A pledge is a promise to give a certain amount of money to the congregation within the congregational year. Every year congregants and friends make a pledge commitment.

Our congregational fiscal year begins on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following calendar year.

All pledges support our mission and are the basis of the annual budget. Pledges fund worship and music, religious education, social justice projects, pastoral care, community events, and more. Pledge income pays for the salaries of our minister and staff and for the operation and maintenance of our facilities. When you pledge, we can set up a realistic operating budget.
We send written acknowledgement of contributions (quarterly statements) to all those who pledge.

• Automatic transfers from your bank.  Ask the office to set up automatic withdrawal from your bank account. Complete the Electronic Funds Transfer Authorization Form and send it to the office administrator.
• Check(s).  Write a check made out to UUCP and either
  • mail the check to the congregational office at 50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton, NJ 08540. Write the pledge year on the memo line, e.g. “pledge 2024-2025”.
  • drop the check in the offering basket at Sunday services. Write the pledge year on the memo line, e.g. “pledge 2024-2025”.
• Credit Card. There are 2 options
  • Set up your own pledge and credit card or e-check payments using online giving portal. Once logged into the portal, choose the fund: JUL 2024-JUN 2025 Pledge.
    You will be able to keep an eye on your payments and update your own credit card information without contacting the church office.
  • Or contact the office administrator with your information: Credit Card Number, Expiration Date, Security Code, Your Name as it appears on the card, Total dollar amount of pledge, and frequency of installment payments. And if you’ve moved since last year please let us know as your credit card is tied to your address.
• Stocks/Securities.  Make a transfer of securities. Complete the Stock Donation Form. Contact our congregational administrator for help.

Please Note: In-kind donations, such as items donated for fundraisers (such as an auction or rummage sale), do not count toward your pledge.

No. As a democratic community, we design our budgets to serve the totality of our mission. Pledges support the work of the entire congregation.

Anyone can make an annual pledge, member or not. Those who pledge, but have not yet chosen to become members, are known as friends of the congregation.

Yes. Financial support is one of the responsibilities of membership. We ask you to seriously consider the idea of giving 5% of their income to support our mission. For many, 5% is not a problem and some easily reach or surpass this level of commitment. For others, such a goal is difficult. If so, we ask you to start your first pledge at 3% and increase that amount each year until 5% is comfortably reached. If you can afford to pledge more than 5%, you will help others who are unable to do so. If you have financial problems and cannot pledge, please get a waiver from our minister Rev. Bill Neely.

Every March we have a Stewardship Campaign. We urge all to pledge as soon as possible so that we can build a realistic budget for the upcoming year.

Yes. Regardless of how you pay your pledge, we send a quarterly statement explaining what you have paid so far

At your convenience between July 1 and June 30 of the following calendar year. We urge you to use automatic payment.

Yes. Fill out another pledge card and return it in at the office, or use our online pledge form. You can always ask the congregational administrator or the stewardship team for help.

The pledge is separate. Part of our Sunday collection goes to social justice and denominational outreach groups. For convenience however, some congregants pay their pledges by putting checks in the Sunday collection plate. If you drop your pledge check in the basket, be sure to make it out to UUCP and write the pledge year on the memo line (e.g. “pledge 2024-2025”).