Exciting Day--Quoted in the Newspaper

SRVS had a great article in the Commercial Appeal today and I was quoted....

felt pretty good! see:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/mar/30/new-srvs-headquarters-memphis-will-add-100-jobs-en/?print=1

or

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/mar/30/new-srvs-headquarters-memphis-will-add-100-jobs-en/

Also, hosted the first meeting of what I hope will be many w my friend Lori to start a Women's Group here that will work on defining the female voice in leadership in our community!

Fundraising Philosophy

here is my pulpit talk to Neshoba Unitarian Universalist Church a few months ago...it kind of summarizes my fundraising and somewhat of my life philosophy.

Making the World a Better Place-Year of Discernment at Neshoba

Sheila Ferguson’s Sermon notes for Sunday, January 23, 2011

Many of you know that I currently work part-time at SRVS helping them raise $6 million to expand services to nearly 1,700 people with disabilities on their waiting list. It is not just a job, it is one of the ways I accomplish my own personal mission.

Mainly I carry out my mission by fund raising and teaching fund raising principals and techniques to nonprofit organizations that are making the world a better place.

SRVS is one nonprofit with a unique mission to make the world a better place….HOWEVER, there are a variety of organizations that make the world a better place by their unique missions.

They include: schools, churches, hospitals, animal shelters, civil rights organizations, museums, zoos, symphonies, nursing homes, libraries, and on and on and on. Here, alone in the Mid-South there are over 3,000 non profit organizations!!

Our church is one of these organizations. Neshoba is here to make the world a better place.

We may want to make the world a better place by helping one another find our own spiritual path, or

We may want to make the world a better place by encouraging more like-minded people to attend and become members of Neshoba, or

We may want to make the world a better place by building relationships with one another thru building community or social activities, or

We may want to make the world a better place by teaching our children strong values based on the 7 principals of Unitarian Universalists, or

We may want to make the world a better place by participating as a unit in social justice and action in our community.

There are a variety of ways Neshoba can make the world a better place. HOWEVER, while we are working to discern together how we will BEST accomplish Neshoba’s mission, I suggest that we each reflect on our unique talents and skills and decide how we will use these talents and skills in the discernment process.

My unique talent or skill is fundraising!

Many think fundraising is scary and hard.

I think fundraising is FUN! It’s a way to connect people who want to help; with people who need help. It’s a way to accomplish important goals and it’s a way to make the world a better place.

Many people think fundraising is begging.

I believe fundraising is giving people the opportunity to invest in something important and special. It is giving people a chance to make the world a better place.

Henri Nouwen says in his famous sermon: The Spirtuality of Fund-Raising

Fundraising is, first and foremost, a form of ministry. It is a way of announcing our vision and inviting other people into our mission…. As a form of ministry, fund-raising is as spiritual as giving a sermon, entering a time of prayer, visiting the sick, or feeding the hungry…

In churches, we often use the word “Stewardship” as code for fundraising. You just heard what I think about fundraising (It’s FUN AND It’s an OPPORTUNITY to make the world a better place). So here’s what I think about Stewardship:

Stewardship is more than ensuring the financial wellness of the church. Stewardship is all the ways that we contribute to ensure the health and stability of our church and it requires:

TIME + TALENT + TREASURE

Each member (including the children) can contribute a portion of each of these “T’s” to keep Neshoba strong.

In addition to giving Neshoba some of my TREASURE (code for money), I will be contributing my TIME and TALENT by guiding the Stewardship committee over the next year. We will work on developing effective ways to ensure Neshoba is positioned to accomplish our mission and make the world a better place. I appreciate your support and suggestions.

Now I ask you to think,

“HOW or WHAT WILL YOU contribute to ensure the health of Neshoba and make the world a better place?”