Hello UTUUC! The Board of Trustees met via Zoom this past Tuesday, April 11 and will hold its Reflecting with the Board sessions on Monday, April 17 at 7pm. Please join us via Zoom. Link can be found here Meeting ID: 838 6603 4326 / Passcode: Unity

Here are some highlights of the Board’s April meeting:

Jane Ditelberg of our Stewardship Committee presented a draft policy for the creation of a donor-restricted endowment trust. The board will be taking the next month to consider several points about the policy. The intention is for this endowment trust fund to complement the existing gift acceptance policy. The AntiOppression/AntiRacism (AO/AR) Team returned to present the board with their recommended next steps. They proposed a series of listening sessions, led by equity consultant Reesheda Graham-Washington and her team, to gather and focus congregation feedback. These listening sessions would be summarized into a report with action items toward living into Beloved Community for our congregation.

The Transition Team presented the final Proposed Relational Covenant and an accompanying Q&A guide, which is scheduled for congregational vote on April 30. The focus of this Relational Covenant is to clarify how to relate to one another, and does not represent a change in how decisions are made. The Board approved the Unrestricted Reserves Policy. This policy clarifies what funds may be used at the discretion of the Board of Trustees to ensure the stability of the UTUUC’s mission, programs, employment, and ongoing operations. It also recommends the use of the Operating Reserve including the amount necessary for UTUUC to meet its month to month cash flow needs.

After deliberating on the employee health benefits changes proposed by the Personnel Committee, the Board approved the proposed employer-contribution amounts of health insurance benefit changes, as well as dental, long-term disability, and life insurance benefits for full-time employees. Further analysis is needed on the employer contribution toward coverage of these benefits for part-time employees. Treasurer Beth Martell provided a First Quarter Financial Update. The finance staff and Finance and Investment Committee have been hard at work gathering accurate and usable data reports to provide a clear picture of UTUUC’s financial outlook. Beth also provided a Chart of Accounts, reflecting current balances of all financial accounts. The intention is to share this information at the April 30 congregational meeting, as part of the Q1 update promised at the Annual Meeting last December.

Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to discuss. Here is a link to the approved minutes from the March 14, 2023 Board meeting.

Your UTUUC Board of Trustees,

Aimee Conrad, Co President Amanda Kaleta-Kott, Co President Matt Bruce, Vice President Sandy Meyer, Secretary Beth Martell, Treasurer, Ex officio Natasha Diaz Adam Gill Erin Mackinney Michael Weeks Rev. Dawn Cooley, Interim Senior Minister, Ex officio Brian Franklin, Director of Finance & Administration, Ex officio