March 2025 Letter from the Board: Pledge Drive & Financial Stewardship
This is the time of year when UCM plans our budget for the year ahead and begins our pledge drive. The Governing Board wants to take this moment to communicate with you about the state of UCM. Our goal is to foster a common understanding of where we are as a church — how we tell the story of our past year and how we can write the story for the next. In the next few months, we plan to cover:
- Financial landscape and trends
- Engagement: Lay leadership and volunteer capacity
- Strategic planning and congregational priorities
Financial Landscape and Trends
Our finances are a story of our priorities, aspirations, and limitations. This money is also a history, telling a story of the stewardship of ministerial and lay leadership through our 160 year history. Most of all, it tells of the engaged commitment of families and individuals, year after year.
Altogether, our financial position is good. Our long-term invested funds total $1,010,511 as of December 31, 2024. Last fiscal year (FY24), we spent $403,697 on operations, $14,082 on capital expenses, and $106,000 on flood recovery. Our total pledge income was $348,000. We finished FY24 with net assets of over $30,000. Currently, we have $373,000 pledged for this closing fiscal year (FY25). For the year ahead (FY26), our draft budget includes $454,631 of expenses, with a goal for $386,000 of pledged income.
As we set our budget, we orient our financial priorities toward fulfilling our mission and aligning with our values. UCM aspires to be a loving community that pays our employees wages that meet or exceed the cost of living, and benefits that offer security, now and in the future. This year, we propose to expand staff funding. This includes higher wages, increased benefits, and more investment in our staff. This is an opportunity to practice living out the economy we want to see in the world, one rooted in care and fairness. We also aspire to double our contribution to the UUA from this current year. We recognize our mutual responsibility to the denomination and our gratitude for the help we received after the 2023 flood and hope to, in time, once again fulfill the full Annual Program Fund request.
This week, we begin the process of raising pledges to support our budget. The pledge drive runs from February 23 – March 16, 2025. UCM’s Stewardship Team has prepared information about pledging trends and the church’s resiliency and included this in the pledge packets. We hope that everyone will take the time to read through these materials carefully. We are able to raise the funds to support our mission and ministry through collectively pooling our resources. With everyone pledging what they are able, we can build a budget for next year that reflects our values and commitment to living into them.
Our financial story points to the deeper story of what we value and how we care for each other. What will our story be? We occupy the stage at this moment in the unfolding story of UCM. Though much in this world spins out of our control, the story of UCM will be one we choose for ourselves. Through generosity, engagement, and pride of purpose, we take power by acting our values into existence.
