Money Matters 12/1/2024
Dear Members and Friends,
I am writing this two days before Thanksgiving and so my thoughts turn to the people, things, places and organizations such as 2U that I am grateful for. It is a good time for a few tips on giving to 2U:
Please Avoid This Pledge Payment Mistake!
Do you give by texting during our Sunday service ? Thank You! This money goes only to the collection plate which is split 50/50 between 2U and our not-for-profit of the month (the UU Service Committee in November). It is NOT applied to your pledge. To make pledge payments, please either write a paper check (putting “Pledge” in the memo line) or donate online (2U website or Breeze) where you can select the “Pledge 24/25” or “Capital Campaign.” This will help us ensure your donation goes to the place(s) you intended.
Year End Giving of Stocks & Mutual Funds
The stock market is now up about 25% for the year! Want to minimize capital gains taxes ? 2U can help! You can donate individual stocks and almost all mutual funds via the UUA which will then send the proceeds to Second Unitarian for your pledge, etc. Deadlines: Dec 5 for mutual funds and Thursday, Dec 12 for stocks for guaranteed execution. The UUA will process after these dates but trades may not be executed prior to year end.
Tom Klein, Gift Processing Manager at the UUA, writes:
Our info about giving an immediate gift of stock can be found here: https://www.uua.org/giving/make-gift/giftsstock.
The two most important parts are:
The Stock Gift Notification Form (https://www.uua.org/giving/make-gift/giftsstock/notification-form), which tells the UUA what the donor is sending and what the gift is for. This is where donors would designate that they want their gift to go to Second Unitarian Church (of Chicago). It’s very important for the UUA to get this info ahead of the actual transfer. **Side note: the UUA doesn’t charge a fee for this service, but we do ask donors to consider allocating a small amount or percentage of their gift to the UUA to help support the continuation of the Umbrella program. If they choose to do that, they can indicate the split on this notification form.
Our stock gift transfer instructions (https://www.uua.org/giving/make-gift/giftsstock/electronic-transfer), which is what the donor should provide to their broker, who will initiate the transfer of shares.
Once the shares arrive and are sold, Mr. Klein will email the donor all the details of prices, values , and final proceeds. We’ll also send them a formal acknowledgement/tax receipt for the gift in the mail. The UUA will cut a check to the congregation for the proceeds as soon as funds are available – usually within about 2 weeks.
If you have any questions now, or along the way, please feel free to contact Tom Klein at tklein@uua.org or call (617) 948-4286. Please also notify 2U Treasurer Tom Denio of your plans at tadenio@comcast.net or (773) 458-3674.
2U Financial Update (As of October 31, 2024)
Click image to enlarge
To date, our budget is pretty much on track although it does have a deficit for the fiscal year ending 6/30/25. The very successful Fall Fest should bring the deficit down significantly.
Total expenses for the 4 month period are $128,732 and under budget by $11,814. This is due to a number of factors including later starts than expected for the Sound/Digital Producer and new cleaning service. Seasonal factors also play a role and spending ramps up in the second half of the fiscal year.
Thank you so much for supporting the mission of 2U!
Respectfully submitted,
