Your donations support everything that TUUCW does.
Thank you to all who make pledge contributions! You make it all happen.
The Visiting Stewards gather pledges in the springtime to cover the following fiscal year which starts in July and ends in June the year after. The purpose of pledging is to give us an indication of the minimum we can count on for the budget for the upcoming year. Making a pledge and contributing towards it are two separate steps.
To get another invite to the system, just email Sue, or Ruth.
CLICK HERE for Realm FAQ
MAKING A PLEDGE
- A pledge is your estimate of what you intend to give in total during the pledge/fiscal year.
- A pledge must be made for each fiscal year in documentable form which means on the pledge card, or by email to Sue. If you need to change your pledge after you have submitted one, email Sue.
CONTRIBUTING TO YOUR PLEDGE
- You must make a pledge before you can start contributing towards it. Gifts that are received before a pledge is made cannot be applied to a pledge.
- You can contribute to your pledge in whatever pattern works for you, monthly, or once a year or anything in between. Just make sure you’ve completed making your pledge by June.
Ways you can contribute:
o Your bank’s online bill pay system: This is a simple, no-cost and preferred way to make recurring contributions to UUWestport. Check with your bank for details on how to set up these payments. Please enter “pledge” in the appropriate place.
o The Virtual Plate: You can pay online at the Virtual Plate at the following web address: vop.tucw.org
o A regular paper check: Feel free to contribute using a regular check for which there are also no fees charged to us. It is much clearer for accounting if you write “pledge” in the memo line of your check.
o Your bank’s online bill pay system: This is a simple, no-cost and preferred way to make recurring contributions to UUWestport. Check with your bank for details on how to set up these payments. Please enter “pledge” in the appropriate place.
o Stock donation: you must let us know the company name of the stock you are donating in advance. Email Sue to get the wiring instructions to send to your broker. There are transaction fees of roughly 2.0-3.5% charged to us.
o Online through Realm with either eChecks or credit card: You can set up either recurring or one-time contributions through your Realm profile. There are fees (2.5%-3%) charged to us. You must enter the credit card information in your Realm profile yourself; the office is not allowed to. For more on Realm, download the Realm Online Giving FAQ.
o Grants from donor-advised funds, charitable trusts and private foundations: an unrestricted grant to TUCW from these funds can also be used to make a contribution which fulfills a pledge because TUCW pledges represent intentions to give rather than a legally binding obligation. The non-tax deductibility of these grants is maintained.
o Our New Venmo Account: If you use Venmo, you're in luck - we do to! Our handle is @UUWestport-10. You can also SCAN the QR Code below:
Tax/Giving Statements: Giving Statements summarizing tax-deductible gifts are sent to all donors, and for pledgers it includes pledge status information. Tax statements are sent on the calendar year and not our fiscal year of July to June. All pledge contributions are unrestricted general funds.