THANK YOU to all who participated in the Pledge Drive and made their pledge!
⇒We are at $409,000 of our $475,000 goal. ($66K to go!)
By mid-April and certainly by the April 21st Board Meeting, the Board, Finance and Personnel Committees will be using the pledged amount to create a budget to be proposed to the congregation at Annual Meeting. This means that by April 21st decisions will be made about our staff hours, salaries and Cost of Living Adjustments.
We are still recovering from 2+ years of the pandemic. There is a lot at stake right now, as COVID has had a crushing impact on most churches over the last two+ years. As your current leaders, we are concerned about fair compensation and staff retention.
There is a lot of good news:
- People are returning to the Sunday worship, youth programs, and RE. More in-person activities are being planned for spring and summer.
- At the same time, technology has allowed those who cannot attend in person to be part of the community, a development we didn’t anticipate two years ago.
- And…40% of members increased their gift this year, for an average increase of $552 per pledge unit (family, couple, or individual). This is a strong sign of commitment to this faith community.
MIND THE GAP: Can we dig a little deeper?
There is still a gap between what we have received in pledges and what is needed for staff compensation, programs, and other congregational expenses. To fill the gap, we ask all who have not yet pledged to do so. We are also asking everyone who can to extend or increase their pledge.
From today, April 1st through April 10th we present you with TWO CHALLENGES to encourage additional gifts:
- Every dollar pledged over last year’s total of $444K will be MATCHED dollar for dollar, up to $6K.
- Any increase in a current or new pledge will be MATCHED dollar for dollar, up to $5K. This applies to those who have already pledged and increase their amount, as well as to any increases over last year’s pledge for those who have not yet made their pledge.
If you can add to your existing pledge, please do. If you have not updated your pledge amount in a few years, now is a great time to do so. Inflationary pressures affect the church budget each year. If you are part of the 40% of members who increased your gift this year: Thank you! If you have not yet pledged, please make your financial commitment to North Parish. We truly need 100% participation from every member, friend and even alums. Send an email with your pledge to the office (office@northparish.org) or put it into REALM and let the office know you did so.
If you have QUESTIONS
If you are new to pledging: A pledge is NOT a check or money; it is the amount you PLAN to give to the church weekly, monthly or annually for the year July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023. It’s as if you added up the annual cost of a utility and then sent in that number to indicate what you plan to budget or have sent from your bank monthly going forward.
If you wonder what the church operations “cost”: If the budget supporting ALL of our ministries was divided evenly between 300 members it would cost about $30 a week or $1,560 per year per person or $3,120 per couple. That’s no small commitment! We know our members and friends all have different means, situations, resources and levels of commitment. No matter how large or small, Every Single Pledge Matters!
For more information, please visit the Annual Giving Pledge page on our website.