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It’s all about the kids. It’s all about the opportunity to share Jesus’ love in our classrooms and in our community. It’s all about Him.
School administrators face many challenging tasks today. Studies point to the importance of curricular updates. Scheduling issues are on-going, and addressing staffing needs has become a daily task. Why one more workshop, one more event?
Bill Cochran, Director of Schools for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, gathered a special task force to explore the issues related to school funding. He is keenly aware of the reality that unless there is a strong fiscal foundation for a school, the forum for teacher student interaction is limited. Unless there is a clear plan for the fiscal operation of a school, it will not reach its potential and children will not be able to hear the message of Jesus’ love in their classrooms. The task force explored all areas of school funding and developed the National Lutheran School Funding Academy.
Since its inception, over 1,000 participants have benefited from attending a Lutheran School Funding Academy. Comments received from those in attendance have been overwhelmingly positive.
Funding Academy events provide more information than any one school leader can absorb or apply alone. Therefore, it is highly recommended to involve a congregational team including the School Administrator (Early Childhood, Elementary and/or High School) and a Board of Education representative. The Senior Pastor and a Business Manager or Lay Financial Leader are also encouraged to attend.
Funding Academy I is an intense, three-day workshop which empowers participants to understand their current methods of school funding, compare their model to that used by others, and expand their knowledge to improve and enhance the direction of their school.
Topics covered in Funding Academy I include the following:
Bible Study – Through Bible study, participants explore the role of the school administrator in stewardship education, the joys of personal stewardship, and the challenge of institutional stewardship.
The Fiscal Leader – Participants gain insight into leveraging their abundance to provide the margin that empowers ministry, accepting "ownership" for their school’s finances, leading with a vision instead of needs, addressing the "sacred cows" of financial leadership, learning to "mine" for efficiencies, and allocating costs.
Fiscal Assessment – Time is spent looking at the method of operation. How much is allocated for task "a" and for ministry area "b"? Where do funds come from? How are they allocated for disbursement? Are there ways to improve the systems that are currently in place? Participants are required to gather specific information and bring that to the workshop. Fiscal leaders are guided to do self- evaluation and to look for efficiencies in current operations.
Gift Development – It would be difficult to operate a school today without the receipt of special gifts. There are significant resources available to schools, they just need to be found. The reality is that not only must they be found, but they also must be groomed. To receive a gift, an audience must understand the school’s purpose and promise. In this section, participants explore gift development and learn new ways to encourage support for ministry.
Strategic Planning – Unless we plan to succeed fiscally we plan to fail. Special focus is placed on fiscal planning as well as institutional planning that can lead to successful and healthy schools. Special emphasis is placed on developing a business plan that assures an institution not only has today’s needs addressed but those that will help it grow for years to come.
Seats and Students – We cannot teach if a student is not present. Empty seats carry a ministry price in terms of lost opportunities to share His love. Empty seats also carry a fiscal price and limit our ability to operate our institutions at an optimum level. Participants work through the importance of student recruitment and retention and learn ways to reach out to the community.
Funding Academy II is a follow up program that takes place over two full days. This event offers additional insights into issues that are critical for our school leaders. All topics are designed to be the next level to Funding Academy I. However, they stand on their own for those not able to attend the first event.
Topics covered in Funding Academy II include:
Marketing: We need to tell the story! We need to boldly tell the world around us of the critical nature of our schools and the importance of Christian education in the lives of today’s children. This session will focus on such topics as web based marketing, knowing and understanding your "competition", best practices in providing financial aid and the importance of having the entire team engaged in telling the story!
Financial Potholes and Patches:
A practical look at cash flow, staffing formulas, setting and managing tuition and fees will help the administrator make good decisions moving forward. This session will look at signs of fiscal strength as well as fiscal potholes that can cause problems. Fiscal planning, auditing and supervision of those managing funds will be discussed.Hot Topics:
These are issues that need to be addressed without delay. There may be staffing issues, funding issues or even questions about keeping a school open that need to be placed on the table. In this session we will focus on the "sacred cows".Fiscal Leadership:
What services can be outsourced? What software is available to help us with daily tasks? How do we manage tuition collection and payroll issues? This section will also focus on the role of the administrator in managing and incurring debt as well as the importance of establishing solid business practices for the long term of the institution.Using Data – Demographic Information:
What do we know about our community? How would additional information influence the decisions that we make? How do we get the information? LCEF has an excellent program to assist us in our ministry. During this presentation participants will understand the services that are available to help our schools grow!Successful Annual Campaigns:
There are many facets to funding our schools. One facet is the annual campaign. During this section we will explore a variety of case studies of successful campaigns looking for practical suggestions that will help us build relationships with our support base.Funding Academy Webinars
- in partnership with LCEF, the Spring 2010 Webinar Series was made available to participants at no cost. Each session included as many as 85 participants. Recordings of these sessions are available on the Lutheran School Portal.Topics covered during this series include:
- Retaining Students
- Open House Programs that Work
- Financial Indicators
- Role of the Admissions Counselor
- Engaging Congregations in Change
- Teaching Stewardship
- Audit Time
- Financial Indicators
There are many components to a well funded school. Lutheran School Funding Academies provide the opportunity to explore a wide array of practical topics that chart the direction of your school for years to come!
For additional information, to request a Funding Academy in your District, or to suggest a Webinar topic, please contact Dr. Perry Bresemann, Associate Director of Schools and National Director of Technology, via the "Contact Us" tab.
