Letter from our Presidents, May 13, 2014

A letter from our Presidents (President, Past President, and President-elect) regarding Pledges, May 13, 2014

Dear members and friends of UUFD,

As the UUFD fiscal year draws to a close, we are working on collecting remaining pledges for the 2013-14 year as well as pledges for the upcoming 2014-15 fiscal year. For the upcoming congregational meeting on May 18, we are working on creating a budget for 2014-15 that continues the work we do at UUFD and in the community while treating our employees fairly, spending wisely, and continuing to attract new members and friends.

We are still waiting for about $12000 in 2013-14 pledges to come in; the fiscal year ends May 31, so if you have not paid your entire pledge yet, please do so as soon as you can. As you probably already know, we ran short of funds this year and had to cut our contributions to the national UUA and the Midwest Region in half; we also cut some spending on resources for worship and religious education. Even with that, we are still short of funds, and have borrowed against funds contributed for other purposes to keep up with expenses.

For 2014-15, we would like to maintain our staff at their current salaries; ideally we would prefer to be able to give cost-of-living increases, but that will only be possible this year if pledges come in more generously than we are expecting. We will continue to give half our fair share to the UUA and region; again, with more funds we will gladly increase this so we are giving our fair share again.

If you are not sure whether you have fulfilled your pledge for 2013-14, please contact the church office. If you have not submitted your 2014-15 pledge form yet, please do so at your earliest convenience. Pledge forms are available from the church office, the UUFD website under "Member Center," and also from Tom Stamatakos.

When you are considering how much to pledge, remember that pledges make up over 75% of our budget; we need to raise over $1000 per member in order to keep functioning. We understand that some people cannot give this much, while others will give more; in general we suggest between 3-5% of income as a pledge. Those with low incomes may only be able to give a little; those with higher incomes may be able to give more. But even if you can only give a little, please do! Your pledge represents your commitment to UUFD, and in return UUFD has a commitment to you. We are a congregation of people who are committed to help each other and our community; every contribution is important.

Thank you, and please contact one of us if you have any questions.

Sue Willis, President

Dan Kenney, Past President

Tom Stamatakos, President-Elect