History

Chalice Lighters began in 1984 as a way for individual Unitarian Universalists to support projects and programs within and among UU congregations by donating $10 or more three times a year. Once a district’s Chalice Lighters team approved a project, a “call” would go out to participating UU’s who would then write checks and send them to help meet the Chalice Lighters goal.

With the advent of UUA’s reorganization around five regions rather than 19 Districts starting in the late 2000s, Chalice Lighters programs began to evolve, reflecting the distinct needs and circumstances of each region. In 2014, the New England Region translated its Chalice Lighters into the pilot for Faithify, now the online crowdfunding platform for the whole UUA. The Southern Region holds a total of nine Chalice Lighters calls each year — two for projects in each of its historic former Districts and one that is considered as a Region-wide effort. The Central East Region donates $20,000 each to three congregations annually. The MidAmerica Region has a hybrid program which allows for calls of $10,000 or more and up to $1,000 to smaller congregational projects via Faithify.

The remaining district-based Chalice Lighters networks were all in the Pacific Western Region. They historically each followed the same basic structure: with support from Regional staff, each District had three Chalice Lighters calls each year: Fall, Winter and Spring. Among these, Pacific Northwest had the most consistently robust program, both in terms of congregational participation and funds raised.

With each of the four Districts merged into the Pacific Western Region (PWR) evolution of Chalice Lighters is an opportunity to explore what generosity could mean within the Region at this pivotal time, as we affirm our commitment to ideals of cooperation, hope, trust, faith and intentional inclusion of people and causes that are often pushed to the margins. We seek to more fully realize the dream of beingbetter together.

Vision

We are implementing a Regional Chalice Lighters program that: 

1. Builds on the successes of the District Chalice Lighters programs.

   Chalice Lighters shines as an accessible way of funding projects in small and mid-sized congregations. It has especially thrived in settings where dedicated volunteer leaders have committed to it long-term and the donations are automated. In areas where congregations are in relatively close proximity to each other, Chalice Lighters promote connection to the “Association of Congregations” and even where there may not be close geographical proximity, the program promotes a feeling of connection with other UU communities.

2. Honors and affirms the generosity of current Chalice Lighters.

   At a time when connection to and support for our congregations are at risk, Chalice Lighters is a trusted, effective way for Unitarian Universalists to live out our shared values. The absence of such a program may send the signal that their generosity no longer matters when that is far from the truth. Faithful contributions to UU projects and programs are more important than ever.

3. Focuses on generous giving to the program itself, rather than to specific projects.

   Working closely with grant recipients to gather images, testimonials, and expressions of gratitude, PWR staff will communicate successes of Chalice Lighters funding to donors to inspire their generous giving toward future projects. These communications will then be reformatted and adapted to many different platforms over the years (i.e., social media, email, website), helping expand the awareness and reach of Chalice Lighters.

4. Reflects the priorities and needs of the different areas within the Pacific Western Region.

   Where one District Board might have been focused on ongoing funding of staff or projects involving marginalized groups, another might have grappled with being stretched too thin because of low volunteer participation. PWR Chalice Lighters will strive for adaptability to the region’s needs, as determined by the Chalice Lighters Circle.

5. Standardizes grant amounts, which supports congregational financial planning.

   Current practices based the amount of each Chalice Lighters grant on what that call netted in donations, rather than on the needs of the applying congregations. Some District Chalice Lighters programs had residual donations that are used to round-up and round-out what some Chalice Lighters call raise. Creating set amounts for grants (i.e., $5k, $10k, $20k) takes the guesswork out of what is being asked and what will be received.

6. Streamlines and clarifies the application process.

   We foresee a four to five page application packet that includes: two pages of frequently asked questions, sample of a successful application, and a 1-2 application to be completed. This application may have several additional pages of information to clarify the details of the project to be granted. A volunteer Chalice Program Circle meets periodically to evaluate applications and propose possible future applicants. Circle members would review and rank applications on their own and then meet virtually to determine recipients on Zoom.

7. Allows for low-risk investment in experimental and emerging ministries, including those that might otherwise be marginalized.

   Nurturing new ministries is core to our commitment to love. One way we do this is by directly funding promising endeavors that expand community and relatedness. We will manifest our intention to widen the circle of concern and live out our UU values through the Chalice Lighters program.

8. Centers marginalized groups and projects at each stage of the Chalice Lighters process.

   Rather than doing what has already been done and reinforcing existing barriers to participation and funding, we see PWR Chalice Lighters as an opportunity to intentionally include people of marginalized groups in the development, promotion, and grant-awarding processes, and to increase funding of projects designed by and supportive of marginalized communities.

9. Benefits from sustained and sustainable PWR/UUA staff support.

   We will create ways for volunteer leaders/leaders in the field to have ongoing relationships with one another and to be able to contribute to our movement at various levels. The recent trends in volunteerism suggest that we need strong staff support for volunteer leadership at all levels of our movement to enable broad and sustainable participation.