Proposal Procedure

Submitting a Proposal for Steering Committee Approval

If you have a proposal for doing something in the church that is limited in scope and has relatively little impact, you generally do not need Steering Committee approval. In these cases, you probably just need to get approval of whatever committee is overseeing the area in which you are interested.

For example, let’s say you want to propose a special Sunday service honoring some person. This decision is limited in scope and completely within the responsibility of the worship committee and/or the minister. There is no reason to take this proposal to the steering committee.

On the other hand, let’s say you want the church to start a soup kitchen. Clearly this will have a major impact on the church and would require approval at the highest level. The highest authority in our church is the Steering Committee.

If there is any question as to whether or not your proposal needs Steering Committee approval, contact the President for advice.

In general, the goal when submitting a proposal to the Steering Committee is to make sure that all issues have been resolved before the Steering Committee at which your proposal will be “presented”. If the proposal has been done well, the Steering Committee will need to do little more than rubber stamp your proposal. The Steering Committee is usually not the best place to resolve issues. Issues should be resolved before your proposal is brought to the Steering Committee.

Specifically, this means that any committees and/or individuals that might have an interest in your proposal should have seen it prior to presentation and had their issues resolved. With luck, these committees and/or individuals will now even enthusiastically support your proposal.

If the proposal involves finances in any way, then one of the committees that you will need to “sign-off” is the Finance Committee. The Steering Committee values the Finance Committee’s input highly. If there is even a question that the proposal might involve finances, talk to the Chair of the Finance Committee. It is better to be safe than sorry. The proposal will be rejected from the steering committee if it is decided that it should have been taken first to the Finance Committee and wasn't.

If, as you present your proposal to committees and individuals, your proposal seems to be generating a lot of controversy, it will probably be helpful to schedule a general meeting at which anybody who has an opinion on the proposal can come together to resolve their issues. Again, the goal is to use every possible strategy to resolve issues before the actual Steering Committee.

Here is your formal checklist for taking a proposal through the Steering Committee:

· Download the Proposal Form from the church web site or get a hard copy from the church office.

· Fill in the information.

· If there are any finances involved (including the possibility of having to pay the church rent), the form must be taken to the finance committee. Contact the Chair of the Finance Committee to arrange this.

· Take the proposal to any other groups and/or committees that might be impacted. If there are any questions as to which committees might be appropriate to talk to, contact the President for advice.

· As much as possible, resolve all issues before bringing the proposal to the steering committee.

· Call the President to arrange to put the proposal on the Steering Committee agenda.

· Make sure the proposal is circulated to church members before the Steering Committee at which it will be discussed. The best way to do this is

o send the proposal out to the liveoakuu email list at least one week before the scheduled Steering Committee,

o have printed versions available one or two Sundays before the Steering Committee,

o let people know through a printed announcement that the proposal is available.

· Send a copy of the final proposal, after all modifications have been completed, in either Microsoft Word format, rich text format, or ASCII text to the Secretary for inclusion with the minutes, preferably in email, at least 24 hours before the Steering Committee. This should be identified to the Secretary as the final version of the proposal that will be presented to the Steering Committee. Any changes in your proposal from this point on will be made by the Secretary.

· Bring 15 copies of the proposal to the Steering Committee. These copies should be identical to the one sent to the Secretary.

The requirement that the proposal first go to the Finance Committee does not mean that the Finance Committee has “blocking authority” over any proposal. The Steering Committee is the final authority on accepting or rejecting any proposal. The Steering Committee will rely heavily on the advice of the Finance Committee but has the authority to overrule the Finance Committee. The Steering Committee is not likely to do so without careful deliberation as to why the Finance Committee was opposed to your proposal.

Please be aware that the Steering Committee strongly discourages proposals "dropping in" without notice. Proposals will be rejected from the steering committee if it is determined that insufficient advance notice was given to members to consider the proposal. If, for some reason, you must bring a proposal to the Steering Committee without giving advance notice, you must contact the church president as soon as possible, ask for an expedited proposal and be prepared to explain why you need one.

(approved at Steering Committee 5/11/2002)