FAITHIFY is a crowdfunding site where passionate people FOLLOW, SHARE, and FUND Unitarian Universalist ministries.
FAITHIFY’s purpose is to:
- Inspire a culture of innovation that extends the reach of UU values
- Lower the walls between existing congregation
- Ignite ministries in new venues, formats, and communities
- Bridge geographic and generational borders using 21st century technologies
- Help passionate individuals invest directly in ministries that excite them
- Help ministry innovators reach a passionate public
“We envision a people with renewed faith and a Unitarian Universalism that is more connected, relevant, and vibrant.”
The success of a Faithify campaign is entirely dependent on the energy and excitement behind it. NOW is the time to think about and get excited by the passion that drives you to be an active part of the UU Legislative Ministry of NJ.
Did you know that one in three online donations is made through peer-to-peer fundraising? P2P fundraising is great for smaller non-profits for several reasons. It eliminates the trust issue. It takes a long time to cultivate a relationship with a supporter and potential donor. Your friends and family already know and love you. They trust that if you are dedicated to a cause that it is worthy of their time of resources. You’re not asking them to make a major donation, put to make a gift in your honor.
Peer fundraising also gets around the lack of resources in a small organization. With only two part-time staff we can only reach so far, but by activate our 1000 emails subscribers and 700 Facebook and Twitter followers we can successfully reach thousands of people!
Do you not have a social networking account? Now’s the time to get active. For those not active online this may be an even more powerful way to say “HEY! This is important to me!” It’s easy, go to the UULMNJ page and click “share”. Not only is social media revolutionizing justice advocacy, its a great was to keep in touch with children and grandchildren (you can thank us later). It’s easy to setup and use. You can ask someone to help you set up your account and find people in your network or you can visit this great online tutorials for seniors.
Faithify is an all-or-nothing funding platform.
All-or-nothing funding means that projects are only funded if they reach or surpass 100% of their funding goal within the duration of their campaign. No funds will be collected from donors unless the goal is reached.
All-or-nothing funding has a number of advantages:
- It’s less risk for everyone. If you need $5,000 but only raise $1,000 the project will not work.
- It motivates. If people want to see a project come to life, they’re going to spread the word.
- It works. Projects either make their goal or find little support. There’s little in-between.
So now that you know about Faithify, how do you engage and help UULMNJ have a successful campaign? We’ve come up with an easy four step plan.
Create a personal story:
Why do you support UULMNJ? What cause is nearest to your heart? Do you have a personal story to share about why this issue is so important to you? Family member in prison? Housing crisis? Healthcare issue?
Reach out to friends and family, NOT JUST UUs:
Send an email ask to your friends and family members who are likely to donate because they care about you, not the organization. You’ll be provided with basic language. You fill in the specifics.
GET SOCIAL:
Do you have a Facebook or Twitter account that you don’t use? Write a short blurb asking your friends to give up a cup of coffee or a beer (you know your friends) in support of social justice. Ask them to share it, too.
Ask your friends why they care about social justice. Ask them to share a personal story about why they support UULMNJ. Pictures are worth a thousand words! Give the organization faces and souls to connect with.
Talk about it! Bring up UULMNJ’s first Faithify campaign in conversations. It’s pledge season in most congregations so you’re already talking about money. Why not talk about this great way for UUs to give back to causes that are important to them.
Stay active! Share updates, donations, issues and more.
Laurice Grae-Hauck is the Outreach Coordinator of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ.
ACTION ALERT: Tell Gov. Christie “Women Are Not Worth Less!”
On March 14 New Jersey took a step in being a leader in gender equality with one of the most comprehensive pay equity bills pending in state legislatures around the nation. S922/A2750, the New Jersey Pay Equity Act, sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg and Assemblywoman Pam Lampitt, will give women formidable tools to combat pay discrimination and remedy an injustice that has gone on for far too long. With a growing number of New Jersey women responsible for supporting their families, pay equity is not only a matter of justice for themselves, but also a matter of economic security for their families.
In New Jersey, women earn 80 cents on the dollar compared to men in the same field, despite national legislation such as the Lilly Ledbetter Act of 2009. States around the nation are recognizing the persistence of wage discrimination and taking similar legislative approaches and remedies as New Jersey. For women of color the situation is even more dire, with African-American women earning 64 cents, and Latinas only 56 cents, for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men.
Both houses have passed this bill with strong bi-partisan support. It now sits on Governor Christie’s desk, awaiting his signature. Email the governor and urge him to set an example for states across the nation because women are not worth less. It only takes a moment to let yUUr voice be heard!
The New Jersey Pay Equity Act :
– Requires companies with public contracts to disclose info about the compensation by Sex (and race too) of all employees;
– Expands the previously established prohibition against paying women less who are in identical jobs as men, to include jobs that are similar or comparable;
– