March 2024

With hope,

~ Kevin O’Connor, Stewardship Team chair

• 2024 Pledge Drive Brochure:  Please read this brochure to learn more about next year’s goals and why your financial support matters to UUSS. 
• Online Pledge Form:  Please complete this confidential form to tell us what you intend to donate during 2024-25.
• Printable Pledge Form: If you prefer a paper copy, you can print this, fill it out, and bring it or mail it to the church.
• NOTE:  If you have questions or any trouble accessing information about your pledge, please let Church Administrator, Lillian Johnson, help you!  Call 518-374-4446 or contact admin@uuschenectady.org 

• Who should pledge?
• How do I know the right amount to pledge?
• When are 2024-25 pledges due and what is the best way to pay them? Can pledge payments be deducted automatically from a bank account?
• What is the 2024-25 pledge drive goal? What do our pledged donations make possible?
• What is the Operating Reserve account, and why do we continue to budget withdrawals from it?
• Why are we asked to make a pledge instead of just paying as we go?
• I don’t remember what I pledged this year. Can I look that up?
• What if my circumstances change and I need to change my pledge?

Testimonials

Frequently Asked Questions

Who should pledge?

Everyone who is regularly participating in the congregation and who cares about the congregation is invited to pledge. That includes not just members, but also friends, seekers, and visitors.

Choosing to become a formal member of UUSS includes making a commitment to support it financially. As members, we jointly own and care for two buildings, we jointly employ a number of staff, and we jointly accept responsibility for the costs that come with running such a wonderful, life-enriching, inspiring organization.

Except for our Youth members, Emeritus members, or persons who have sought a hardship waiver, all members are asked to demonstrate this commitment by making a generous pledge regarding what they intend to contribute in the coming fiscal year and then by fulfilling that pledge as the year progresses.

How do I know the right amount to pledge?

The right amount for each person or family to pledge is a personal decision. Here is some information that may help you think about what to pledge.

• Try to make your standard of giving reflect your standard of living. Given your budget, what can you contribute on a weekly or monthly basis? When you pledge, you are demonstrating your commitment to a place you have chosen as your spiritual home — not simply making a donation to yet another charity. So let your pledge celebrate your generosity and commitment!
• Sustaining our congregation costs approximately $2,022 per member. Some can give at that level or more. Others cannot. Some have suffered financially during the last few years. Others have seen their assets grow and may find themselves in a position to provide an extra level of support to UUSS at a time when others cannot.
• If you currently pledge at less than $2,022, can you double your pledge, or make a different increase with a leap of faith?
• A pledge commitment in our faith tradition often ranges from 3% to 7% or more of household income. Many have achieved a 5% pledge. Some UUSS members pledge at a 10% tithe. Other folks have proudly set themselves a multi-year goal of reaching those levels. One way to achieve this is to calculate what percentage of your income you give to UUSS now and see if you can go up by 1% more of your income each year.
• If you are giving all you can, Thank You! Whatever amount you chose, we hope you will give until it feels good. Maintaining your pledge and fulfilling your promise are SUPER appreciated!
  

When are 2024-25 pledges due and what is the best way to pay them? Can pledge payments be deducted automatically from a bank account?

2024-25 pledge payments are due anytime from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025. You can pay them in several ways described below. Please think about a method that is easy and consistent for you; this will help both you and the church with budgeting and cash flow.

We encourage households to consider monthly automatic withdrawals from a bank account to UUSS for your pledge payments. The process is easy and is initiated by Lillian in the church office using the VANCO system.  These automatic monthly payments are not only convenient for members, they are also a great help to the church. We can rely on planned monthly income that relieves the church of seasonal cash flow worries.

You can also mail checks to the church or put them in the Sunday offering basket to pay your pledge. An important thing here is to write “2024-25 pledge payment” in the check memo line so that we can credit your payment properly.

You can donate online using a credit/debit card or using ACH bank transfer. See our Donate page for where and how to do this. Again it is important to select the “Give to the 2024-25 Pledge Payment” option so that your payment can be recorded properly. Also please note that the church incurs a lower fee if you use ACH bank transfer.

Another pledge payment option that our older members may find attractive is to have money from your IRA sent directly to the church as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). Members who are old enough to be required to take a Required Minimum Distribution from some types of investments may find that using a QCD reduces their taxes. Please talk to your financial advisor about this.

What is the 2024-25 Pledge Drive Goal? What do our pledged donations make possible?

The Pledge Drive Goal is $456,000. Our Board of Trustees has set that as the goal for our NEXT church year (i.e. July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025), though they hope to generate pledges that are much high than that.

Historically, the pledge drive provides approximately 80% of the income needed to operate UUSS year-round. In other words, in a typically healthy year, pledges cover at least 80% of the money our congregation needs to pay for staff salaries and benefits, utilities, insurance, all types of supplies, equipment, services, care for our buildings and grounds, trash removal, etc. — the whole enchilada.  The remaining roughly 20% of our income has typically come from fundraisers, rentals, income from the investment of bequests, the Sunday offering, and other donations.

