“Good morning. I’m here to tell you about Nancy and me joining the Legacy Circle, the new group of those who have included CVUUF in our wills. Nancy and I feel strongly that a flourishing liberal religious presence in our community is worth supporting and so, in addition to our regular pledge contributions, we have each included the Fellowship in our wills, to the amount of $50,000 each.”

“I had been thinking about this for a long time, but what got me going was a new initiative by the Shelter Rock congregation in New York, which has set up a $5,000,000 matching fund for such gifts. They will give CVUUF 10% of our planned gift, or $10,000 into our coffers. This will come in about 2 years from now, hopefully well before we die. The matching gift fund is not infinite, so if you have also been thinking about updating your will, or perhaps creating one for the first time, please join Nancy and me as members of the Legacy Circle. If you want to know more, you can talk to me or Susan Dixon, who deserves a lot of credit for getting this activity off the ground. Thanks Susan, and thanks to you all.”

“My name is Susan Dixon and I have been a member for 13 years. My current volunteer positions include Bulletin Board Monitor, six years on the Pledge/Stewardship Committee and now Chair of a newly formed Legacy Gift Committee. Today, I am here to talk to you about why I am including CVUUF in my estate plans. More (if selected will bring up the following)

“In 2010, when I was updating my Trust, I decided to include a percentage of my estate to CVUUF.  I imagined what a joy it would be for the Fellowship to receive a financial gift that they did not expect.  Imagine if we received gifts like that today and what a difference it would make in our financial situation.  I have heard of churches suddenly getting an unexpected inheritance which enabled them to pay off a building or move into a bigger building. Wouldn’t that be something?

I also included a percentage of my estate to the Unitarian Universalist Association. While I, of course, need to provide for my family, I also want to make sure that as the UUA supports me in the present,  that they will have the resources they need to continue doing good work in the future.  UU is a huge part of my life, and when I hear about injustice, poverty, cruelty, hunger, I want to do something about it and I know that UU is a leader in such social action causes.  I believe that contributing to Unitarian Universalism will make the world a better place.

For years, I have been trying to push for a legacy gift program here.  But, each year our ongoing pledge drive needed to take priority. Well, today I am happy to announce that finally, finally, finally, I have been given the go ahead. The newly formed Legacy Gift Committee includes Todd Hess, Frances Pardee, and Kim Henson. We are in the process of creating a CVUUF Legacy Gift program which will be rolled out in in a just few months.

And, now for the real icing on the cake . . . I am excited to announce our participation in the Unitarian Universalist Association’s “Legacy Challenge.”  Thanks to a $5M gift from the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock, CVUUF could receive matching funds of up to $10,000 per donor for planned gifts. The way it works, is that whatever you intend to leave CVUUF in your will or trust, a matching donation of 10% (up to $10,000) will be given now to CVUUF. So, say for example someone intends to leave CVUUF $100,000 in their will, then CVUUF will get $10,000 NOW. Is that fricking awesome?

Statistics show that some 55% of all people do not have a will or trust when they die and most people end up leaving more money than they expected they would leave. Maybe this is the incentive that you need to get your affairs in order and leave a little gift to CVUUF in the process. We will provide you with resources, brochures, forms, attorney references, online references, and sample language to include in your will or trust.

Throughout our lifetime at CVUUF, each of us has offered our gifts – gifts of time, gifts of talent and our personal treasures – in order to build our Fellowship.  You now have the opportunity to continue our stewardship into perpetuity through planned giving.  If any of you are interested in getting information on this program, please give me your name.”

“My name is Floyd Martin. My Wife, Mary, and I joined the Conejo Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship 41 years ago when our youngest of three daughters was a one year old. We broke from our family’s Methodist, Congregational and United Church of Christ traditions to become Unitarian Universalists.

I remember the statement that “Unitarian Universalists are more concerned about the here and now than the hereafter.” ”More (if selected will bring up the following)

“The endowed and generous UU Congregation of Shelter Rock has created a tremendous financial incentive to address both the here and now as well as the hereafter of Unitarian Universalism.  By adding a Legacy Gift to your Living Trust or Will naming our fellowship and/or other approved Unitarian Universalist organizations, they will donate 10% of that amount in 2018 to the UU organizations your trust designates.

In the hereafter, your trust will give the amount you designate to CVUUF and/or other approved UU organizations. Your trusts’ Legacy gift will be ten times what UU Shelter Rock donated in 2018.

Mary and I were very fortunate that our parents had trusts that honored their wishes for their children.  Our Aunt and Uncle without children used their trust to transfer their estate to their nieces and nephews.  Their trusts made it easy to follow through on their wishes.

Mary and I practice the UU Modern Tithe by giving 5% of our gross income to CVUUF and 5% to other charities. Our Legacy Gift to CVUUF will be 5% of our current estate, our final pledge. The incentive of an immediate financial benefit to CVUUF from UU Shelter Rock got us to do our living trust now and not procrastinate any longer in protecting our families.  Act quickly while Shelter Rock’s funds exist to greatly improve the here and now as well as the hereafter of CVUUF. ”