Extending Our Reach

The purpose of the Stewardship Drive is to secure financial support to fulfill and extend our mission and ministries both within our growing congregation and the wider community. Once a year OUUC asks congregational members and friends to make a pledge, a promise of financial support, for the coming budget year. These pledges ensure OUUC can continue funding Sunday worship services and the diverse programs and social causes we support as well as funding staff salaries, maintaining our building and grounds, and other operating expenses. Stewardship pledges account for almost 88% of the proposed budget.

During the stewardship drive we ask everyone who has been touched by OUUC– by a service, music, a class, committee work, social justice efforts in the community, support of young people, pastoral care, or something else deeply personal– to make a pledge to ensure these benefits both continue and can be extended to others. When you make your financial pledge to Extending Our Reach 2023-2024, you are helping to fund all that OUUC contributes to this congregation and to our community.

Our goal is 100% participation among congregants, everyone pledging according to their means. It takes us all to fund the work of the congregation. Please let your gift be an expression of your spiritual journey, knowing that it will be deeply appreciated and well used.

A pledge is our promise to give a certain amount of money to the congregation over the coming budget year (July 2023-June 2024) We declare our pledge during the Stewardship Drive and fulfill it during the budget year. We are encouraged to pledge generously and optimistically even if uncertain about our financial situation because a pledge can be adjusted if necessary. A pledge is a statement of intent, not a legally binding obligation.

OUUC strives to be a Beloved Community that supports us throughout our lives. When we attend OUUC, we count on it to provide worship and religious education for ourselves and our families and also to be here for us in intensely personal ways such as when we celebrate, when we grieve, and when we work for justice.

When we decide to become a voting member of OUUC, we sign the Membership Book, agree to uphold the covenant, and consent to fulfill a pledge each year. Making an annual pledge during the annual Stewardship Drive reflects both our shared values and our responsibility to sustain OUUC’s mission and programs for when we and others need it most.

No. OUUC members and all other friends of the congregation are invited to pledge! OUUC is dependent upon the generosity of all who make pledges, and each pledge is gratefully received and spent responsibly. If you have found solace, support, or meaningful work here, your pledge will help OUUC continue and extend these benefits to others within and beyond our congregation community.

Your pledge is welcome anytime, but traditionally members and friends are asked to pledge during the Stewardship Drive after the operating budget is set. This year’s pledges will fund the work and mission of OUUC during the budget year beginning July, 2023 through June, 2024.

The proposed budget for this coming year is just over $632,000.

The following charts show the costs of OUUC ‘s current budget expenditures and next year’s budget proposed for each ministry area. As you can see all operational costs have increased due to delayed cost of living, increasing staffing on-line services, and across the board inflation.

2023-24 Proposed Budget Operational Expenses by Ministry Area

Because everyone’s circumstances are different, we recognize and embrace the financial diversity of our congregation. And because financial need is not an obstacle to congregation participation, we ask those who are able to carry a greater financial commitment to support our community to ensure this remains a congregation for all.

To reach your pledge decision, please take a few moments to consider:

• What brings you to OUUC?

• What keeps you coming back?

• What personal and spiritual commitments do we strive to honor here?

• What is the spiritual value of giving generously to what you value and want to share?

The pledging guideline set by the UUA Board of Trustees asks congregants to, “pledge generously within their means.” Each of us is encouraged to reflect on what that amount could be for the upcoming budget year.

The UUA guideline encourages us to experience the spiritual practice of open-hearted generosity. One person described this as, “Giving until it feels good,” bearing in mind that your gift will benefit others, too. Let your gift be an expression of your spiritual journey and know that it is deeply appreciated. The effects of your financial gifts extend beyond your personal benefits.

As you consider your own circumstances, please remember that OUUC hopes to “Extend Our Reach” in the 2023-2034 budget year, and the operational budget we need is an increase of 15% over last year. How might you help achieve that?

Taking your own circumstances into account, here are some guides for you to consider as you consider your own circumstances. This link connects you to a fair giving guide based on your income provided by the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Others consider what some call a “liberal tithe” which means contributing 5% of your income to your faith community and 5% to other causes that you support.

All special designated gifts are sincerely appreciated. However, it is more helpful to the congregation if gifts can fund the carefully considered Operating Budget each year. The operating budget is designed to cover the expenses that keep OUUC running effectively and efficiently. The operating budget is prepared by the staff, approved and presented by the Board and approved by the congregation.

If you wish to donate to a specific OUUC ministry, please talk to a member of the Legacy Giving Committee or Rev. Mary at minister@ouuc.org. Current Legacy Giving Team members who are also Board members are Diana Finch and Jeff Goltz.

OUUC has made pledging easy!

• You can pledge right at congregation after the service. Simply find one of the Stewardship ambassadors in the Commons.

• You can pledge during the stewardship event on Thursday, March 16 at the Community Dinner at 5:30.

• You can pledge online from the OUUC website: OUUC.org. Click on the “Giving” tab to see the drop-down menu. Use Extending Our Reach link.
  
• Automatic withdrawal — Preferred Method!
  
• Automatic payments provide a steady, predictable flow of funds to meet our Congregation’s expenses. You can either:
  
• Use your bank’s automatic bill-pay service.
  
• Set up scheduled payments by logging into your Realm account (let the OUUC Administrator know if you’d like some help getting started!) or make one-time payments) on OUUC’s secure online giving page.
  
• Cash or Check— Mail checks to 2315 Division St NW, Olympia WA 98502. Give cash or checks to the OUUC Administrator or place them in the envelope provided with the Sunday offering. Please indicate your donation is for your pledge.
  
• For the Tech Savvy!— Text “OUUC” and “amount” to 73256. Standard text message rates do apply.
  
• Direct stock transfer— You can fulfill all or part of your pledge by making a direct transfer of appreciated stock to OUUC. It’s a win-win situation – on your tax return you can deduct the fair market value of the stocks on the day of your gift as a charitable donation and you avoid paying capital gains taxes because there was no sale. If you wish to pay your pledge through a stock transfer please contact the OUUC Administrator for specific instructions.
  
• IRA qualified charitable distribution — If you are over age 70½ and face Required Minimal Distributions (RMD) from your retirement accounts, you can instruct your IRA administrator to make a donation directly to OUUC that will be counted as part of your minimum distribution. You cannot deduct these ‘IRA qualified charitable distributions’ on your tax return; however, the amount of the transferred donation is not taxable income to you so you will probably pay lower taxes over all.
  
• Please consult your tax professional for advice and further details.

Our lives are constantly in flux, financially and otherwise. At OUUC we are here for each other, through good times and hard ones! Please contact the congregation administrator Darlene Sarkela at administrator@ouuc.org or Reverend Mary at minister@ouuc.org if you need to modify your pledge confidentially.

OUUC is a non-profit religious organization, so your contributions are tax deductible. The office issues an end-of-the-year tax statement showing your total gifts during the preceding tax year.

Gifts of all kinds and amounts are appreciated. And the amount collected on Sundays comprises a small fraction of the congregation’s operating expenses. In fact, Sunday offerings represent just 5% of OUUC’s total operating income and only 2.5% of the operating budget. We dedicated half of our Sunday offering to putting our faith in action by sharing our resources with community organizations that share our values.

No. Without volunteers doing much of the church’s important work, our paid staff budget would be much higher. Volunteered time is essential but can never replace financial contributions.

For additional questions please contact Karmel Shields, Stewardship Chair at karmelshields@comcast.net

Our stewardship goal is 100% participation among our congregants. It takes all of us to fund the work and mission of the Church. Let your gift be an expression of your spiritual journey and know that it is deeply appreciated.