Tag: donations

Outreach Opportunities Fund Update

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Outreach Opportunity Fund Recipients (Feb-June)
 
Normally, the Outreach Opportunity Fund (OOF) donates a portion of the Sunday service collections to a registered charity over a four month period. Given the current circumstances, the OOF Committee took the decision to send a cheque for $2,000 to the current recipient, the Aboriginal Mother Centre (AMC), in mid-April rather than wait until the end of May. The funds are urgently needed to assist AMC extend its outreach services during this covid-19 crisis.
Even though OOF donations have decreased over the past few weeks due to having virtual services, we still found that there were sufficient funds in our OOF  account to offer an additional $2,000 to another recipient. Our focus was on the Downtown Eastside (DTES), given the critical situation the homeless and other vulnerable groups are facing in that community. The Committee decided to award the funds to PHS Community Services Society to help meet the demand for more meals in the DTES as so many kitchens have closed down because of covid-19 restrictions. Meanwhile, we will continue to ask congregants to send in their donations to OOF to replenish our fund. A new recipient will be selected for the four month period beginning in June. All contributions are gratefully received. Donate Here

UCV Demographics and Pledge Potential (DAPP) Report 2019

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Executive Summary

In late 2018 the UCV Board asked interested volunteers to work together to provide some commentary on UCV’s demographics and pledge potential in the context of 2018-19 site development studies led by Michael Clague and Gordon Gram. Over the December 2018 to March 2019 period, a small group examined selected membership data provided by staff and began to examine other web-based resources on demographics and religious organizational trends. The resulting report provides a first analysis of data gathered and makes recommendations for the future.

Findings

  • Donations to UCV averaged $467,186 per year over the past decade excluding bequests but including capital donations. Annual variations have been sizeable. With inflation considered, the total value of donations has declined over the decade.
  • 21 bequests totaling approximately $132,000 were made to UCV over the past decade. The value varied widely year to year as did the size of the individual bequests.
  • Donations increased substantially at times when major capital improvements were being made.
  • The median donation in 2018 was $500 and the average donation was $1,041. Donations in 2018 were the lowest in a decade, totaling $375,734. However, this amount did exceed the $330,000 planned for achieving a balanced budget. A balanced budget also relied on rental and investment revenue. [**See note at bottom of page regarding 2019.]
  • A small number of donors have contributed most to the finances of UCV over the decade. In 2018 forty-two donors (12%) donated 50% of the funds and 319 donors (88%) donated the other 50%.
  • In 2018 the ten top donors (3%) donated 24% of all donations.
  • The ten top donors in 2018 were resident in eight different postal code regions of Metro Vancouver. Three of these resided in Point Grey. The others were, in alphabetical order: Dunbar-Southlands, Hillcrest, Kitsilano, New Westminster, Sunshine Coast, Victoria-Fraserview, and West End.
  • Postal codes were available for 99% of donors. Dates of birth were available for only 18% of donors.
  • Unitarian Universalist congregational membership declined approximately 21% in the USA and 19% in Canada over the period 2005-2015.

Recommendations for UCV

  1. Re-establish and animate a Legacy or Planned Giving Committee to help ensure that UCV members are giving consideration to recognizing UCV in their wills and in annual pledging. Bequests have been a significant source of funding for UCV and could grow as members of UCV age and die. Generous annual pledging is the heart of the church’s financial support.
  2. Give moderately high priority to adding birthdates to the church membership database (Breeze) to facilitate future planning for age-based services, donor planning, and ministerial transition.
  3. Continue to participate, animate, support, and celebrate the work of all Committees and Groups to foster a healthy and generous congregation. Membership and participation matter.
  4. Continue to call highly skilled professional ministers and religious educators. Churches in Canada with this feature seem to do better than those without.
  5. Thank our most generous donors.
  6. Consider asking generous donors to project their capacity to support the church in the future.

See the full 9-page report here: UCV Demographic and Pledge Potential Report – 20190308 Rev A

A site development report providing business plan options and other issues identified to date was distributed at a UCV Forum on 8 May 2019 and afterwards in the church. PDF copies of this report can be obtained by email from Gordon Gram (gordongram@me.com) or Michael Clague (Michael@clagueconsultants.com).

A group of congregants interested in discussing issues related to site development met as a Circle of Concern on 1 Mar 2019 and identified a number of areas needing further consideration. These issues of concern are summarized on this website here. Another forum for discussion of all three of these reports (Circle of Concern, Site Development, and Demographics and Pledge Potential) has been scheduled by the Circle of Concern for 12:30 – 2:30 pm, Sunday 26 May 2019 in the Fireside Room.

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** As of mid May 2019, the average pledge by members and friends of UCV for 2019 was $2,023 per pledging unit (family or individual), and the median (middle point) pledge was $1,500 per pledging unit. Historically, pledge values have been slightly lower than actual donations. The church also has many “casual donors” who receive tax receipts for small donations. This partly accounts for the difference in value of 2019 median pledges and the 2018 median donations.

Pledging Ahead! Why Do We Do It?

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Most Unitarian Universalist congregations/communities/churches rely on pledges from members and friends to help them plan the year ahead. Ultimately, it’s donations, rentals, investment earnings, and bequests that pay for all of our costs, but pledging helps the board to predict revenue and to plan expenses for the year ahead, adding or subtracting services depending upon our predictable overall revenue. Donations in the form of honoured pledges is UCV’s biggest source of support, so please help your board and congregation by pledging generously. Your 2019 Canvass Committee asks you to prepare now for pledging during April!

