Pledge Drive 2018: “What Are Your Dreams for UUCS?”

LitCandles

The 2018-19 pledge drive runs from Celebration Sunday on February 25, 2018 through March 11, 2018.

The theme of this year’s pledge drive is “We can have a dream, too.” Why dreams? Because dreams can lead to actions that make a better future for us and for our world. “We” is all of us—congregation, staff, ordained ministers. Like star athletes, we have to visualize success, dream it, before we can realize it. In January and February, staff and team leaders shared their dreams with us in videos during services. They helped us visualize dreams for our shared community.

Participate in the Dream!

Now, it’s time for you to visualize a better future for UUCS. Click on a link below to see specific dreams, or click on the playlist to see all of them.

On January 7, we heard from Sara Greenleaf about dreams for the music program.

Our music team dreams of having enough resources. The annual music budget is $500, or less than $10/week for new choir music ($80/song) and tuning pianos. The music director is paid for 20 hours a week to cover rehearsals, services, staff meetings, planning, and retaining musicians. It does not cover her own singing or coordinating music concerts.

On January 15, Samantha Scales, Office Manager, shared her dreams about how a little help could go a long way.

Weekly services and active programs for members require significant administrative support. UUCS’ growth is stalled, and will remain so, until we are able to hire additional staff. In particular, Samantha Scales, Office Manager, makes a strong case for hiring a membership professional to help grow our congregation.

On January 22, Christi Olsen, DLRE shared her dreams for the RE program.

Christi Olsen, Director of Lifespan Religious Education, has dreams of expanding RE programs to include more multi-generational options such as yoga and paid staff to include youth advisors and expanded child care.

On January 29, the Facilities Team shared their dreams for bringing “sexy” back to our building.

You probably know about the failures of our fire and security alarm systems. Think about the state of all the other equipment in our 20 year old building…
Our facilities team dreams of air conditioning on hot days for your comfort and for those who would like to rent our building.

On February 4, Carol Doolittle shared dreams for our Human Resources team.

The Human Resources team dreams of paying our employees a fair wage, living up to our first and second principles. Carol Doolittle, HR Team Chair, asks you to add “a latte a week” to your pledge.

On February 18, Rev. Rick and Monica Jacobson-Tennessen shared dreams for UUCS.

Rev. Rick and Monica talk about how our budget depends entirely on donations from the congregation. Our congregation has remained the same size while Salem has grown over 26% since 2000. Our ministers dream of having staff to support growing our congregation and our community outreach.

Our current budget for 2017-18 does not include

  • Funds to provide health insurance for our employees.
  • Funds to pay our employees the average amount that similar employees receive under UUA guidelines.
  • Funds to cover general maintenance, let alone replacement of our 20-year old building equipment.
  • Funds to tune our pianos.
  • Funds for an assistant to aid our part-time church administrator.
  • Funds to provide sufficient hours for our music director to grow the music program and Concerts in the Sanctuary.
  • Funds to pay musicians at services where the choir is not present.

We do so much at UUCS so very well, but we can do better if each of gives a little more.

We give to UUCS because we love our community and our UU mission in the world. Please turn in your Estimate of Giving form with your most generous estimate. Please understand that it is not a contract, but your expression of your gratitude for what UUCS is and what it can be. The Unitarian Universalist Association, of which we are a part, offers this Suggested Fair-Share Contribution Guide, to help you decide an appropriate pledge for you.

Pledge!

The Pledge Team requests that all pledges be submitted by March 11, 2018.  Click here to submit your pledge electronically. When you click Submit on the electronic form, emails will be sent to you and to the pledge committee.  If you prefer to use the Estimate of Giving form, you can drop it in the collection pouch or bring it to the UUCS office during regular office hours, T-F 9 am – 1 pm.