2025 PLEDGE OF SUPPORT
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Please read the annual giving letter below before you make your 2025 pledge. Then, you can turn in a physical pink pledge form in person, or by mail, or fill out the online form by clicking this "2025 PLEDGE" button.
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Please contact the church office if you have any questions, or ask anyone on the Pledge team (they are identified at the end of the letter).
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PLEDGE LETTER MAILED 10.10.24 ON CHURCH LETTERHEAD
Dear member,
When Elle and Christine introduced themselves as your annual giving co-chairs on September 15, they promised the annual giving team was going to learn together in the coming weeks. And learn we have from church leaders, from number crunching and from so many of you.
We have, thankfully, joyfully, intentionally moved at the speed of trust.
We hope as you read this that you haven’t made any final decision about what you will pledge financially. We hope this letter will show what we have learned together and help you make a giving decision that is consistent with your hopes for the future of our church community. Our community includes so many. We hope you know more about how we give as a whole.
Maybe…
This year, we want to encourage all those who have pledged 3% (or more) of their gross income in the past, to maintain those pledges. We also want to urge all those who haven’t done so, to make THIS the year you make that transition. This year, we have a contract we did not have last year for full-time interim ministry. We intend to fulfill it.
But let’s begin where we left off. In Fall 2023, when annual giving closed:
What happened next impacts the choices we each make this year. Please turn the page.
In the opening months of 2024,
The point of the pledge walk the past three weeks was to SHOW you how a relatively small group of people, bringing so many different gifts, join together to fund this place, and in so doing, make this climate-friendly building, Rev. A.J. 's ministry, many wonderful musicians, nourishing educational opportunities for young and old, lovely art, kinship, justice work, not to mention lights, a fully-equipped kitchen, great meeting spaces…and, yes GROWTH, possible.
Most who walked the pledges understood better why the spread of our gifts makes us over-rely on too few people and under-rely on too many people. That’s why fully embracing the giving guide of 3% is critical to moving forward together in a sustainable way. It is equitable and it balances our giving across more “shoulders” than our current giving pattern as a community.
Not everyone who is working (or living on retirement income) can pledge 3% of their gross income, and that is why those of us who can do so, pledge a bit more. Unlike a business, we don’t make a profit that can cover our expenses. Unlike many with nonprofit status, we aren’t funded through grants or other “outside” funds. It’s just UUs!
There is a reason it is called a pledge and not a donation. A pledge is a promise that says “I take ownership in this place and you can depend on me to do my part, to do all that I can.”
All pledges will be gratefully received between now and October 31, 2024.
In Joy,
Your Pledge Team
Christine and Elle, co-chairs; Jason, Treasurer and Karen, Vice Treasurer
Dear member,
When Elle and Christine introduced themselves as your annual giving co-chairs on September 15, they promised the annual giving team was going to learn together in the coming weeks. And learn we have from church leaders, from number crunching and from so many of you.
We have, thankfully, joyfully, intentionally moved at the speed of trust.
We hope as you read this that you haven’t made any final decision about what you will pledge financially. We hope this letter will show what we have learned together and help you make a giving decision that is consistent with your hopes for the future of our church community. Our community includes so many. We hope you know more about how we give as a whole.
Maybe…
- you’ve never made a financial pledge to the church.
- you’ve grown your financial pledge steadily over time.
- you’ll reduce your financial pledge this year for reasons private to you.
- you're able and willing to pledge 3% of your gross income.
- you’re able and willing to pledge more than 3% of your gross income.
- you wish you could make a financial pledge, but simply can’t.
- you’ve given one-time gifts in the past that you cannot sustain.
This year, we want to encourage all those who have pledged 3% (or more) of their gross income in the past, to maintain those pledges. We also want to urge all those who haven’t done so, to make THIS the year you make that transition. This year, we have a contract we did not have last year for full-time interim ministry. We intend to fulfill it.
But let’s begin where we left off. In Fall 2023, when annual giving closed:
- 238 households were recorded as having made financial pledges.
- our board, as promised, did not issue a second “ask” for gifts.
- 238 households pledged more than they ever had, but fell short of “making up for” the sizable one-time gifts that had been offered in prior years.
- our board made the hard decision to reduce staff positions.
- 238 households took a hard collective breath and passed the budget.
What happened next impacts the choices we each make this year. Please turn the page.
In the opening months of 2024,
- our staff made the needed adjustment in hours.
- our senior minister opted for a furlough model and began a 1-month absence.
- our senior minister was offered and accepted a once-in-a-career position with a UU church in St. Paul, Minnesota, with our blessing.
- our board, using the powers granted by our by-laws, took the initial steps to hire a full-time interim minister with a contract beginning in August and pledged to work on a sustainable staffing model during the interim.
- 23 of the 238 households expected to pledge, did not for a variety of reasons (primarily death, moving out of Lincoln, changes in financial circumstance) and 18 prospective pledge households were added to the roll.
The point of the pledge walk the past three weeks was to SHOW you how a relatively small group of people, bringing so many different gifts, join together to fund this place, and in so doing, make this climate-friendly building, Rev. A.J. 's ministry, many wonderful musicians, nourishing educational opportunities for young and old, lovely art, kinship, justice work, not to mention lights, a fully-equipped kitchen, great meeting spaces…and, yes GROWTH, possible.
Most who walked the pledges understood better why the spread of our gifts makes us over-rely on too few people and under-rely on too many people. That’s why fully embracing the giving guide of 3% is critical to moving forward together in a sustainable way. It is equitable and it balances our giving across more “shoulders” than our current giving pattern as a community.
Not everyone who is working (or living on retirement income) can pledge 3% of their gross income, and that is why those of us who can do so, pledge a bit more. Unlike a business, we don’t make a profit that can cover our expenses. Unlike many with nonprofit status, we aren’t funded through grants or other “outside” funds. It’s just UUs!
There is a reason it is called a pledge and not a donation. A pledge is a promise that says “I take ownership in this place and you can depend on me to do my part, to do all that I can.”
All pledges will be gratefully received between now and October 31, 2024.
In Joy,
Your Pledge Team
Christine and Elle, co-chairs; Jason, Treasurer and Karen, Vice Treasurer
If you have any questions, please contact a member of 2025 PLEDGE TEAM
Pledge Drive Co-Chair - Christine Davis
[email protected]
Pledge Drive Co-Chair - Elle Straatmann
[email protected]
Treasurer - Jason Slaughter
[email protected]
Vice-Treasurer - Karen Heafer
[email protected]
You may also leave a voicemail message in the church office 402.483.2213 and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.
Pledge Drive Co-Chair - Christine Davis
[email protected]
Pledge Drive Co-Chair - Elle Straatmann
[email protected]
Treasurer - Jason Slaughter
[email protected]
Vice-Treasurer - Karen Heafer
[email protected]
You may also leave a voicemail message in the church office 402.483.2213 and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.
Where/how do I submit my pledge?
You can:
You can:
- Use the “2025 PLEDGE” button at the top of this page.
- Bring in, or mail in, your pink half-sheet Pledge Form you received with your Pledge letter.
- Email the church office with ALL the information: [email protected].
- Call the church office with ALL the information at 402-483-2213.
