Halo Effect
Sacred places function as de facto community centers, yet often struggle to communicate their economic and social value to civic leaders. That is why Partners developed the Economic Halo Effect of Sacred Places, a tool used to calculate the localized economic impact of a single congregation or a group of churches or synagogues.
Assess Your Congregation’s Social and Economic Impact
A Halo Study of a church, synagogue, or other house of worship can lay the groundwork for advocacy and community-wide fundraising efforts, as well as recognize the extent of a sacred place’s impact on its community. The Halo Study convinces new community stakeholders of the value – social, economic, and civic – represented by a congregation’s ministries. Click here to learn more about the development of the Economic Halo Effect, and current research.
A Halo Assessment strengthens a congregation’s case statement for funding and raises enthusiasm among leaders. By effectively communicating a congregation’s value to the wider community, the Halo Assessment makes a compelling case for philanthropic and individuals donor support of sacred places as engines of neighborhood health and vitality.
Partners provides and individualized Halo Assessment to congregations who are looking to:
- Tell the story of their congregation’s ministry and space in a way that appeals to civic leaders and community stakeholders who may not speak the language of faith
- Communicate the value of a given program (e.g. a food pantry) or a program emphasis (e.g., arts programming, a concert series, etc.)
- Bolster annual stewardship appeals and larger capital fundraising efforts
- Provide data that strengthens grant applications
- Advocate for sacred place of threats, such as tax assessments
An Interview with The Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Frank
The Rev. Dr. Thomas Frank has served as a pastor, teacher and leader in United Methodism and historic preservation for decades, in recent years serving as University Professor at Wake Forest University and President of Partners for Sacred Places. In the wake of the publication of his book, Historic [...]
National Fund for Sacred Places: Congregations Complete Their Capital Projects in 2021
The National Fund for Sacred Places, a program of Partners for Sacred Places in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, works to help many of America’s most significant congregations advance the care and use of their historic properties. The only program of its kind in the [...]
Fear Not! Capital Campaigns in the Time of COVID
Congregations that had begun capital campaign projects before the pandemic or those just about to launch a campaign successfully developed novel solutions. Capital campaigns are organized, planned efforts to raise substantial sums of money in a relatively short period to make capital improvements, fund new ministries, or perhaps create an endowment – and are never easy in the best of circumstances.
2019 Annual Report Now Available
A Message from our Leadership Looking back at the last year from the perspective of 2020, we are struck by something said by The Rev. James Moody, pastor of Quinn Chapel AME Church, the first African American church established in the city of Chicago: By restoring the congregation’s connection to t [...]