This year's stewardship drive was successful in a number of ways, thanks to the responsibility and generosity of this year's pledgers.  The drive is officially ending Thursday, May 7. Last year, the church made a one time decision to borrow from investments to make up a deficit of more than $30,000.  So this year, we asked for pledges from those  who had never pledged before, and we received 14 new pledges for a total of $15,720.  We also asked those who pledged in the past to increase their pledges by 15%.  We have been thrilled with the response, with an average pledge increase of 8.42% (only looking at those people who pledged this year and last).  Another way to count this is to note that of the 106 pledges 84 of them were an increase, that is 79% of pledgers.   Twenty-six of those who increased their pledge had also provided an earlier pledge "surge," increasing their 2014/2015 pledge this year in order to cover some of the deficit.  

Out of a goal of 140 pledges, as of this writing, we have received 120.  The total pledged funds for 2015/2016 now amounts to $209,198.00.  Compared to last year's total of $197,064 as of May 20, we are moving in the right direction, and while some cuts will have to be made, they will not be significant, and we will be able to keep all of our staff.  

The theme of the pledge drive was "It's a Wonderful Church," and thanks to all of our pledgers, we do not have to fear the icy waters of Bedford Falls!  We all spent time thinking about what is irreplaceable about UUCW, and we stepped up.