But pledges declined as a percentage of the budget during the three pandemic years (2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23), and in 2023-24 pledges will cover less than 69% of our expenses. To make up the difference, in these years the staff and Board have cut costs again and again, used a one-time federal PPP grant, and relied on one-time unexpected bequests that we received. Ultimately, the Board will likely need to withdraw money from the Operating Reserve account to balance the 2023-24 budget. Clearly this is not a sustainable situation. (See the next question below for more info on this.)

Here are the specific priorities for 2024-25 that the Board of Trustees hopes to achieve if this pledge drive is successful:

1. Invest in our growing Religious Education Program. Teaching our UU values to upcoming generations helps transform the world. Coming of Age, OWL & other UU curricula matter!
2. Live our values by compensating our staff with competitive, fair salaries & benefits that are within the UUA’s Guidelines.
3. Support our growing Music Program that provides joy, connection, and deeper experiences in worship and beyond.
4. Fund the shared Ministries of the congregation, including Lifespan Faith Development, Environmental protection, #UU the Vote, Anti-racism, LGBTQ+ and BIPOC support, as well as funding a Fair Share contribution to the UUAs’ Annual Program Fund
5. Increase the Co-Ministers position from 1.2 to 1.3 FTE. Our congregation needs and is receiving more ministerial service than we are currently paying for. On behalf of the congregation, the Board created a five-year plan to bring UUSS into better alignment with this need. 2024-25 will be the third year of this plan.
6. Improve our Energy Efficiency by tending to our aging Buildings, Grounds & Infrastructure.

What is the Operating Reserve account and why do we continue to budget withdrawals from it? 

We continue to budget withdrawals from the Operating Reserve account because pledges have not kept up with increasing costs.

Some background:  In May 2020, the Board of Trustees authorized creating a new Operating Reserve account in our bookkeeping system “to manage cash flow and short term savings for the organization.” Before that, UUSS had an operating account, the Building Fund, and the various Trust Funds, but no account specifically earmarked to cover short-term cash flow needs and to hold any revenue that was “left over” at the end of a fiscal year on June 30.

The Operating Reserve account added stability and resilience to UUSS finances at a time of great uncertainty due to the pandemic. It also provided a place where unplanned income (such as the several unrestricted bequests we have fortuitously received since 2020) could be held and deferred for use as needed in subsequent years.

The 2020-21 and 2021-22 operating budgets both included the expectation that we would need to take money from the Operating Reserve account to balance expenses, but in both years this withdrawal was ultimately not needed. In other words, we had expected to tap into the Operating Reserve account, but did not in those two years.

In 2022-23, we finished the fiscal year with a $24,618 deficit, but chose not to tap into the Operating Reserve account, opting instead to absorb the shortfall from our operating cash on hand. As this is written in late Feb. 2024, we are operating with a similarly sized shortfall year-to-date. A withdrawal from the Operating Reserve account will likely be needed the balance the books for 2023-24. This is worrisome trend, which is why the Board of Trustees and Stewardship Team are calling on all members to pledge as generously as possible for 2024-25.

Why are we asked to make a pledge in advance, instead of just paying as we go?

It’s all about planning and being able to use UUSS assets as wisely as possible. Imagine if your boss said to you, “I can’t tell you what your hourly pay rate or your salary will be in advance. I’ll just give you whatever I can each month.” Would that work for you?  How would you know what mortgage payment or car payment you could afford? How could you plan anything?

Like you, UUSS has many obligations — to our Mission, our staff, our members, etc. Reliable income predictions are crucial for balancing spending with income, and for choosing the best ways to fulfill our obligations and serve our Mission. A reasonably reliable income forecast results in better decision-making and helps our Board of Trustees and Finance Advisory Committee members sleep at night.

I don’t remember what I pledged this year. Can I look that up?

Sure. If you are a member of UUSS, our online database, Breeze, is your friend. It has a Profile for each member where you can see your pledge commitment and your pledge payments.

• Go to our Member Areas webpage and find  “Click to log in to Breeze.” Sign in with your username and password.
• Breeze will display your Dashboard. Next click on your own photo and name or on the words “My Profile” along the top to get to your personal info. Next click on “Giving” on the left.
• In your personal Giving section of Breeze, look for the side-by-side buttons “Giving” and “Pledges” just below your name and address. Click on “Pledges” to see both what you pledged for the current year and how much of that pledge you have paid to date.
• When you are finished, remember to log out of Breeze.
• If you have trouble, contact our Church Administrator at admin@uuschenectady.org call 518-374-4446.

If you are not a member and you have pledged previously, the Administrator can look this number up for you.

What if my circumstances change and I need to change my pledge?

We know that unexpected things can happen. If your circumstances change and you need to adjust your pledge, simply contact the Co-Ministers and let them know you need to make an adjustment and what amount you will be increasing or decreasing. If you need a partial or full waiver of your pledge, please ask them for a request form.