Submitted by Lisa Marie Fuller, President, Berrien UU Board of Trustees
In March Berrien UU launched a pledge campaign with the goal of reaching $12,000 by April’s annual pledge celebration dinner. We successfully met that goal and had a wonderful ‘Giving Thanks’ dinner and cabaret to celebrate our achievement. In May the proposed 2016-2017 budget was prepared and operational expenses were estimated at $41,585. Seeing that the budget was unbalanced by several thousand dollars, the board voted to plan a fundraiser, hold a goods and services auction, and increase the pledge goal. We have already received about $15,000 in pledges for 2016-2017 (the business year for our church is Jul 1 – Jun 30). Thank you so much to our members and friends for exceeding our initial goal of $12,000. Our proposed 2016-2017 pledge goal was raised from $12,000 to $19,500 in anticipation of new members and additional pledges. To help ensure we meet this ambitious goal, please evaluate your current pledge. Are you pledging at or above 2% of your annual income ($20 for each $1,000)? If not, will you consider increasing your pledge to that level? Jim Fuller and I pledge at 2% of our annual income and have also committed to increasing our 2016-2017 pledge by an additional 10% to help our fellowship meet operational expenses. Will you join us? Only a few can be in the economy’s top 1%, but at Berrien UU everyone can be part of our 2% goal! If you have already submitted a 2016-2017 pledge form and can increase your pledge by any amount, please send a note to Treasurer@BerrienUU.org. Many thanks for your support.
