Success Stories
Church of the Redeemer – Baltimore, Maryland
www.redeemeronline.com
Founded in 1855, The Church of the Redeemer is among the oldest parishes within the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, serving a vibrant parish of more than 1,000 families. It presently pursues an ambitious array of outreach and ministry programs, which are led and managed by parishioners spanning the generations.
In 2006, The Sheridan Group completed a Campaign Readiness Assessment, as the first component of a Campaign Feasibility Study on behalf of $7 million campaign to fund several deferred maintenance initiatives, as well as increased endowment. Based on a thorough investigation of current stewardship performance and trends and a series of interviews with staff and Vestry leaders, the Assessment recommended that prior to continuing with the Feasibility Study, Redeemer first complete a nine-month Pre-Campaign Readiness Program.
Working with a Campaign Planning Committee of twelve long-time parish leaders, The Sheridan Group helped Redeemer identify its top 100 potential campaign prospects, before preparing committee members to conduct a series of scripted cultivation appointments. Simultaneously, we assisted Redeemer in completing its facilities planning process, with developing a position description for its first-ever director of stewardship and in conducting a Parish-wide web-based survey on current parishioner attitudes and interests in order to further engage the congregation.
With Redeemer having achieved a sufficient level of campaign readiness, we worked with senior church officials to finalize a Case for Support and then completed a Campaign Feasibility Study in the fall, 2007. The Feasibility Study advised a three-phased capital campaign, using The Sheridan Group’s tried and true ‘fail-safe’ approach. A successful Nucleus Fund Phase (leadership recruitment, solicitation of Redeemer’s top 25 prospects, Vestry and Clergy, ongoing prospect cultivation) during 2008, enabled Redeemer to proceed with a targeted effective Leadership Gifts Phase (additional leadership recruitment and solicitation of the next 50-75 to prospects), which had secured more than $2 million in commitments before the Campaign went ‘public’ in early 2010. As of late 2011, the Campaign had received $3.1 million toward its $3.6 million goal.
