TABLE OF CONTENTS
3
Update on Partners: New Dollars/New
Partners Success Story; Exemplars Profile
14
FROM THE
PRESIDENT
FEATURE STORY:
The Halo Effect of Historic Sacred Places
Annual Report
19
21
In the late 1990s, when Partners documented
the dollar value of the subsidy an average
congregation provides to the outreach
programs it houses in its building, we
knew that we had discovered something
momentous. Indeed, the very act of assigning a
monetary value to the sacrifices a congregation
makes to serve its community, willingly and
joyously, was bold, even daring. And that
dollar value – including the value of building
space shared with community groups, the
time of volunteers, and in-kind support – was
almost $150,000 per congregation every year.
Green Building Feature: Faith Communities
Support Local Food Sources
22
Professional Alliance Spotlight:
Jaeger, Nickola & Associates
23
Professional Alliance Directory
ABOUT PARTNERS
Partners for Sacred Places is the only national,
nonsectarian, nonprofit organization dedicated to
the sound stewardship and active community use
of America’s older religious properties.
Partners’ Programs and
Services Include:
•
Training. New Dollars/New Partners for Your
Sacred Place is an intensive program that gives
congregations with older buildings the skills and
resources to broaden their base of support.
•
Regional Offices. Partners offers training,
technical assistance and capital improvement
grants through its Pennsylvania, Texas, and
Chicago Offices.
•
Workshops and Conferences. Partners’ staff
speaks on a variety of topics at national and
regional conferences.
•
Publications. Some of Partners’ books include:
- Your Sacred Place Is a Community
Asset: A Tool Kit to Attract New Resources
and Partners
- The Complete Guide to Capital
Campaigns for Historic Churches
and Synagogues
•
•
Information Clearinghouse. This web-based
resource provides information related to the care
and use of older sacred places.
(www. sacredplaces.org/information_center.htm)
Advocacy Initiatives. Partners works with civic
leaders, funders and policymakers, urging them
to adopt policies and practices that provide new
resources to older religious properties.
COVER PHOTO: Congregation Rodeph
Shalom’s recent restoration project
contributed $6,215,700 to the local
economy. This direct spending impact
was one of over 50 factors analyzed in
Partners for Sacred Places’ “Halo Effect of
Sacred Places” research. Photo courtesy of
Congregation Rodeph Shalom.
This reality – which we called the public value
of sacred places – shaped Partners’ outreach – and the public’s perception
of a congregation’s importance to the community – in ways that are still
resonating today.
However, it turns out that the value we discovered back then represented
but a small part of an extraordinary pattern of congregational contributions
to community health. Indeed, we are learning that the greater “economic
halo effect” of older sacred places is 20 or 30 times larger than previously
known! An average sacred place may have a halo effect valued at $4 to $5
million each year, and in a larger city like Chicago, Philadelphia, or Dallas,
the aggregate dollar value each year is in the billions!
Just as important as these raw numbers is the realization, now, that
sacred places impact their communities in so many ways. We documented
over 50 factors, all of them important, ranging from the value of trees
and green space on a church or synagogue’s property, to the leveraging
effect of capital projects, to the spending power of people drawn into the
neighborhood for an event or program.
Why is this data so important? Well, if congregations and their sacred
places play a much larger and more central role in our communities than
we ever knew, we can now make a much stronger case for integrating
sacred places into community development projects and public/private
investments in community-serving infrastructure. Furthermore, our civic
leaders – our mayors and bank presidents and foundation trustees – have
many more reasons to take an interest in sacred places. If they care about
children, the environment, neighborhood vitality, or the health of Main
Street, sacred places are important and deserve our attention.
Now we have proof that all Americans have a stake in the future of sacred
places. And all of us have reasons to ensure that the best of our sacred
places remain active and vital assets for the community for many years to
come.
BOB JAEGER
Sacred Places • Spring 2011 • 2