by Gini Courter, chair of the UUA Finance Committee
"Every time I attend GA I ask about moving headquarters out of Boston. Several years ago I was told it was unthinkable as it would cost $10,000,000 and be unfair to ask the staff to move. Then, in recent years, I was told a serious study of the matter was under way... We claim to be open to change... instead on this matter we are entrenched, and close minded. Other denominations have moved to less expensive areas and more adequate facilities. Why can't we at least do a reasonable study and report the results?"Great question, Ken, and you're not the only one asking it. I'm Gini Courter, chair of the UUA Finance Committee. I think I may have asked a similar question at my second Finance Committee meeting (I didn't say a lot at the first meeting) in 1995, and I got the clear impression that I wasn't asking something that hadn't been asked before. Nor is this an easy question to answer. The location of UUA headquarters is one piece — perhaps even a small piece — of a much larger discussion that is informed by how we could most effectively use technology, information on comparative costs of doing business in different parts of the country, and office space and availability in our current location. All these inform, but the discussion, properly focused, is really about how we can best deliver services to and for congregations.-- Ken Kurtz Santa Fe, NM
Our staff today is increasingly decentralized; more field staff work in districts, and some jobs that were traditionally located on Beacon Hill in Boston are now filled by UUA staff members who live and work in other states or on other coasts. At the UUA Board meeting on Wednesday morning, the Board approved the appointment of a Taskforce on Services to Congregations and Staff Location, and charged the taskforce to study the issue and return to report to the Board next year.
I've also been asked to respond to a request raised by a participant at the Mid-Sized Church Conference who asked us to provide lots of details about money. The Finance Committee — that fine group of people you see listed on the screen -- has access to lots of details ranging from the sublime to the truly trivial. At any point in time, the Administration and Finance Committee are working with three year's worth of budgets — the current fiscal year, the upcoming fiscal year, and the "out year" — so right now we're working with FY2000, 2001, and 2002 (or 2000, aught 1, and aught 2). We're thinking of calling the following year "aught not to".
The UUA budget is about fifty pages of really really tiny, itsy bitsy teeny tiny print. So I won't read it to you. Instead, I'd like to summarize the information in the budget for the coming year. If you'd like more information than we provide, have specific or general questions about the budget, or get goosebumps at the thought of spending an hour or so with people who do have questions about the budget, please attend the budget hearing tomorrow at 3:30 in Convention Center room 109.
There are two broad categories of income in the UUA Budget: two thirds of the income is income for general support; one third is income for designated purposes.
The income for general support comes from a variety of sources:
The first source of income is gifts and bequests to the association from members.
Each year, Unitarian Universalists like you and I include the association or their local society in their charitable gift and estate planning. Their unrestricted gifts are reflected in income for general support.
It is fitting that we remember and honor our fellow UUs who have died in the past year, whose love for Unitarian Universalism lives on as their gifts sustain our faith community.
The second source is contributions from individual members to the Friends of the UUA; if you're not a friend of the UUA, this is easily remediable. Visit the Friends of the UUA booth location before you leave Nashville. Tell them Denny sent you.
Administrative fees represent 8% of the general income. Investment income and charges for other related services are each about one-fifth of the general income. Over a third of the general income, 37%, comes from our congregations' contributions to the Annual Program Fund. I believe Judy Pickett, chair of the APF Continental Committee, could tell us more about this year's Annual Program Fund efforts.
Good morning. I'm Judy Pickett and I'm here to talk to you about fuel. The energy source for all living organisms.
Each morning, you get up, and fuel up with breakfast to kick start your metabolism and get your blood flowing to meet the challenges of the day. Some people need more, some less. Some starve their bodies; others indulge in the art of gluttony
You pull up to the gas pump to fuel up your car so you can get from one point to another.
You go to your job so you can earn money to fuel your living, pay your bills, go out to dinner, go on vacation, invest in your future, support institutions that reflect your personal ideals.
In the context of the UUA, the fuel that keeps it going takes several forms.
One is volunteering. You're all volunteers. You believe in the purposes and principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association and you live out those beliefs with your time and energy in our own congregations and the continental organization . You have a personal mission to ensure the perpetuation of our liberal faith. I thank you for volunteering.
Since we're talking about finance, the other form of fuel is, of course, MONEY.
You support your congregation through the annual pledge drive, capital campaigns, fund raisers and your congregation, in turn, supports the UUA to the tune of $4.75 million dollars this year through the Annual Program Fund.
