by Moira Rouse & David Schowalter, the Stewardship Team

Next Sunday, March 2 is the formal kickoff of the 2025 pledge season.  This is when we, as members and active participants in UUCW make a promise for how much we will pay to financially support the operations of UUCW in the next church year (July, 2025 – June, 2026).  

We can summarize this year’s drive in the following key points:

Why the theme “Defy Gravity?”

Due to inflation and our dwindling investment account, our financial needs this year are bigger than ever.  While it is time to “get real” about our financial needs, it is also a time for us to dream big (just like Elphaba in the movie Wicked) about what we can all do for our community and its long term sustainability.

“The Gap”

Shown below is a pie chart depicting anticipated income needs for next year, assuming we withdraw only the recommended (sustainable) amount from our investment account.  That gives us the gap shown in grey.  Our goal is to make up for this with pledges.

Cost of Operations

A similar pie chart showing the breakdown of annual church expenses is shown below.  Note that approximately 75% of our expenses are for staff who are so critical to the vibrant programs that make us who we are.

Last Sunday, we talked about these important numbers that also tell the story:

Investments account value at the end of 2021: $1,002,055

Investments account value at the end of 2024: $683,156

Total pledges in 2024: $209,000

Needed pledge total in 2025: $326,000

Average pledge to meet goal: ~$3,260

We look forward to working with you all to defy gravity this pledge drive season… Hold on to your hats…(and brooms!).

The Stewardship Team

Moira Rouse & Dave Schowalter