Please watch for the Pledge Packets that will be distributed in mid-March by email to members and friends with an email address on file, and by slow mail to everyone else.

Or…donate online now! All your gifts are appreciated!

In faith,

Your UCV Canvass Committee (Cathy, Eleanor, John, Keith, Lynn)

Outreach Opportunites Fund Nominations

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Every year, the Outreach Opportunities Fund (OOF) Committee selects three recipients to be given 25% of the funds from the Sunday collection. For more information and a list of past recipients please go to this page.

Recipients receive the funds for four straight months: the average amount awarded is about $1,800. The Committee seeks nominations from the congregation.

Nominated organizations must comply with OOF’s selection criteria: registered charities that undertake social justice or environmental sustainability work with a focus on vulnerable or marginalized communities. Priority is given to smaller charities in the Vancouver area rather than large national ones. The charity must not have a formal affiliation with a religious organization or political party. Only nominate a charity with which you have some connection, e.g, donor, volunteer, board member, etc.

Please click below to fill in form.

OOF Nomination form

Submit the form to Melody Mason or leave it in the OOF mail box in the UCV office.

Rainbow Refugee

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Outreach Opportunities Fund Recipient

The Outreach Opportunities Fund will be collecting for the Rainbow Refugee Society from October to January, 2019.

A portion of the Sunday service offering goes to an organization selected by the OOF committee.

About Rainbow Refugee

  • Founded in 2000, Rainbow Refugee is a Vancouver based community group that supports people seeking refugee protection in Canada because of persecution based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression (SOGIE) or HIV status.

OWL – Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society

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Outreach Opportunities Fund Recipient

The Outreach Opportunities Fund will be collecting for the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society (OWL) from June to September. OWL is a non-profit organization whose staff and volunteers are dedicated to public education and the rehabilitation and
release of injured and orphaned raptors.

A portion of the Sunday service offering goes to an organization selected by the OOF committee.

About OWL

 

From Melody Mason on behalf of the Outreach Opportunities Fund Committee.

Would you like to visit? http://www.owlrehab.org/visit-owl/

3800 – 72nd Street
Delta, BC, Canada, V4K 3N2

Summer – July to August

Sunday – 10am to 3pm
Monday – 10am to 3pm
Tuesday – 10am to 3pm
Wednesday – 10am to 3pm
Thursday – 10am to 3pm
Friday – 10am to 3pm
Saturday – 10am to 3pm
Holidays – CLOSED

OWL offers guided tours for the public to come and visit our permanent residents. Hours are listed below.

You can visit us at OWL and see many of our permanent residents (hours are listed below). We operate on a guided tour basis only. You will learn how they came to be at our facility, the jobs they preform at the facility, and about the different species of raptors you can find in British Columbia. This portion of the tour is outdoors and occurs rain or shine, so don’t forget to dress for the weather!

Our tour also includes a walk inside through our Wildlife Museum and Gift Shop. The many exhibits and displays were made possible by dedicated OWL volunteers Sharon Pilkey, Gerry Powers, Colin Iverson, and Christina Hamberger.

Guided tours are by donation, are approximately 30 minutes long, and leave on the half hour, with the last one going out at 2:30pm. Bookings are required for groups of 10 or more, so please call or email us in advance so we can arrange a tour for you.

Giving to Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS)

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Outreach Opportunities Fund Recipient February – May 2018

Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS)

CLAS provides legal assistance to low-income people across British Columbia (BC).  They focus on legal issues in the areas of: housing security, income security, human rights, mental health rights, and workers’ rights.  They offer a wide variety of legal services, including: summary legal advice to outline client’s options and point them in the right direction, guidance to help clients represent themselves, and full representation.

Assistance is provided to clients in the following areas.

Housing evictions: if there has been an eviction and the tenant has lost a dispute resolution hearing at the Residential Tenancy Branch, if a home is being foreclosed upon, or if membership in a co-op is being terminated.

Access to Government Benefits: if an appeal at the Employment and Assistance Appeal Tribunal or Social Security Tribunal has been lost over regular or disability benefits, supplements or other kind of income support.

Human rights: if someone has been discrimination against, or an appeal has been lost at the Human Rights Tribunal.

Mental health: if a client has applied for a Review Board hearing under the Mental Health Act, or an upcoming Criminal Code Review Board hearing

Work-related legal issues: if an appeal at the Worker’s Compensation Appeal Tribunal, Social Security Tribunal or Employment Standards Tribunal has been lost over workers’ compensation, employment insurance, or other employment-related benefits.

CLAS also takes test cases through the court system. Currently, it has launched a Charter challenge on behalf of two individuals who have undergone forced psychiatric treatment. The case challenges the laws in BC that remove any right for involuntary patients to give or refuse consent to psychiatric treatment, either for themselves or through a trusted family member or friend.

CLAS also advocates for systemic law reform. They work with community and advocacy groups to develop concrete proposals to improve fairness in the law and policy that govern the lives of people in BC. For example, in 2015 their lawyers worked with the City of Vancouver Renters Advisory Committee on a report, Reforming the BC Residential Tenancy System.

From Melody Mason on behalf of the Outreach Opportunities Fund Committee.