The original theme for this year’s Canvass was “You are a Piece of the Puzzle – Together We Can!” This holds true now more than ever. Help us close our budget gap by pledging generously, as you are able. Email your pledge confirmation to treasurercuucwp@gmail.com.
Dear Members and Friends of CUUC,
I hope all of you are safe and healthy in these uncertain times. It has been almost a year since we shut down as a congregation, but fortunately there is light at the end of the tunnel, with vaccines on the way.
As you remember, our usual spring pledge drive was delayed because March was absolutely not the right time to ask for financial support to CUUC. We had hoped to do a full-scale pledge drive this September. Unfortunately, with Covid continuing, we will instead do a modified virtual pledge drive now in December, via Zoom, email, or other safe method.
Pledge contributions account for 60% of our total income, and are a vital component of CUUC’s operations. When I asked in the spring for everyone to estimate their pledge or contribution for the year, many of you replied and some of you increased your pledge by 10%. This allowed me to “guess-timate” the pledge total for the July 1, 2020–June 30, 2021, CUUC year. For those who pledged, a big thank you!
However we are still very short on pledges. We are now 5 months into our congregation year, with 7 to go. Your promises of support for CUUC, while generous, unfortunately do not cover the full year. So your Treasurer is reaching out.
Our theme for this year’s pledge drive was to have been:
You are a Piece of the Puzzle - Together We Can!
Even though we had a different mindset in January when we chose this, the theme is still pertinent. In these unprecedented times, we as a congregation have come together in many ways to continue our worship and support of one another:
- Our ministers, staff, and volunteers were able to transition worship services from in-person to online without interruption.
- The CUUC Kitchen Crew and Hunger & Homelessness Team repurposed themselves to preparing weekly meals for our neighbors at HOPE Community Services soup kitchen. The team began by making 100 meals a week, and quickly expanded to 250 meals and more. As of December, our dedicated volunteers have prepared over 10,000 meals for HOPE. The community at HOPE, as well as at the Ecumenical Emergency Food Pantry, are eternally grateful to CUUC for stepping up when other organizations have had to shut down.
- Members of our congregation answered the call when we set up the Benevolent Fund in April, and significantly increased the Minister’s Discretionary Fund, to help those who may have fallen on hard times.
- Our Auction Committee changed our traditional November auction into a safe, socially distanced Halloween event. The lower parking lot was transformed into a festively decorated drive-through. The Kitchen Crew cooked 150 healthy meals for those who participated. Even though the event was intended more for fun than as a fundraiser, ticket sales and an online auction of a limited number of items generated $13,000. Hats off to those involved!
- Even though our building shut down and we lost rental income when one regular tenant (the Westchester Center for the Study of Psychology and Psychotherapy) left, the Board decided not to furlough any personnel and instead kept our staff fully employed. I am extremely pleased that no one questioned this decision when we approved the budget in June. Our staff have been amazing, and supporting them was the best decision we could have made. We are in this together and we will get out of this even stronger, I am certain.
Now comes the more difficult part, the money part. Our budget goal is $360,000, and we are currently at only $230,000. Some of you have already pledged and even increased your amount. Thank you! If you have lost a job or are financially insecure due to Covid, we fully understand that you may not be able to pledge at this time - just let us know. If you have not pledged and are willing and able, we urge you to please pledge generously. We have a long way to go, and we can make it if we all come together.
Let us know what you are ready to pledge by contacting Chris Kortlandt (treasurercuucwp@gmail.com, 917-821-4289). A member of the Canvass Committee will reach out, via email, Zoom, or phone, to follow up.
I want to personally thank all of you for your dedication to CUUC this year. My wish is that everyone's commitment to this modified pledge drive will close our budget gap.
Chris Kortlandt
Treasurer
