Reid Hester, HUUC Stewardship Chair
As with any pledge drive, we have a number of key priorities to fund in our new church fiscal year that will begin on July 1, 2025. But this year is different, and it is special. We have one, overriding priority that will guide our efforts and raise the bar for us as congregation. That priority is our ministerial transition, which we are kicking off just as we kick off the pledge drive itself.
We have sustained and grown this congregation during an era when other UU congregations in the Cincinnati area have struggled. We are now the second largest UU congregation in Cincinnati with if not the largest, then certainly the fastest growing Religious Education program in the city. We are the premiere representative of Universalism in the entire region. We have a lot to be proud of and a lot to be excited about as we seek to bring a new minister into our congregation.
From a financial standpoint, we also have much to celebrate. We have maintained a robust series of fund-raising efforts at the same time that we have successfully competed for grant money to improve our facility. But, there is no doubt that our pledged giving provides the vast majority of the financial support that sustains the daily life of our congregation.
As we initiate the process of recruiting a new minister to lead us in our spiritual journey, we must plan for a number of costs that are not usually in our yearly budget. We are hiring a transition consultant firm to guide us in our efforts, and we must anticipate possible expenses such as moving costs for a new minister joining our congregation from outside of our region. Of course, we would also like to give our existing staff raises to acknowledge their value to us in a time of rising costs. We would like to modestly increase our RE budget, and we would also like to expand our Children’s Music Director involvement in the life of our congregation from eight times a year to every month.
All of these elements taken together mean that we have a big ask for all of our pledging members and friends. We are requesting a 15% increase in pledged giving for the 2025-2026 church year. This increase will raise our total pledge income to $258,000.
If you are new to our congregation, you can learn more about our congregation and our pledging statistics, such as average pledges and Fair Share Giving, by visiting our Stewardship website at https://huuc.net/stewardship/. When you are ready to pledge, you will find the pledge form at the bottom of the Stewardship website or you can go directly to the pledge form via this link: https://huuc.breezechms.com/form/2025-2026-pledge-form.
Many thanks to those who have already pledged, and thanks to everyone in our congregation for carefully considering your level of pledged giving to support the continued growth and vitality of our congregation.
Yours in faith and service,
Reid
Image source: https://tinyurl.com/yum75pr2