Starting July 1, 2006 with our new church year, our congregation voted to accept a budget that included a provision that would give away 100 percent of its Sunday worship offerings to local charities. We felt it was our obligation to give back to the community we so dearly love and were confident we would make up the shortfall elsewhere. As such, an entire month’s offerings are given to a local charity that is selected by our Social Missions Council and our minister, Rev. Alan Taylor. Immediately, before the baskets are passed, members of the congregation are reminded of the designated charity. It is then up to the individual member to decide how much they would like to support that charity.
What surprised us was the level of the giving that followed. To our amazement, the offering is 400 percent higher than when we kept the offering! Although we gave up part of our income, we are able to give away a much larger sum to local charities like the Austin Scholarship Fund, Sarah’s Inn, Hephzibah Children’s Association, the OPRF Walk-In Ministry. For example, our December collections brought in over $6,000 for PADS.
I think what has made this program such a success is giving away 100% of the collection all the time and announcing the recipient each Sunday just prior to the offering. Hats off if your church is already doing this. If not, please at least try it for a few months. Or take the interim step we did and give away the offering once a month. This is a terrific idea that deserves sharing regardless of your religious affiliation.
Rest assured that the loss of income won’t hurt you nearly as much as it will help someone else.
Steve Bankes, President, Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation