Sunday Offering
What is the role of the EUUC Sunday Offering committee?
Sunday Offering committee facilitates one of the many ways that EUUC extends the reach of our mission. We accept and vet nominations to support organizations from the membership. The committee arranges for a spokesperson from the organization to briefly introduce their organization’s work to the congregation. Due to COVID-19 protocol those introductions are now available via video.
Who receives the Sunday offering?
The recipients of our monthly donations are organizations engaged in environmental action, peace and justice education and advocacy, or social justice projects.
The main criteria is that they be an established organization that serves the greater community and has a sustainable track record. We typically prefer that they be 501(c)(3). Learn about the current and past recipients of the Sunday offerings.
All the checks written to the EUUC with “cause” on the memo line and all online donations for “Sunday Offering” are given directly to the recipient organization.
When did EUUC begin the Sunday offering?
In 2006 Pat Garrity read an article in the UU magazine about a church that was donating their offering to another nonprofit once a month. Pat was chair at the time of the Services Committee (no longer in existence). She took that idea to Social Concerns and they thought it was a good idea so she took the idea to Ed Brock, our minister at the time, who thought it was a great idea and thought it would be even better to do it every week and that’s how it started. The rest is history.
How does one nominate an organization?
We invite you to fill out the online form to nominate an organization. Of course, not all of the nominations we receive will be selected.
Are you interested in joining the committee or learning more?
Here is a short FAQ:
~ How often and when does the Sunday Offering (SO) committee meet to review the submissions?
Ans: We meet around 4 times a year. Typically we meet in January, April, June and October. The dates are determined via consensus of the group members
~ What happens with the nominations?
Nomination arrives via the form >> located here. Someone from the SO reviews the nomination, does research and addresses questions, if any. We meet during one of our regularly scheduled meetings and do the final vetting. The list of fully vetted nominees are placed in a suggested place on the calendar (sometimes based on the nominator’s request but due to other things is not always). That list is then sent as a recommendation to the Social Justice Committee (SJC) for approval. The SJC meets monthly on the fourth Tuesday of each month.
~ Do we hear if the organization we submitted is chosen or not, and if it is not chosen?
Yes. After the SJC meeting we inform all EUUC parties of the results. That includes nominators, ministers, TWAE, EUUC, website managers etc. The SO committee lead then reaches out to the approved nominee to let them know that they will be a beneficiary and to request that they prepare a video that will be used to introduce them to the congregation. At the end of the offering we have the check sent to the listed party.
~ Does the submission stay in an active capacity (if not selected the first time) for the next go-round or do we need to resubmit it?
Unless there is an issue with the submission then there should not be a need to roll over. With that said, if there is an issue with the nomination we will kick it back to the nominator ASAP for more information or other assistance.
~ Does it matter or is there a strategy on timing for submission of these or should we submit as soon as we decide as a group we support an organization for consideration?
We do not meet every month. We suggest that one get in as many nominations as soon as possible. Let the nominations come forth as quickly as you can get them. Also if you have a preferred month, please let us know. But there is no guarantee that order will be followed. The SJC is the one that makes the final call.
