Am I required to pledge?

Pledging is a responsibility of membership in the church. Even if you feel you can’t afford anything, you have a responsibility to respond to the campaign so we know you are still part of the congregation. And not every person gives thousands or even hundreds. Every dollar helps.

What is a Fiscal Year?

The church budget is defined relative to the church Fiscal Year, which goes from July 1st to the following June 30th.  We are currently in FY24 (named for the end date) and the pledge campaign is for FY25 (which goes from 7/1/24 to 6/30/25).  Normally, all contributions received are accounted against the current Fiscal Year. If you have already completed your pledge or you wish to pay your FY25 pledge ahead of time, you may make a contribution and specify that it applies to FY25.

How do I make sure I get credited for my contributions?

Every contribution to the church is tracked in Breeze. If we know who made it. Most people make pledge payments with checks, or credit cards, and a few use with stock transfers. If you want to be credited for the cash you put in the plate at church you must put it in one of the provided envelopes, and put your name on the outside. We will send statements showing your pledge contributions in the spring and late fall. We also will send tax statements, usually in January, showing all contributions for the calendar year.

What is Plate or Pledge?

When the church receives a check or other contribution from you by check or envelope, we assume it is a pledge payment towards the current Fiscal Year unless you tell us otherwise.  If you have completed your pledge for the current Fiscal Year the contribution will be added to “Plate” unless you give us other instructions.  If you tell us (on the memo line or envelope) that the contribution is for “Plate” we will add it to the anonymous cash people put in the plate at services, which gets shared between A2U2 and the charity of the month.

“Plate” contributions are very important, both to the charities and the church. Many people pay their pledges by check or otherwise on a periodic basis, and also contribute cash or write checks marked “Plate”. Please try to remember to write your intention on the memo line.

What if I can’t fulfill my pledge?

Sometimes things happen. The church expects you to make an honest effort to fulfill your pledge before the end of the Fiscal Year on June 30th, but everyone understands that is not always possible. There is no shame if you need to reduce your pledge.  We do ask that you let us know, so we don’t continue to send you statements showing the wrong amount due. You can talk to the church administrator or the person doing the pledge accounting or the Minister either by phone or email or letter.  The specific people doing those roles change over time of course.