A survey of CB&LF new, existing and prospective loan partners and service recipients.

1. 2014 United Church of Christ
Church Building & Loan Fund
Survey Results
Presented to the
CB&LF Board of Directors
Monday October 13, 2014
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2. Our Mission
The mission of the United Church of Christ Church Building &
Loan Fund(CB&LF) is to assist new* and renewing churches
that desire to purchase a land site, and/or desire to purchase,
construct or renovate church buildings, meeting houses,
parsonages/rectories, and other facilities used by new and/or
renewing churches of the United Church of Christ (or by any
Christian church without limitation to sect, denomination, or
name).
*churches 30 years or younger, about 10% of all UCC congregations

3. Our History
Founded in 1853, CB&LF finds its origins in the oldest church
building loan fund in the United States. CB&LF is the successor
organization to the building societies of our predecessor
denominations (the Congregational, Christian, Evangelical and
Reformed Churches).

4. Survey Participation
526 Churches Contacted
106 Churches Responded (87 Completed)
20% Response Rate
Survey Participants: Loan Partners, Special Mortgage Holders,
PIB Participants, & Churches Considering Building Projects.

5. Who Do We Serve Today? Locations
69% of churches served by CB&LF are in a large municipality (54%) or in a
suburb of one (15%). Almost 20% are in a downtown or central business
district. This suggests that a number of our congregations are in robust real
estate markets. About 17% of churches are in small towns (8%) or rural areas
(9.2%).

6. Who Do We Serve Today? Membership
Almost 63% of churches that CB&LF serves have 50-200 members; 35%
have 100-200 members. 25% of churches we serve have 200 or more
members.

7. Who Do We Serve Today? Extravagant Welcome
Almost 73% of churches that CB&LF serves are Open & Affirming.

8. Who Do We Serve Today? A Cultural Mosaic
Nearly half of the churches served by CB&LF are composed
primarily of African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, or
multiracial members. About half are composed primarily of
White/European American members.

9. Who Do We Serve Today? Financial Capacity
From 2011-2013, the majority of churches served had annual
budgets of $50K-$150K (33%) or $150K - $250K (27%). Almost
25% of churches served had budgets of $250K or more.

10. Who Do We Serve Today?
On average, new and renewing churches that engage in building
projects are similar in membership size and slightly smaller in
annual budget size compared to most UCC congregations.*
However, they are far more racially and culturally diverse in
comparison to older congregations in the denomination, and
they embrace enthusiastically the mission and values of the
United Church of Christ.
* In comparison to the 2014 UCC Statistical Profile

11. Churches Seeking Technical Assistance
2007 – 2014
"Technical
assistance" is
expertise provided
to help churches
organize, plan and
prepare to finance
church building
projects.
About one out of every two churches that contacted CB&LF were specifically
seeking technical assistance. This affirms our new strategic direction which
emphasizes two categories of offerings: loan products and consulting
services.

12. How would you rate the quality of
technical assistance provided to you?
Almost 89% of churches that received technical assistance felt that they
received timely assistance. 65% of churches felt that their needs were met (the
remaining 1/3 of churches are likely to still be prospective CB&LF loan partners
or service recipients). No churches sought services from a bank or other
financial institution after reaching out to CB&LF.

13. Churches Applying for Loans 2007 – 2014
Only 29% of churches applied for loans. Over 70% of churches needed
only technical assistance and/or were not ready for, or did not need
financing when they contacted CB&LF.

14. Loans Approved 2007 – 2014
93% of loan applications were approved, indicative of thorough pre-application
preparation or screening.

15. Purpose of Loans
Nearly 1/3 of CB&LF loans since 2007 were for refinancing, reflecting more
competitive interest rates. Almost twice as many new building projects were
building purchases rather than new construction. One quarter of churches
secured financing for major renovation projects.

16. Evaluating Building Professionals
Most churches were pleased with the professionals they contracted with for
their building projects. Most churches used a general contractor and/or an
attorney on their projects, but not a design/build firm, builder, architect, or
engineer.

17. What do you consider to be the most
important aspect of your loan experience?
More than 75% of churches served felt that CB&LF’s competitive rates &
terms or our staff availability & support were most important to them.
Almost 18% thought it was important that church building loan assistance is
available through the United Church of Christ.

18. Quality of Assistance in the Loan Approval
Process
100% of our loan partners rated CB&LF’s loan approval process as
“Excellent” or “Good”, with over 82% of churches rating our services
as “excellent”.

19. CB&LF Loan Services Compared To Banks &
Other Church Lending Institutions
In every category (rates, terms, flexibility, knowledge, experience) churches
rated CB&LF better than the competition. Overwhelmingly, churches
believed that CB&LF was the best at communicating financial information to
lay and clergy leaders.

20. Special Mortgages
While most churches said that they do not have special mortgages, the
response to this question is not reflective of the facts. It is possible that
many churches do not understand what a special mortgage is.

21. Time, Energy, Planning, Money Devoted to
Building Issues
Almost 52% of churches had building issues arising from deferred
maintenance; 24% were severely impacted by these issues. Roughly 8% of
churches devoted most of their budgets to building issues. Over 10% of
churches were worried about how they would continue to afford their
buildings.

22. Church Building Scenario Planning
Over 48% of churches CB&LF has served are
working on (29%) or exploring ways(19%) to re-use
or reconfigure their church buildings to meet
emerging needs in the community and advance the
Gospel in a new way.
Some 48% of churches are working on (26%) or exploring
ways (22%) to develop underutilized or vacant property to
meet emerging needs in the community and to possibly
generate additional income for the church.

23. Church Building Scenario Planning
Almost 37% of churches responding want to talk with CB&LF about their
overall church building needs. Nearly 32% expressed interest in other ways
to use church property to advance the mission of the church (community
economic development, housing, income generation). Some 11% of
churches, because of dwindling membership, want to plan for the legacy of
the church.

24. CB&LF Products & Services
Most churches in relationship with
CB&LF are familiar with our loan
products (79%), capital campaign
services (69%), and our Partners in
Building Program (41%).
Churches want to learn more
about our Church Building
Professionals Initiative (26%),
loan products & capital
campaign services (24%
each).
CB&LF Products & Services
• Loans
• Capital Campaign Services
• Partners in Building
• Partners in Vision
• Lease-to-Own
• Church Building Professionals Initiative
• Renewing Church Program

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