and executive team meetings
• Board Vice President – writes a newsletter article about the Annual Congregational Meeting

March

• Staff – in early March review and submit to Human Resources any requests for revising the employee agreements: duties, job descriptions, and compensation
• Human Resources – summarizes the changes in staff duties and job descriptions for the employee agreements.
• Human Resources – in early March sends comments concerns, and ideas regarding the employee agreements to the Executive Team for discussion at the March Board meeting
• Board – holds a special  budget meeting in late March or early April
• Board – sets priorities for the coming year
• Auction – holds auction in late March or early April
• Canvass – ends the campaign in late March

April

• Administrator and Board – prepares and mails the annual meeting notice
• Finance – prepares suggestions for the Board regarding how to balance the budget
• Board – finalizes the budget, usually on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at a special Board meeting, because Finance meets on the 1st Tuesday.
• Board – schedules congregational budget review meetings after each service on the two Sundays following the special Board meeting.
• Board and Administrator – Notify the congregation of the Annual Meeting
• Board – schedules for the next church year:
  • Board meetings
  • Special Board meeting on the budget for the 2nd Tuesday of April
  • Annual Meeting – for the first and second Sundays in May (reserve both dates)
  • Fall and Spring Leadership Gatherings
  • Congregational conversations for the Request Budget: after both services on the 3rd and 4th Sundays of January
  • Congregational budget review meetings for the 3rd and 4th Sundays of April
  • Additional congregational conersations, if needed
  • Potluck for Board and new members in mid-May
• Board – solidifies the plans for the Board retreat
• Board – prepares transition materials for newly elected Board members
• Donor Database Manager – sends statements to donors in late April

May

• Board – install new board members at the end of the May Board meeting
• Board – holds a special board meeting to elect new officers and authorize check signers
• Board – hosts a potluck for new EUUC members in late May

June

• Board – goes on a retreat
• Board – finalizes the Employee Agreements and votes to approve them at the June Board meeting
• Administrator – asks committee chairs, the Board President, and staff to submit annual reports. The reports tell
  • what happened in the last year
  • goals and plans for the coming fiscal year
• Church fiscal year ends on June 30.