We are meeting right now to discern the priorities for the budget for the year ahead. I have been involved in conversations with our Board of Trustees and Executive Team, with our Staff Team, and with many of you at the January update. We are discerning what we hope to be able to do together in the coming year, July 2024 – June 2025. (See the priorities below.)
We are very fortunate to be a congregation with about 800 adult members and 160 children and youth in our Learning Community. We have the people power and the pledging power to do a lot.
However, we have the need to make choices. Rising costs of running our congregation and lower numbers of adults and children than in the past mean that we cannot afford everything we’d like to do. While we can pull some funds from reserves, we need to be mindful about when and how much, or we will be borrowing against the future.
If you haven’t joined the Campaign for 2024, please do consider making a pledge now here: https://www.firstunitarianportland.org/pledge/. This will help add to the resources we have to create the budget. We will be generating the first draft of next year’s budget in the coming weeks.
The Community Conversations we held last spring are helping to guide our priorities for this year and next year. As you will see below, some of the priorities are continuing from last year. For example, it has already made a positive difference to our social media to have a full time Communications Coordinator. There is growing excitement for a Mission, Vision, and Strategic Planning process to reflect on who we are and who we hope to become in 2030 and beyond. Did you know the last time we worked on our Mission was about 30 years ago? The last priority reflects that excitement.
Below this note, you’ll find the current proposed budget priorities for 2024 – 2025. We invite you to be a part of making them happen by sharing of your time, talent, and treasure. Let us know your thoughts about how these priorities can help in areas you are involved with.
In faith and with gratitude,
Rev. Alison Miller
2024 – 2025 Proposed Budget Priorities
- Enhance our website, social media, and online communications
- Reach new people searching for a liberal faith
- Invite members, friends, and visitors to participate in upcoming worship and music, lifelong learning, justice, and community building programs
- Grow Membership/Friendship
- Focus on newcomer experience, including hospitality with an 8th principle lens
- Develop a strategy to move people from visitors à members/pledging friends
- Increase the resources we have to fulfill our mission
- Recruit volunteers and equip leaders (time and talent)
- Move towards generosity at all financial giving levels. (treasure)
- Help people see the connection between what they give and what we can do.
- Lifelong Learning
- Evaluate our offerings for children, youth, and families and support teachers & advisors to offer a robust program that meets the needs of today
- Expand learning opportunities, small groups, and classes for adults of all ages
- Spiritual Growth
- Practice becoming a multigenerational music making and worshipping community.
- Support community building among the visitors, members, and friends worshipping online
- Collaborative Justice-Making
- Building up justice networks & interfaith partnerships in Portland and the UUA
- Shared Ministries
- Include the wider congregation in a strategic planning process to chart the future together: Mission, Vision, Covenant, and 5-Year Plan