Commitment 2 Give
Time, Talent, AND Treasure: 125 Years of Relentless Love
Since 1897, UUCM has been thriving because of our members’ generosity of Time, Talent AND Treasure. Today, in 2023, our congregation is overflowing with folks giving their time and talent, but we are relying on too few for monetary donations.
First, the Good News-
We have very generous families in our midst. Do you know that 9 families were responsible for 25% of last year’s monetary giving? Another 18 families were responsible for the next 25% of our monetary giving last year. Do you remember when Rev. Scott shared that he and Rev. Anya donated $7,000 to UUCM last year?
Now, the Bad News-
Last year 98 members (that’s 30% of our members) did not make a commitment to give (pledge) last year. Our financial inflows are trending downward. Only with government subsidies and generous one-time legacy gifts were we able to balance our budget for the past 3 years. That’s not sustainable. We need to ensure that what comes in is enough to pay for what goes out. Stewardship is the practice of paying for today and building for tomorrow. We don’t want to dip into our endowments for ongoing expenses.
Back to the Good News-
One of the deepest spiritual practices for us as UUs is the giving of time, talent, AND treasure in support of our most deeply held values, our cherished staff and our beautiful building. Most of our budget goes towards staff. Our staff provides the support that allows us to engage in community, to deepen our spiritual connection, to cherish congregational life, to live our values and to make an impact in the community we live in. Make sure you are part of this. Make sure you, too, provide what you can to keep us flourishing!
You can fill out the form below or click here to fill out a form to either print or email.
Help Us with Our Commitment 2 Give
75% of our annual budget comes from commitments made by our members– 80% of which are staffing costs. A Giving Commitment for the year (submit your commitment by March 31, please) make planning possible; we build our budget and what we can accomplish in 2023-24 based on what our members have committed to give for that year. Commitments in the past have ranged from $200 to more than $20,000 a year; $1,500 is the median amount that has been committed.
The suggested annual commitment in the UU community is 2-4% of after-tax income. Please consider becoming a sustaining member by providing your bank or credit card information on Realm for year-to-year continuity. Thank you for your commitment to our congregation. May we look forward to an exciting year 2023-24.
Our 2023-24 pledge goal is $525,000*. This funding will support:
● Stabilize our finances. No more deficits.
● Pay staff closer to UUA fair compensation standards.
● Honor our founders by growing our children’s religious education program.
● Support essential programming, including social justice ministries and community-building events.
● Continue to steward our historic building and grounds.
PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY.
Manage Your Giving on Realm