After the financial crash of 2009, our congregation struggled to balance our budget. Instead of succombing to fear and scarcity, leaders at the Fellowship proposed being even more generous than we had been previously. In the spirit of abundance, each Sunday since September 2011, our congregation has given half of each service’s offering plate to groups outside our Fellowship that share our values.
Over the years, we have given over $200,000 to support these community partners and worthy organizations.
The Half-Plate Team was empowered by the Board to lead this effort, and has created a set of guidelines and a process for the selection of groups that advance our mission as well as reflect the worship theme each month. These guidelines are outlined below.
If we all make it a practice to contribute, even a small amount, it adds up!
If you are paying your pledge with a check in the collection plate, please write ‘pledge‘ on the memo line. Half of all undesignated checks will go to that week’s featured organization.
We accept nominations from active groups within the Fellowship who are working with a nonprofit that they want us to support financially. Please note that the nominator may not be paid staff of the nonprofit.
The nominating team needs to submit to the Half-Plate Committee [halfplatecommittee@bvuuf.org] the following information:
In addition, the nominator should be willing to:
The Half-Plate Committee will review all nominations and make decisions based on the following criteria:
The Half-Plate collection process was developed in partnership with Fellowship staff and leadership. The Half-Plate Committee works in conjunction with service leaders to plan half-plate collections that are related to the theme of the service. A few special full-plate collections occur during the year, especially to replenish the Minister’s Discretionary Fund.
