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Our vision is that the UCE Endowment Fund will grow to $10M by 2050 through legacy gifts and effective stewardship to support the UCE mission. This growth will allow the Endowment Fund to provide more than $5M in grants over the next quarter-century to encourage innovation, strengthen community, and promote congregational vitality. The Endowment Fund of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Evanston Established in 1986, the Endowment Fund is a vehicle for members to make contributions to the congregation as a legacy for future generations. The fund is a source of support for special initiatives that further the mission and work of UCE. Like the roots that nourish and stabilize a tree, Endowment dollars strengthen our community and promote its health and vitality. If you would like information about including UCE in your estate plans, or you already have and you’d like information about becoming an Endowment Visionary, or you have general inquiries, please e-mail us at endowment@ucevanston.org. ABOUT THE ENDOWMENT It is a church fund that is segregated from other church monies, is separately managed and is governed by the UCE Endowment Fund Agreement. It is a vehicle for those [...]

Instructions for Giving Time, Talent, and Treasure Inspired by our mission to nurture the human spirit for a world made whole and our Covenant of Engagement, we cultivate a spirit of generosity and mutual support. Unitarian Universalism calls us to be engaged in economic equity and justice for all. Our faith in the worth and dignity of every person reminds us that we belong to and are accountable to one another. According to our bylaws, the requirements for membership are to sign the Membership Book and make an annual pledge of record or affirm membership. Beyond these, the implicit expectations are that each person share of themselves by being in covenant with other members of our congregation and offering their time, talent, and treasure to the extent that they are able. We hope that each person is able to participate in the life of the congregation in ways that are life-giving and spirit-sustaining. Your giving should be a reflection of the community, spiritual nourishment, meaning, and strength you receive by being part of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Evanston. Definitions Each year our operating budget is drafted to reflect goals set by the Board of Trustees [...]

Social Justice Council The Social Justice Council is comprised of liaisons from many of the social action teams. For a team to sit on the Social Justice Council, it must be formed and functioning and then submit a Social Justice Team application (see button below). If you are interested in creating a new team, please contact Rev. Susan Frances at sfrances@ucevanston.org. To get involved with the social action teams and social justice work of the congregation, you are encouraged to learn about the various teams. These teams have liaisons sitting on the Social Justice Council (SJC): Food and Shelter Team (FAST) Green Team Immigrant Solidarity Team (IST) Legislative Action Team (LAT) Local Response Network (LRN) Prison Ministry Racial Equity Action Leadership Team (REAL) We have three ways that we fund our social justice work: - Shared Offering Program, in which we share our monthly collection with an organization that shares our values. - Dedicated Funds, in which we set aside funds for projects our social action and social justice teams develop. - Endowment Committee Funds, in which we use our endowment resources [...]

Integrated Stewardship Council Stewarding our future The Integrated Stewardship Council (ISC) maintains the financial health of our congregation. Our integrated stewardship approach considers how, and how often, members are solicited across all financial obligations, enabling greater generosity and outreach. The ISC is comprised of the Executive Operations Director, two or three members at large, an ISC Secretary, UUCE Treasurer, Endowment Chair, Pledge Drive Chair(s), one or two Board of Trustees Liaison(s), and Capital Campaign Chair when a Capital Campaign is in planned and in progress. 2026-2027 Integrated Stewardship Council Members Rev. Eileen Wiviott, Chair Jean Butzen, Endowment Carla Williams, Pledge Drive Chair Kera Beskin, Board President CJ Presto, Treasurer Tom Hempfling, Secretary Susan Comstock, Member-At-Large Kristin Larsen, Member-At-Large The Integrated Stewardship Council meets on the 3rd Wednesday of the month from 5 pm - 6:30 pm via Zoom. ISC Charter Financial Procedures Manual

Nominating Committee  Per UCE bylaws, the Nominating Committee is responsible for identifying members willing to be candidates on a slate that will be presented for a vote by UCE membership at the annual meeting.  The positions are the Board of Trustees (three new members annually serving a three-year term for a total of nine members), the Endowment Committee (one trustee annually serving a three-year term for a total of three members) and Nominating Committee (three new members annually serving a two-year term for a total of six members). UCE bylaws guiding their work can be found here.  UCE needs members with vision to serve as leaders in our shared ministry.  The Nominating Committee begins to reach out in the Fall to identify potential candidates for future leadership positions in the congregation, such as the Board of Trustees, Endowment Committee, and our own Nominating Committee. Cheryl Mounts, Co-Chair (term ends June 2026) Mary Beth Roth, Co-Chair (term ends June 2026) Jeanne Rhodes (term ends June 2026) Peggy Cloonan (Term ends June 2027) Elizabeth Kennedy (Term ends June 2027) Sue Larson (Term ends June 2027) [...]

