Florida District of the Unitarian Universalist Association
The incredible generosity of those who participated in the first Association Sunday is still benefiting our districts and congregations today, over a year later! Returning one-third of the over 1.4 million dollars raised as grants to our districts inspired a great deal of creativity and allowed for the realization of some worthwhile programs for growing our faith. The Florida District even held a friendly little competition to determine how their grant money would be spent and is pleased to share the results.
Rev. Kenn Hurto, the Florida District Executive, reports that they solicited a matching grant program from the district’s congregations which was called "Congregations Grow." The requirements for proposals were that congregations should be able to match the grant money the district would provide via their own fundraising, that the project proposed would feature cooperation with at least one other congregation, that it represents a new idea, that board members be engaged in the process, and that the project’s outcomes be measurable so that a summary report could be made available before the 2009 General Assembly. Preference was given to those projects that could be sustainable for a second year. And, in the spirit of collaboration, the Florida District added another $1,500 to the money provided by Association Sunday so that in total they were able to offer $16,000 in grants.
The responses were outstanding and the winning programs will surely go a long way towards increasing the presence of Unitarian Universalism in Florida. The Unitarian Universalist (UU) Church of Tallahassee and the UU Fellowship of Gainesville have combined to create a growth coordinator position at each congregation and a multi-congregational marketing effort for the northern tier of Florida—which they launched with a "mini-GA" in Gainesville in September featuring the participation of ten congregations! The UU Fellowship of Boca Raton, the River of Grass UU Congregation in Plantation, and the UU Church of Fort Myers have created a young-adult focused effort called "Reaching for Our Future." The ambition is to create a viable campus ministry outreach across southern Florida.
Rev. Kenn is excited about what these programs could mean for the Florida District and the whole UUA. "We are all very appreciative of this opportunity and eagerly await the outcomes next summer," he says.
Last updated on Friday, February 6, 2009.
