Stewarding the Church Council's 105 Year Legacy

For 105 years, the Church Council has acted as a direct service incubator, ecumenical convener, and faith-based advocacy and community organizing hub. Throughout this history, the Church Council has embraced Christian denominations, multifaith partners, community organizations, and labor unions as key collaborators in our work. As we live into our second century, we are building collective power through faith-rooted community organizing for transformational change toward liberation and justice. You are part of this collective power, and we need your financial support!

This year, the board has been in discernment about the future of the Church Council, wrestling with the question: Is this the season we start to sunset the Church Council’s work? This fall, staff have shared the urgency and critical nature of this moment through one-to-one conversations, our fall fundraiser, and the e-news. By the end of the year, the Church Council needs to raise $60,000 to cover general operating expenses. We must also raise funds through our Capital Reserves Campaign to sustain the Church Council’s financial future.

Over the past 8 years, the Church Council has restructured our vision, mission, and governance model to support a theory of change committed to community organizing. This shift was possible because of a one-time gift in 2020. The Church Council has relied on this capital infusion to subsidize revenue shortfalls over the past 5 years, leaving this year’s operations fully reliant on current revenue with no reserves.

This critical moment calls for a new stewardship strategy. We cannot be more confident in the Co-Executive Directors’ ability to shift us into a financially stable future, grounded in our vision and rooted in our mission. Your financial support, both now and into the future, is a cornerstone to the Church Council’s success.

As Co-Presidents of the Board, we are excited for the incredible team of staff that are stewarding the Church Council’s vision of a future when justice is realized. How amazing is it…

• …to have the first openly queer and openly trans Co-Executive Directors, modeling shared leadership for the first time at the Church Council!

• …to be led by the most racially diverse staff the Church Council has ever had!

• …to be a bridge between faith communities and community organizations, practicing true solidarity with those most impacted in our communities!

All of this is only possible because we are building collective power for transformational change – change that answers the question “who benefits first?” with “those most impacted.” We know that collective power means organized people and organized resources. So, this is an invitation to practice abundance and make a gift to support the Church Council today.

Abundance reminds us that our commitment is to invest in our people and invest in our community. We honor these values by paying staff a thriving wage, which keeps up with the increasing cost of living in Seattle. Staff reflect these values by honoring the wholeness of those who participate in the Church Council’s work, by practicing language justice, meeting accessibility needs, and prioritizing directly impacted community members as vendors. We see how staff are stewarding our resources well, treating our budget as a moral document.

The financial moment we are facing as the Church Council is scary, yet we are choosing to operate in hope. By 2026, we hope to replenish the Church Council's reserve fund by raising $200,000 above and beyond our standard operating contributions through a Capital Reserves Campaign. We launched this campaign earlier this fall, with a $10,000 contribution. Additionally, we have received a $25,000 matching contribution for this appeal from a generous faith community. 

This growing support for the Church Council gives us hope for our shared work together. We are inviting you to match this commitment with your financial support. We are asking you to make two gifts today: one to support our 2024 operations, and another to support our Capital Reserves Campaign. You may send two gifts through the remittance envelope or designate a gift to each fund through our website: thechurchcouncil.org/give. Part of planning for a financially stable future is knowing when to expect gifts – shifting your annual gift to monthly donations will support us in that effort.

The work the Church Council has done for 105 years is about changing culture and changing the community, rooting our work in deep relationship. The Church Council offers us a model of what it looks like to move with integrity in a world that feels like it is crumbling faster and faster, meeting changing political and social moments in a way we have seen few organizations able to do. The Church Council opens spaces for all the anger and all the hope needed to ignite our journey toward transformational change.

Thank you for investing in the Church Council – facilitating a sustainable future where justice is realized.

Sincerely,   

Rev. Jenn Hagedorn (she, her)                Vince Larkin (he, him)

Co-Presidents, Board of Directors
Church Council of Greater Seattle