How $1 Became $4
“I never thought I would be able in my life to give $1000 to something I believe in and love so much,” one donor shared with tears and joy in her eyes, as she handed a check for $250 to the Unitarian Universalist Association's (UUA's) Stephan Papa on Association Sunday 2007.How did this generous Unitarian Universalist (UU) quadruple her gift to support Growth in Numbers through Association Sunday? First, another member of her congregation doubled every dollar raised by offering a local matching challenge grant—but then, the gift was doubled a second time when her entire congregation’s contributions were matched, dollar for dollar, by a national matching pool of $500,000!
Unitarian Universalists across the country have reported that their Association Sunday services were deeply enhanced by the offer of an internal matching grant. These grants not only encouraged fellow members to step up to the plate, but assured all donors that their gifts would be doubled—and that every gift, however small or large, really does count.
Many of the generous donors who offered local matching grants also complemented their gifts of treasure with priceless gifts of time and talent. They publicized their matching gifts in the pulpit and through their congregations’ newsletters, and organized mailings broadly offering the opportunity to contribute.
Today we honor the ten congregations with local matching challenge grants:
- First Parish in Needham UU, MA
- First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, PA
- First Unitarian Society of Wilmington, DE
- First Universalist Church in Yarmouth, ME
- First UU Church of San Diego, CA
- Morristown Unitarian Fellowship, NJ
- Mt. Diablo UU Church in Walnut Creek, CA
- River of Grass UU Congregation in Plantation, FL
- UU Church of Berkeley in Kensington, CA
- UU Fellowship of Huntington, NY
The leadership demonstrated by members of each of these congregations inspired profoundly generous giving. Not surprisingly, they succeeded in raising the largest totals per congregation in the Association, in addition to the totals of the matching grants themselves.
And on top of all this, the national matching grant of $500,000 further affirmed our connection and our common purposes as an entire family of congregations and reminded us, once again, that we are better together. Let us celebrate the generosity of all those who made Association Sunday 2007 a thrilling success.
Are you interested in offering a matching challenge grant to inspire your congregation on Association Sunday 2008? Do you know anyone who might be interested? If so, contact us at (888) 792-5885 or associationsunday @ uua.org!
Last updated on Wednesday, March 26, 2008.
