The word 'fund-raising' can cause the most fearless member of any organization to take a few steps back and break eye contact with all those in a twenty-foot area. But the reality of any organization is that it relies on some level of monetary funding, not only to survive, but to thrive.
Here at OCUUC we have one of the easiest ongoing fundraisers available. It is right on the patio on Sunday mornings, and it costs nothing to actively participate. Currently OCUUC earns over $6,000 per year from this source, but we could quickly double that amount with wider participation from the congregation.
Our Scrip program is so easy. You purchase face-value gift cards. That's it. Do you buy gasoline? Do you buy or eat food at local groceries, restaurants or fast food restaurants? Do you buy gifts? Do you wear clothes? Do you have home improvement projects going?
A gift card purchased by you, say a $50 out-of-pocket for a $50 dollar gas card, will provide OCUUC a percentage from that purchase, at 0 cost to you. That's it. If, like me, you purchase a lot of items from Amazon, you can go to the OCUUC web site, scroll down, click on Amazon from our page, and pay with a gift card. My family purchases one card each for gas, groceries and pharmacy items. We then go on-line and renew the amount of money on the cards for our major monthly purchases. For specialty cards, I go directly to the scrip table. If we are doing home improvements, we order Home Depot or Sears cards ahead of time.
So if you purchase cards from the scrip table or renew your amounts on-line with a single card, you are directly supporting our OCUUC general fund, which in turn supports our Religious Education program.
In Bounty and Gratitude~
Rayna Hamre