The Annual Program Fund Continental Committee is an energetic and committed group of volunteers, just like you, who enthusiastically accept the challenge of making sure the UUA never runs dry. We see ourselves as cheerleaders, motivators, educators and torch carriers for the faith and every year we come here to give you purple and pink ribbons; buttons, sometimes kazoos and this year purple Mardi Gras beads. And every year you wear these as an outward sign of your generosity. Wear them proudly.
In partnership with the UU Ministers Association, we sponsor a sermon award which invites settled ministers to submit sermons they have preached around the subject of stewardship, giving, generosity and MONEY. This year's winner, Rev. Gary Kowalski, wrote a sermon entitled, "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?"
Betty Cummings, my predecessor as Chair, has developed a curriculum called UUA 101 which is designed to be used in a workshop format to teach UU's about the UUA. This has been funded by APF dollars. Your APF dollars are the fuel that provides 36% of what is needed to keep the wheels of the UUA turning. May the well never run dry! Thank you all!
Thanks, Judy, and thank you to the volunteers who serve on the Annual Program Fund Continental Committee.
Before we leave the topic of income for General Purposes, I'd like to point out a third workshop this afternoon: Gift and Estate Planning for Alternative Families.
The second type of income, Income for Designated Purposes, is just that — income given by individuals or institutions with specific restrictions or understandings about how it is to be used.
Annual earnings from three ministry related endowments plus some spend down funds for recruitment, young adult work, public relations, and growth from the capital campaign, Handing on the Future plus, provide 9% of the designated income in the 01 budget.
Grants from our generous congregation at Shelter Rock that support extension and diversity work as well as the UU Funding Programs total two million dollars.
Income from another endowment from the congregation at Shelter Rock, the St. Lawrence Educational Trust, UUA scholarship funds, and Living Tradition Fund scholarships provide 15% of the designated income.
Ministerial aid endowment funds from the Living Tradition Funds are 5% of the designated income.
Capital Gains for Fundraising, 9% of designated income, didn't appear in last year's budget. This item represents the amount of accumulated gains in the endowment, authorized by the Board of Trustees to fund the expenses of the Capital Campaign for Unitarian Universalism.
The Holdeen and International Trusts item includes income from the Holdeen Trust funds for the Holdeen India Program grants.
Income designated for other purposes is 8% of the total designated income.
Now we'll move on to the budgeted expenditures for fiscal year 2001.
Depreciation is 2% of total expenditures.
8% of our expenditures are for development: Annual Program Fund, Friends of the UUA, and other activities that provide income.
Board and Volunteer Leadership represent 3% of expenditures.
Administration is 1.4 million, or 7% of expenditures.
The UU Funding Program expends 1.1 million dollars, or 5% of total expenditures.
3% of our expenditures are for finance.
Facilities account for 7% of our total expenditures.
The International slice includes distributions of the Holdeen India Program, as well as half of the costs of the International Office, totaling 1.6 million dollars, eight percent of total expenditures.
We'll spend three percent of our budget, $621,000, on information technology in fiscal year 2001.
By far the largest slice of the pie, nearly 11 million dollars, will be expended for services to congregations.
I'll spend just a moment unpacking that segment of our total expenditures.
We'll spend $2.4 million on Communications, including the UU World, Interconnections, electronic communications, Skinner House, and the UUA Bookstore.
Nearly half a million dollars will be granted to our 23? 22? 21 —however many districts we have at the end of GA.
Roughly $3.4 million is expended as Congregational, District, and Extension services, including extension ministry, field staff, training for extension and growth, young adult ministry, and the capital campaign consultants program.
$956,000 supports our Religious Education department which designs and creates curricula, resources, training, and expertise in lifespan religious education.
Nearly $1.2 million is budgeted for the Faith in Action Department, which helps congregations, districts, clusters, develop social justice programs.
$2.5 million is budgeted for the department of ministry, which provides leadership and resources to congregations and ministers including settlement, scholarships and grants, church staff finance expertise, and financial planning.
That's the budget for the coming fiscal year. The UUA budget is just one illustration of our interdependence. Each of us and each of our congregations rely on other individuals and other societies for community, dialogue, resources, expertise, nurture, and challenge. Together, we weave the common good. Please join Reid Swanson in singing the first two verses of For All That is Our Life.
