By UTO Board 

This fall we’re spending a great deal of time talking about new ways of encouraging folks to give to UTO. One of the things we’ve learned from the pandemic is that the way people interact with money has dramatically changed. Many places no longer take cash and many of us no longer carry or use it. That means putting your spare change in a UTO Blue Box is a habit that no longer works for most people. Instead of throwing your change into a Blue Box, we hope you’ll consider setting up a recurring donation for UTO. Many of us have recurring donations set up for our pledge at church or to support our local public radio station so we hope you’ll consider adding one more for UTO. 

There are two great things about setting up a recurring donation; one is that you can set the amount and frequency that best fits your budget and lifestyle. You can give every month, quarterly or bimonthly, and you can change the frequency or amount at any time. One other reason we hope you’ll consider setting up a recurring donation is that our recurring donors receive exclusive content each month. The exclusive content varies from a special gratitude reflection, grant story, or a gratitude tool that comes in the mail. 

To help share some of the benefits of setting up a recurring donation, we asked three donors to share why they choose to use this method of giving to UTO:

As a millennial with a budget and income that varies from month to month, setting up a recurring donation to UTO has been the way to go! By giving a smaller amount each month, it’s easier to include UTO regularly in my budget for giving than it would be for me to give a larger gift once a year. I’m grateful for the automatic nature of the recurring donation, as I don’t even have to remember to set up the donation each month–it just happens! 

I want my donated money to be used in the best way possible, to make the greatest impact. I know this is the case when I give to UTO because UTO is explicit in explaining 100% of Ingathering goes to grants and what impact those grants have had on their communities.

I rarely have cash so putting coins in a box just doesn’t work for me, but making a thank offering is really important to me and something I want my kids to know and experience even if we don’t have coins to pop into a box. We use our Blue Box to hold notes of gratitude, and we talk about how these become a part of something bigger thanks to UTO. I am grateful for a way to ensure that we make thank offerings each month, even if we get busy and forget, as a tangible connection to our family gratitude practice. My kids also loved the special sticker, and the exclusive content is something I can share with them to help further their understanding of gratitude and where their money goes after it gets sent to UTO each month.

We hope you’ll feel inspired to set up a recurring donation for UTO. You can do so at www.unitedthankoffering.com/give. If your congregation has an Ingathering in person, we also offer “I gave online” cards for members to use so you can participate locally as well as through your recurring donation. However you choose to give to UTO, please know we are thankful for you and your commitment to this important work.