by Admin | May 3, 2018 | Notes from President's Desk
Budgets
Budgets are moral documents that reflect our commitment to our values and principles. They are aspirational expressions of our hopes for the UUCV. This year’s Budget is just one of several important issues we will discuss at the June 17 Annual Meeting. “But wait a minute, that’s Father’s Day!” Why did the Board pick that day for a meeting? Well, because that’s the day that was available, sandwiched between our Coming of Age program, the Church Picnic on June 10 and the UUA General Assembly on the 24th. Next year we will schedule the Annual Meeting earlier as part of our first ever Grand Master Calendaring meeting on May 7.
The Budget for 2018-19 is manageable and in keeping with the last 2 years during which we have benefited from a very generous “Bridge Pledge” that enabled the UUCV to maintain our current staffing level. We will have a relatively small deficit, around 2%, for a budget that is about $500,000.00. That deficit is easily covered from our reserves. The creation of “Reserves” comes from prior years when budgets were not fully spent. We saved those monies for a “rainy day” and that day has arrived!
The real angst at the Annual Meeting will come from the “projected” budget presentation for the year 2019-20. That’s when the “Bridge Pledge” Funds will be depleted. That budget makes clear just how much we have been living off the generosity of others, including those who came before such as Tom Berg and Nick Williams whose legacy continues to inspire us all. So, we will be facing a “Cliff” deficit in 2019-20 and Leadership is considering ways to “ease” into that year with a combination of reserves and other funds. It will also require your help!
What we do next will affect us for years to come. The last six years the UUCV has pursued a vision based on the idea of Staffing for Growth. It has involved the generosity of two Capital Campaigns from a few members and Grant money. We are clearly benefitting from having a very strong staff. There is improved adult programming, R.E. has tripled in size, we have women’s and men’s covenant groups, we have amazing music and much more. The result is we are absolutely growing! This dynamic growth affirms that the UUCV is the Prophetic Voice of Liberal Religion in Ventura. We offer the radical message; “You do not need to think alike in order to love alike” that people want to hear. We are an inclusive, loving, faith community.
Capital Campaigns are not the way to sustain our current level of staffing. We must have Pledge Income to support that vision. In the past 6 years we have never asked for a specific commitment from the Congregation. Instead we tried everything else to generate revenue and it is not enough. Ours has always been a “soft” request for the financial support of what you value. So, what comes next is a very big “ask” of everyone. Including new members, we will need an 18% increase in pledging income between now and June 2020. That is two years away. If you believe in the UUCV and what we stand for, then begin now to take your own personal steps to fulfill this request, and please, make our Annual Meeting a priority. We can do this together.
Living in Paradise,
Bryan Buck, President
by Admin | May 3, 2018 | Justice Actions
by Edith Ball, Chair
We will have a basket placed at the back entrance of our church during May to collect blankets for CAUSE, Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, in Oxnard. These blankets will be donated to their clients who are farm workers.
As we can see when we visit the CAUSE website (causenow.org), “CAUSE is working to pass a Farmworker Bill of Rights, a comprehensive policy in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties to tackle the harsh labor conditions all too common for workers in the fields of the Central Coast,” along with other campaigns.
Your donation of blankets will be greatly appreciated.
Contact Michael Akseven makseven@yahoo.com or text 805/208-0344
by Admin | May 3, 2018 | Inreach/Outreach News
May 6: ACLU Foundation The ACLU’s Summer Advocacy Institute brings together a diverse group of students entering their junior and senior years of high school from across the United States to participate in an advanced, firsthand learning experience for the next generation of social justice advocates. In an intensive 8-day program, students will learn directly from lawyers, lobbyists, community activists, and other experts working to defend the civil rights and liberties critical to a free and open society. Tuition is $2,895, so it is imperative scholarships be available for the many talented and committed students with financial need.
May 13: National Center for Science Education (NCSE) works with teachers, parents, scientists, and concerned scientists at the local, state, and national level to ensure topics that are socially but not scientifically controversial—in particular evolution and climate change—are taught accurately, honestly, and confidently. NCSE is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Association of Science Teachers.
May 20: CAUSE (Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy), a Ventura based nonprofit that reaches out to and trains and supports youth, adults and families to speak up for justice! CAUSE works to protect immigrant rights; increase farmworker and other low-wage worker justice; put an end to new fossil fuel power plants locally, protect renters’ rights; advocate for affordable housing and more!
May 24: Heart to Heart houses durable goods from the community so families can “shop” for items they desperately need to provide for the children placed in their care. At no cost to the families, we provide clothes, backpacks, beds, cribs, strollers, baby and child-sized furniture to families who suddenly find themselves taking care of foster children or members of their extended family.
Inreach/Outreach Recipients
Your generosity toward those who ask for our help continues to be amazing.
- March 25: Camp de Benneville – $746.50
- April 1: LUYV: Safe Sleep – $975.75
- April 8: United Way: Thomas Fire Fund – $818
- April 15: Humane Society – $834.95
Thanks so much for all your generous donations!
by Admin | May 3, 2018 | Justice Actions
Dear UUCV Community,
How about a riddle?
It has no name until you name it, no form until you shape it. Touch its spark and let it light you; give it life and it will revive you. (Adapted from a poem by Jane in the Soul Matters packet).
Do you take a guess? It is creativity! How wonderful to think of creativity as something that revives you and sets you alight, so long as you tap into it, and give it a try!
My grandmother was told as a child she couldn’t draw and stopped considering herself creative. In her 50s she found crafting and is now an artist! She makes beautiful paper books, cards, and bookmarks with ephemera, stamps, and more.
Creativity is more about willingness to play than having a particular talent! May this be a call to cultivate creativity and play in innovation, dropping all comparison and expecting to fail along the way.
“Creativity is the way I share my soul with the world.” Brené Brown
How do you share your soul with the world?
Emily Carroll, Director of Religious Education
emily@uuventura.org
by Admin | May 3, 2018 | Finance Committee
• UUCV has approximately 270 members and pledging friends. Their ongoing donations pay for 90% of all church expenses. Church expenses include our programs and the costs of maintaining our building. Due to the generosity of members and friends, past and present, we have no mortgage.
• Fundraisers such as the annual auction and annual crafts sale, unpledged donations and building use fees from nonprofit groups provide the remainder of our income.
• You can make one time donations or set up automatic pledge payments at http://www.uuventura.org, by clicking on “Give” on the right side of the header, click on the picture of the mouse and following the instructions; or contact David Smith at 805/216-9331 or davidpaseo@verizon.net.
