As an “independent” all-denominational church, the Union Church of Lake Bluff is self-sustaining. All of our financial resources come from our member families and Sunday service “loose plate” collections.
As a self-sustaining church, all decisions on how funds will be spent are made by those same member families. An annual budget is proposed by our Board of Trustees and is approved by our congregation each fall.
Our operating budget covers the expenses of people/staff, buildings & grounds, programs and administrative items necessary to run the day-to-day operations of the church.
Our outreach activities are supported by funds raised specifically for outreach. The Outreach Committee hosts a primary fundraiser in spring of each year. Funds raised are deployed as gifts to local charities selected by our Outreach Committee and are also used to support our Prayer Shawl Program and our monthly support of PADS, provide matching funds for our Children’s Offering and provide support for our annual Work Trip. Additional funds for the Work Trip are provided by fundraising activities run by our participating youth, fees paid by participating families, and gifts from our members. UCLB has a relationship with Chicago Community Trust, which provides UCLB with funds for local families in need identified by our network of teachers, social workers and volunteers.
Our annual pledge drive to fund our operating budget kicks off each fall immediately following the approval of the operating budget. UCLB offers a variety of ways for families to support the church. These include traditional giving on Sunday mornings during worship, giving via credit card, and giving via direct debit to a bank account. The latter two can be structured as one-time donations or as recurring gifts at intervals of the member’s choosing. We also have a brokerage account to accept gifts of stocks or other marketable securities.
UCLB’s finance committee provides each donor with a quarterly summary detailing their giving across all of UCLB’s programs. In addition, families can access real-time giving data via their Realm profile.
If you have any questions on our giving programs or any aspect of the church’s financial profile, please contact our Financial Secretary, Jim Moss, via email at jimmoss25@gmail.com or phone (312) 282-5554.
Union Church of Lake Bluff is non-profit and is registered as an exempt organization in Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Service Code (EIN 36-3262590).