Fabric Financial Stewardship Team (aka Swell Team)
The Financial Stewardship Team’s work focuses on the financial health of Fabric, specifically maintaining and growing our income.
The Financial Stewardship Team is distinct from the Fabric Board, which as part of its fiduciary duties is responsible for approving the annual budget, tracking our finances vs. budget, and ensuring compliance with ethical, financial, and legal standards. The Finance Team, comprised of Katy, Ian, the Treasurer, and a community volunteer, is responsible for the day-to-day financial duties of paying invoices, recording deposits, reconciling monthly bank statements, developing the budget, and filing tax and wage reports.
Key roles/functions/tasks of Financial Stewardship Team members:
Learn about and hold a deep understanding of Fabric’s funding, particularly sources of income, data about autogiving, community giving, etc. Fabric’s Treasurer will provide training and data.
Lead the Spring Giving Challenge, Give to the Max, and other fundraising efforts to support Fabric’s budget.
Given that the vast majority of Fabric’s income currently comes from the community and friends of Fabric, develop messaging about Fabric’s funding, budget, and the need for giving.
Research and pursue new ideas/income streams to help diversify Fabric’s income.
Serve as a resource/go-to person for community members who have questions, feedback, ideas about Fabric’s finances.
Logistics:
Financial Stewardship team is comprised of 5-6 members, mostly Fabric regulars but potentially friends of Fabric with an interest/expertise in fundraising. The Chair of the team should be a Fabric regular.
Ian, Lead Pastor, is the staff liaison to the Team.
Laureen, Fabric’s Treasurer, is not part of the Stewardship Team but is a resource. She will provide the Team with an orientation to Fabric’s finances, data about autogiving and other giving, and updates on budget vs. actual income.
Team meets approximately 5-6 times a year and has regular contact via email.
Suggested commitment of at least 2 years.
Photos and reflections by Jeanette Mayo
The turn of the calendar tempts us with promises of newness—fresh starts, better habits, upgraded versions of ourselves. But what if, instead of charging ahead with self-improvement schemes, we took a cue from winter’s stillness? What if we let go of the relentless hustle and embraced the radical idea that we are already enough?
Fabric’s January series, “Give Up,” has invited us into this counterintuitive wisdom—the grace of resting, receiving, and recognizing our inherent worth. Nature doesn’t demand that a hibernating bear emerge as a “better” bear. Spring’s renewal is not about striving but about unfolding what has been there all along.
In Wintering, Katherine May reminds us that transformation often happens in the quiet, unseen spaces. And in Belonging, Toko-pa Turner challenges us to strengthen our “receiving muscle,” to accept the support woven into our interconnected lives. “You are the receiver of too many generosities to count,” she writes. “Count them anyway.”
So, what if we stopped trying to earn our existence? What if we acknowledged the trees, the friendships, the small kindnesses that hold us? What if, instead of striving, we surrendered to belonging?
You are the gift. That’s enough. May it be so.
-Ian