Ways to Give Contribute Now Inspired by our mission to nurture the human spirit for a world made whole and the covenant of our congregation, we cultivate a spirit of generosity and mutual support.   Unitarian Universalism calls us to be engaged in economic equity and justice for all.  Our faith in the worth and dignity of every person reminds us that we belong to and are accountable to one another.   According to our bylaws, the requirements for membership are to sign the Membership Book and make an annual pledge of record or affirm membership. Beyond these, the implicit expectations are that each person share of themselves by being in covenant with other members of our congregation and offering their time, talent, and treasure to the extent they are able.   We hope that each person is able to participate in the life of the congregation in ways that are life-giving and spirit sustaining. Your giving should be a reflection of the community, spiritual nourishment, meaning, and strength you receive as part of the Unitarian Church of Evanston.  Funds may be given three ways. 1. Via text to give, TEXT a dollar amount followed by the word [...]

UCE & Reparations UCE puts our values in action and Supports Reparations in Evanston and Beyond In 2021, our congregation passed the 8th Principle, committing ourselves to journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions. In May of 2022, we passed a resolution to support reparations locally and nationally. We resolved to support reparations from the federal government of the United States of America to Black Americans; to support the passage of H.R. 40,“Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act”; and to support reparations being made to Black residents within the City of Evanston. Therefore, we support the City of Evanston’s reparations programs, the Evanston Reparations Community Fund, and related reparation efforts made with direct involvement by the Black residents of Evanston. A month later in June of 2022, empowered by this resolution, our Senior Minister signed on to join our interfaith siblings in supporting the Evanston reparations initiative and the Evanston Reparations Community Fund. Rev. Eileen Wiviott signed on to this statement with clergy and leaders from 16 other faith [...]

UU Network Team The UU Network Team seeks to strengthen ties between our congregation and the larger association: We alert our members to resources offered by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and encourage participation in our Chicagoland area, regional and national activities. We aspired to achieve this by serving as a catalyst for greater connection between UCE and Unitarian Universalism (UUism), being joyful in our work, creating fun-filled gatherings, and advocating for UCE participation in local, regional, and national activities. The UU Network Team meets the second Tuesday every month via Zoom at 11:00 a.m. You are welcome to join us any time. Contact Peggy Boccard via REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org. We interface with external UU organizations... Groups that UCE has representation or participation with, including with the UUA, MidAmerica Region, and local Chicago Area Unitarian Universalist Council (CAUUC). Continue in leadership role for UUA’s General Assembly delegates and attendees (in-person and virtual) Because the Association is often ahead of individual congregations in social justice causes, UUNT continues to monitor Unitarian Universalist (UU) social justice organizations for opportunities that might be of interest to UCE groups, e.g., REAL Team, [...]

News from the Board of Trustees March 3, 2016 Submitted by: Janelle Brittain Creating Our Future As we look at UCE’s accomplishments over the last 125 years, it prompts us to think, ”What do we want to accomplish in the future?” We create our future every day. The Board of Trustees has decided to lead us in a conscious, focused and purposeful choosing of what we want to accomplish and living who we want to be. As Yogi Berra said, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.” We have started a Long Range Planning process and we want everyone’s input in 2 ways! Congregational Survey We have designed a very comprehensive survey that we will use to help guide our decisions at all levels: teams, committees, councils, board and staff. From March 13-24 we will hand it out at Sunday services and it will be available on the UCE website. Your input will help to create our future. Please fill it out! Long Range Plan Every group, team, committee, council [...]

Immigrant Solidarity Team The Immigrant Solidarity Team is concerned with helping immigrants and refugees to adjust to life in the United States. We work with local organizations to achieve this goal, including the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and RefugeeOne. We also engage in legislative advocacy and learning opportunities for the congregation.  The IST welcomes all who are interested in working to build a better world for immigrants in the United States. We meet on the 3rd Saturday of the month at 4:00pm. At present we are meeting on ZOOM. Contact Maggie Wilson or Michelle Novak through REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org. The Immigrant Solidarity Team (IST) works to establish and nurture long-term partnerships with local immigrant communities and organizations. UCE seeks to: Provide appropriate resources for their unmet needs, Be a useful connector among organizations, and Educate and mobilize UCE members about immigration related events, projects and actions. The IST has recently expanded its work to include the support of refugees as well. Here are some of our most recent projects: In the summer of 2021 the IST encouraged UCE members to donate [...]