Contact: Sunday Offering
Sunday Offering News
- Sunday Offering – January 2022 – People for Progress in India January 2, 2022Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti (GRAVIS), Rajasthan, India. PPI’s grant to help 150 families of unemployed stone mine workers and families with disabled and women-headed households. People for Progress in India (PPI) is a Seattle based 501(c)(3) non-profit, all-volunteer organization that strives to promote sustainable development among underprivileged communities in India. PPI partners with grassroots non-profit organizations ...Read more
- Sunday Offering – December 2021 – Bridge Receiving Center December 1, 2021That video is shown to the children when they are on the way to the Bridge Center. December’s Sunday Offering recipient is the Bridge Receiving Center (“Bridge”). Bridge supports kids as they enter the foster system. The shortage of licensed homes means that for the first week or more, children bounce between the Dept. of Children,Youth ...Read more
- Sunday Offering – November 2021 – Neighbors in Need: Afghan Allies November 15, 2021Afghan refugees and allies need our help. This month our support will go to Neighbors in Need: Afghan Allies. When the Afghans arrive in the United States, many have little more than the clothes on their backs. Our gift to Neighbors in Need: Afghan Allies (NIN:AA) helps provide essential support for newly arrived families, including emergency ...Read more
- Sunday Offering – October 2021 – Viva Farms October 1, 2021Viva Farms is a non-profit farm business incubator and training program with a mission to preserve sustainable farming and create a resilient and just local food system. They empower aspiring and limited resource farmers by providing bilingual training in holistic organic farming, as well as access to all the essentials needed to run a successful ...Read more
- Sunday Offering – September 2021 – Young Women Empowered (Y-WE) September 1, 2021Young Women Empowered (Y-WE*) provides a community of belonging for young women* during this stage of life when they are moving toward adulthood, identifying college and career interests, and exploring ways to take action as community changemakers. Thanks to the visionary leadership of our participants and the generous support of donors, we have grown into ...Read more
- Sunday Offering – July and August 2021 – Environmental and Climate Change Reporting Fund June 30, 2021The Environmental and Climate Change Reporting Fund is a new way to help pay for local journalism. The Daily Herald maintains editorial control over content produced with fund resources. Unfortunately, The Daily Herald faces tough decisions. Severe declines in advertising revenues and the changing media landscape make it challenging for them to afford robust journalism ...Read more
- Sunday Offering – June 2021 – Quixote Communities June 1, 2021Your Sunday Offering committee is pleased to introduce you to our June Cause. Panza dba Quixote Communities creates and manages tiny home villages that foster community, encourage personal growth, and promote access to care and services. It all began when Camp Quixote, a tent city, was established in downtown Olympia in 2007 to protest a ...Read more
- Sunday Offering – May 2021 – Innovations Human Trafficking Collaborative May 1, 2021Innovations Human Trafficking Collaborative (Innovations HTC) is an Indigenous survivor-led social justice non-profit based in Olympia WA. Innovations HTC mission is to engage first responders, tribes, and other stakeholders in eliminating human trafficking through solution-based knowledge and trauma-informed strategies, and to empower survivors to heal and build self-sufficient, affirming lives. Much of Innovations HTC’s initial ...Read more
- Sunday Offering – April 2021 – Adopt a Stream Foundation April 2, 2021Adopt A Stream Foundation was established to ensure that Pacific Northwest streams continue to provide healthy spawning and rearing habitat for salmon, trout, steelhead, and other wildlife and to maintain clean drinking water. Their mission is carried out by producing environmental education materials; providing stream & wetland technical assistance; and the Development of the Northwest ...Read more
- Sunday Offering – March 2021 – Tomorrow’s Hope March 1, 2021Tomorrow’s Hope, a program of Housing Hope, is Snohomish County’s only child development program that serves the needs of children who have been impacted by the trauma of homelessness and poverty. They are one of three licensed therapeutic centers in Washington State designed to reduce the effects of poverty and related trauma, including food insecurity, neglect, ...Read more
- Sunday Offering – February 2021 – Facing Homelessness January 31, 2021Facing Homelessness is a grassroots non profit organization that came into being by a simple act. That simple act was to face a homeless person and look beyond the stereotype. To quote the founder, Rex Hohlbein, “The negative stereotype against the homeless was not matching up to the beauty of those I was meeting.” In ...Read more
- Sunday Offering – January 2021 – UUA Disaster Relief and Resources January 6, 2021“Our Disaster Relief Fund is part of a covenant—a covenant between the UUA and congregations, between congregations who give generously and those in need, and with our community partners. Through aiding our congregations, their members and their community partners, we are able to embody our faith and values. Staff from all five UUA regions and the ...Read more