Date: Fri, 09 Jun 2017 22:42:01 -0000
We are in the process of converting to PowerChurch..
Questions are being raised regarding the value of the training video's.
Budget concerns are being raised in regard to the videos
What experience have people had moving to PowerChurch.
Did you use training videos and were they helpful.
We will be using the Membership, Activities, Contributions, Accounting and
Payroll programs. I think that is all of the programs.
Advise and experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Winnie McDonagh
UU Congregation of York
Approx 220 Members
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Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2017 21:28:41 -0000
Hi all, I am a college professor of IT, and? a churchmember volunteer working on our ACS system at First Universalist Church inMinneapolis.We do not have a staff person responsible for volunteercoordination.?My colleagues and I are attempting to create an inventory ofskills and interests of church members regarding volunteering.The data of course goes into the ?service? tab of ACS.?Can someone please their opinion (and success/failure story)of asking members about their life purpose (homelessness, economic justice) versus just asking who likes to usher on Sunday mornings?We?ve gotten some negative feedback for planning to mix thetwo types of requests on the database questionnaire.But we?ve also gotten support from those? that say evenfolding Sunday morning order of service bulletins is doingthe work of the church and is as important? as buildinga Habitat for Humanity house.?? ?I?ve just found this list serve. ?I?m very enthusiasticto have a forum with other UU?s about church management software.(We are on ACS and intend? to go to ACS/Realm inanother year or two. But more about that in a future posting.)?Larry Gottschalk, First Universalist Church, Minneapolis, MNLarry.Gottschalk at yahoo.com
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Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2017 11:29:20 -0000
I find the manual very easy to use and the phone and email support from the PowerChurch folks very good. I never used the training videos and suspect you could get by without them.
Al Gundlach
Finance and Database Director
First Unitarian Church of Rochester
220 Winton Road South
Rochester NY 14610
(585) 271-9070 x103
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Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2017 13:38:01 -0000
We use Church Windows, not ACS, but to answer your general question...yes,
we have a form that identifies "tasks" like ushering and "interests" like
homelessness or refugees. It is given to new members , and theoretically
it is given out to everyone to update every other year. The answers go
into our database, and perhaps more importantly, are given to leaders in
those areas. For example, if someone is interested in refugee work, office
staff give their contact info to the chair of UU Friends of Refugees and
hope the chair welcomes and includes them. This is great for helping to
get people connected!
The failure stories are those where the leader/chair does NOT welcome and
include them. We have heard stories where a new person filled out the form
with a lot of interests, and NO ONE contacted them. They naturally feel
sort of rejected.
We also do not have a staff person responsible for volunteer coordination,
but we dream of it. It would be great to follow up with every one who
fills out a form, connecting them directly with the right people - rather
than depending on volunteers to make the connections themselves - that is
iffy! Right now we have put the every-other-year distribution on hold
since it feels like the data is going into a black hole until we have
someone who is willing to make those connections. We do still have new
members fill it out, and just hope the connections that DO result, outweigh
the connections that DON'T.
Lea Smith
Congregational Administrator
Unitarian Universalist Church
Concord, NH