Campaign Services
Williams Consulting Services
We were helped immeasurably by Jennifer Williams's guidance for our capital campaign. She empowered us to find the right leadership; she provided a structure that made every person accountable to the whole project; she nudged us when we needed nudging; she cheered when we were successful. And successful we were, exceeding our goal of $300,000 by nearly $50,000. Jennifer is grounded in a spiritual understanding of church and fundraising, and because of her, our Prayer Task Group literally prayed us through the process. We are a stronger church and congregation because we worked with Jennifer on this daunting project.
Annie Cheatham, Campaign Tri-Chair
First Congregational Church, UCC, Ashfield, MA - 2017
We had a superb experience with Williams Consulting on our Feasibility Study. Jennifer Williams outlined the process in clear terms, and she met all obligations toward implementation. She and her colleague interviewed 48 members and friends of the First Congregational Church of Ashfield (UCC), and we heard only positive comments about that process. Jennifer's reports to the Trustees and Deacons, followed by a summary for the congregation were cogent, direct, forthright, and reflective. Ms. Williams is a professional who has years of experience with church communities, and her appreciation of their special traits and challenges was evident. She gave us a wonderful snapshot of our community, and we would recommend her highly to any other potential client.
Ted Murray, Chair, Board of Trustees
First Congregational Church, UCC, Ashfield, MA, Feasibility Study - 2016
Perhaps one of the most helpful aspects of the campaign was the feasibility study. Jennifer’s welcoming but straightforward manner encouraged our members to speak openly and honestly about the strengths and weaknesses of our church, comment on the potential campaign projects, and speculate as to how much money we could expect to raise. Jennifer recorded these responses in minute detail, and the compilation of these answers enabled us to prioritize our projects, set a goal for the campaign, and provided the church with valuable feed-back for our on-going work as a congregation.
Deborah Porter and Esther Haskell, campaign co-chairs
Charlemont Federated Church, Charlemont, MA - 2013
The Accessibility project has been the springboard for so much more and accessibility has become an underlying theme of our mission. We are at the point now where some shake their heads and say, “Wow, I never really believed we could do this… and in these economic times, too.”
Ted T. Yungclas, Ph.D. Assistant Dean, UConn
Storrs Congregational Church
We knew immediately that Margery and Williams Consulting were the right fit for our church. The combination of their vast experience with campaigns in a wide variety of church settings, their calm demeanors, their authoritativeness, their clear focus on the objectives, their willingness to learn about the demographics and culture of our unique church, and their strong and clear manner of communicating what needed to be done and when: all of this was both encouraging and soothing to our leadership.
Rev. Molly Baskette, Senior Minister
First Chuch Somerville, MA
Organizationally, Margery and Jennifer helped us to identify campaign leadership, establish a time-line and provided training. They clarified each task group's responsibilities and expected results. Margery and Jennifer's experience particularly sensitizes them to the campaign's momentum and the particular importance of specific actions, timing and events.
Mike Blaire & David Roayer, Capital Campaign Co-Chairs
UCC of Keene, NH
Charlemont Federated Church
October 19, 2016
Several years ago (2013-2014), when faced with major repairs to our beautiful New England church, our congregation explored the possibility of having a capital campaign. We looked to the UCC for direction and were encouraged to hire a consultant. Williams Consulting Services was highly recommended both for their expertise and proximity to Charlemont. This turned out to be excellent advice.
Jennifer Williams is a woman with a plan, and a plan that works! She is extremely well organized and presented us with a schedule that outlined every step of a capital campaign, complete with progress goals and due dates. Her plan included regular one hour meetings of the entire campaign committee, (24 people!), and she attended every meeting, giving us guidance and encouragement. Her enthusiasm, optimism, and tireless energy kept us moving forward. “We can’t!” was never an acceptable response.
Perhaps one of the most helpful aspects of the campaign was the feasibility study. Jennifer’s welcoming but straightforward manner encouraged our members to speak openly and honestly about the strengths and weaknesses of our church, comment on the potential campaign projects, and speculate as to how much money we could expect to raise. Jennifer recorded these responses in minute detail, and the compilation of these answers enabled us to prioritize our projects, set a goal for the campaign, and provided the church with valuable feed-back for our on-going work as a congregation.
