What Period is the Pledge for?

The pledge is for the upcoming Congregational year, that runs July 1st, 2023 through June 30th, 2024.

When Should I Pledge?

You may pledge when you are ready to do so (see below – how do I pledge?). Our Finance Committee will be making its final budget recommendations to the Board in April for approval at the Annual Meeting at the beginning of June. While we don’t turn money away just because you did not pledge, having a good pledge count provides the strongest basis to build our budget and plan for our future. Ideally, pledges should be finalized by April 2nd, 2023 to best assist us in these efforts.

Should I wait to be contacted by a Canvasser?

If you have questions about this year’s canvass, please don’t wait. While we do have some wonderful Canvassers making calls and sending emails, it does take time to get to everyone, and with time so short it may not be possible. So, please send your questions to stewardship@bruu.org and we will get right back to you. We know your questions or concerns are all different, reaching out to us helps us direct our volunteer resources the right way.

So, how much should I pledge?

Pledging is a deeply personal decision. As members, we have all made a commitment to make a financial contribution to BRUU, to share in the financial cost of creating the community we love. There are many ways to figure out what a “fair share” is. One way is looking at the UUA’s fair share contribution guide.

If this does not fully resonate with you, look at it this way…Give an amount that is meaningful to you. If the pledge amount is going to lead to many sleepless nights of worry and concern, then you may want to hold back and contribute more in other ways and to work on strategies that will enable you to increase your pledge in future years. If on the other hand you can write out the amount without giving it a second thought, we ask that you give it that second thought and consider whether you could give more. Ideally, you will get to a point that when you write out your pledge you take one big deep breath to pause, and then sign the pledge because BRUU means that much to you.

How do I make my pledge?

You can complete your pledge online using this BRUU Pledge Form.

For other questions not answered in these Pledge Faqs about these year’s Canvass, please contact the Stewardship team at stewardship@BRUU.org.

Can I change my pledge if my circumstances change?

Yes. While we consider the pledge to be a thoughtful conscious commitment to the community we love and support, we understand that life comes at us in unpredictable ways. If you were to suffer an unexpected financial hardship, we recognize there is sometimes a need to delay or cancel a pledge. While we don’t know who will fall into this category, we do know that some of us each year will go through unexpected financial distress and we plan for that accordingly. Please do not let the fear of an unexpected hardship hold you back from your pledge. On the other hand, if you were pleasantly surprised when completing your taxes and got a bigger chunk of cash from Uncle Sam than you thought, we would gladly accept any additional funds and promise to put them to great use!