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Stewardship

What is Stewardship?

Your Stewardship  helps in the running of our church.  Churches exist because friends and members do the necessary volunteer work and pay the bills. Both are important. These acts are examples of stewardship.

The Church Depends on You

If everyone does a little of the work it gets done in good order. Some teach religious education. Others serve on committees or come to work parties. It becomes a way to not only help the church, but to get to know others.

And if everyone makes a responsible financial contribution our church can expand and grow, with new programs and community outreach and social justice programs. So how much is enough? We ask that you to consider the following guides.

Membership Commitment

When you become a member of this church you will be invited to contribute your time and financial resources. Both are important. Churches exist because friends and members do the necessary volunteer work and pay the bills. 

Pledges

We invite members and friends to support the church financially through the annual pledge drive.  These pledges are the basis for our annual budget.

Our current pledges fall in to the following ranges:

We are a Unitarian Universalist Association Suggest Share Congregation.  As another guide we as you to consider the U.U.A. Suggested Share Giving Guide:

Suggested Share Giving Guide  

Weekly Contributions based on U.U.A. Guidelines    

Income

Helping

%

Supporting

%

Sustaining

%

$10,000

$  2

1.00

$  3

1.50

$  4

2.00

$20,000

$  6

1.50

$  8

2.00

$  9

2.50

$30,000

$12

2.00

$15

2.50

$18

3.00

$40,000

$18

2.25

$21

2.75

$25

3.25

$50,000

$25

2.50

$30

3.00

$35

3.50

$75,000

$40

3.00

$50

3.50

$60

4.00

$100,000

$67

3.50

$77

4.00

$87

4.50

We know that people are in varying life circumstances. Some are caring for elderly relatives or have health concerns or medical bills of their own. Others are between jobs. We do not ask that you place undue hardship upon yourself. Neither should your pledge be easy. Rather it should reflect a serious commitment to the place you have chosen as your spiritual home, the place where your children will be educated in religious matters, the place where you will continue your own search for religious meaning.

Pledging in Midyear: Our church year runs from July 1 to June 30. We hold an every-member canvass in the early spring when members are asked to make a financial pledge for the year which starts the following July. If you are making your first pledge as a new friend or member in midyear make your pledge for the amount of time remaining until July 1. Most friends and members find it convenient to pledge a monthly amount. In early spring you'll be asked to make another pledge, for the coming year. 

Plate Contributions

We accept contributions during the Sunday Service to support the work of the church.  Many use this opportunity to fulfill their pledge obligations.  The church keeps track of all identifiable contributions and will supply you with a receipt for your tax returns at the beginning of the new year.

Appreciated Stock Contributions

Appreciated Stock is a particularly tax effective way to make financial contributions to our church.  It lets the government pay part of your contribution. It works like this:

If you own stock that has increased in price, you can gift it to a charitable organization and take a tax deduction equal to the price of the stock at the time the contribution is received.  By doing this, you do not take a capital gain (profit) by selling the stock. 

Here is an example of how a $2500 stock contributions will save $375 when compared to a cash contribution which involves selling stock to raise cash.

You own 50 shares of IBM that you bought at a price of $20 / share several years ago.  Say IBM is worth $50 / share and let us assume you have a 25% tax rate. If you sell the IBM and donate $2,500.  You will take a $2,500 charitable deduction which will save you $625 in taxes,  but pay $375 in taxes on the profits on the sale of your stock.   In total you end up paying out $2,250 in real value (2500 + 375 - 625).

However if you gift the stock itself to the church you will gain $625 in tax savings and avoid the $375 in taxes on the sale of the stock. You will pay out $1875 in real value (2500 - 625). Gifting saves you $375 over selling the stock and then gifting cash. This savings increases with your marginal tax rate.

It is easy for you to consider gifts of stock, please feel free to contact the Finance Chair with any questions you have on how to do this.