Jennifer’s plan is based on many years of experience in church fund-raising. She knows what works and what doesn’t, and following her direction, step-by-step, led us to exceed our goal. We are grateful that she challenged us to imagine a goal far beyond what we thought possible for our church of 120 members. Today we have seven completely restored stained glass windows in our sanctuary, energy-efficient windows in our social rooms, a fully accessible back entrance, and a freshly painted church building and parsonage. We look forward to renovations to our kitchen and a number of smaller projects to be completed within the next year. Thank you, Jennifer. We could never have completed this campaign without you!
Deborah Porter and Esther Haskell, campaign co-chairs
Charlemont Federated Church
Charlemont MA
Storrs Congregational Church
January 31, 2009
Margery and Jennifer were indeed the right people for Storrs Congregational Church - we interviewed four or five fundraising specialists and were most comfortable with them, their calm demeanor and probably most important their outline for success. The church took on this project at a time of transition, during a transitional ministry where people were hurting and the positive results of the project were multifaceted.
Primarily, we addressed the accessibility issues in our buildings - this was the purpose for the fundraising. Having a common goal such as making our building accessible assisted in bringing so many members together.
In addition, though, the underlying work and committed involvement by such a large portion of the congregation was the key to our success. With Williams Consulting’s guidance, we were encouraged to find responsibilities for as many members as possible. We also were able to connect with many members who had become discouraged and bring them back into the active membership. We actively canvassed every member of the congregation and were able to garner gift commitments from so many people.
The Accessibility project has been the springboard for so much more and accessibility has become an underlying theme of our mission. We are at the point now where some shake their heads and say, “Wow, I never really believed we could do this… and in these economic times, too.” And it is wonderful to see the aging portion of our church use the elevator with ease.
Our loan has been paid off and we have been delighted to move into the tithing phase of the project where we have been able to give generous gifts to several area charities and causes. Thanks to Margery, and Williams Consulting, again for her patience and guidance through the fundraising process - she was indeed right about the way it would work. I am glad we listened!
Ted. T. Yungclas, Ph.D., Assistant Dean, UConn
First Church Somerville, UCC, Somerville, MA
June 30, 2014
At First Church Somerville UCC we did our first capital campaign in living memory - at least 40 years. Our struggling urban congregation had recently come back from near death. We are now a Congregation of about 150 members, most under the age of 45, folks who are well-educated but too young to have accumulated much in the way of assets.
We were anxious about doing a campaign - our church was so unlike so many other churches, and we just didn't know what a campaign could yield in such a young, urban landscape. But we needed to raise a lot of money to renovate our aging building envelope - we had no other choice.
We knew immediately that Margery and Williams Consulting were the right fit for our church. The combination of their vast experience with campaigns in a wide variety of church settings, their calm demeanors, their authoritativeness, their clear focus on the objectives, their willingness to learn about the demographics and culture of our unique church, and their strong and clear manner of communicating what needed to be done and when: all of this was both encouraging and soothing to our leadership. They taught us what we needed to learn, and matured us in the art of charitable fundraising. We exceeded our campaign goal by 20% - ultimately raising $600,000 toward our renovation, with more yet coming in.
Most importantly, our young people have seen the power of what they can do with the right leadership and motivation. Morale is through the roof.
United Church of Christ of Keene, NH
November 30, 2005
Our capital campaign was a fast-paced, uplifting, spiritual event in the life of our church.
Capital campaigns occur infrequently and require organization, role clarity and strong congregational commitment. Organizationally, Margery and Jennifer helped us to identify campaign leadership, establish a time-line and provided training. They clarified each task group’s responsibilities and expected results. Prior to beginning the campaign we retained Margery and Jennifer to conduct a feasibility study determining the congregation's support for the construction project and their financial commitment. The process we followed during the campaign further developed congregational enthusiasm with publicity, education and the active involvement of over 150 congregational members.
Perhaps the most significant value added to the campaign arises in more subtle ways that one must experience first-hand to fully appreciate. It may be an email nudge or query at a critical point. Margery and Jennifer’s experience particularly sensitizes them to the campaign’s momentum and the particular importance of specific actions, timing and events. For example, we did not appreciate the uplifting importance of our “kick-off dinner” until it occurred, or the spiritual power of congregational prayers for the campaign.
We strongly encourage using Margery and Jennifer as consultants. They clearly contributed greatly to our capital campaign’s success as we raised $1,231,620, over-subscribing our $1.2 million goal!