March 26, 2018

Dear Pacific Southwest District Member Congregations,

With changes coming to the Annual Program Fund (APF) nationally, we want to remind you about how our district will be impacted in the coming Fiscal Year 2019. We will be transitioning from separate District and APF requests, to a single request for support for both our UUA and our Pacific Southwest District (PSWD). We will continue to use the traditional per-member calculations to generate your request this year, as we move towards implementing the New APF Formula a year from now. Be assured that plenty of information will be coming to you in the fall about the New APF.

Here is what you need to know about Fiscal Year 2019

What will remain the same for Fiscal Year 2019 (July 1, 2018-June 30, 2019)

  • Your financial support of our Association through our UUA APF and through your PSWD dues will remain vitally important. The vast majority of the budget for District and Pacific Western Region programming and staff operations comes from your APF and PSWD dues contributions. Your support provides services not only to your own congregation, but also to other congregations who count on your full participation.
  • The requested amount for the Annual Program Fund will remain level at $60 per member.
  • The 2019 PSWD District request will remain level at $28 per member.

What will be different for Fiscal Year 2019

  • In April, you will receive your annual pledge form from the UUA and it will look a little bit different. The form will list the amount requested for our PSWD, as well as for the UUA, and then a total combined amount. The new combined pledge form will include a space for you to enter the single total amount that you pledge.
  • You will make your Fiscal Year 2019 contributions by sending single checks made payable to UUA-PSWD rather than by separate checks made out to UUA and to our district. Our UUA Board has been working with UUA staff leadership and with stakeholders across our UUA to enact the New APF, which will come to our district next year. Moving to a combined single payment for next year helps move us administratively in the future direction. Most importantly, however, a combined single payment helps make clear the reality that we are all the UUA. The truth is, we are all in this together.
  • Please note that for the remainder of the current Fiscal Year 2018 you will continue to receive District invoices from the Pacific Western Region office as well as invoices from our UUA for any remainder of your FY2018 Annual Program Fund pledge.

Checks should be made out to UUA-PSWD.

Mail checks to:
UUA/Annual Program Fund
PO Box 843153
Boston, MA 02284-3153

Friends, we are congregations in covenant. When each congregation becomes part of the Association, they pledge their support to the UUA. Your gifts to our Pacific Southwest District and the Annual Program Fund are the fulfillment of a promise that has already been made. Your contributions are used to provide programming and services to your own congregation, as well as to those throughout our Association. Thank you so much for your faithful giving, on behalf of all Unitarian Universalists.

In Stewardship,
James A. Merrill, Pacific Southwest District President
Rev. Dr. James Kubal-Komoto, UUA-Pacific Western Region Lead
Rev. Vail Weller, UUA Congregational Giving Director

We would be happy to discuss any questions you may have. You may reach out to one of us or contact Diane Brinson, Administration Manager for the Pacific Western Region at dbrinson@uua.org, or the Congregational Giving Office of the UUA by email at apf@uua.org or by phone at (617) 948-6512.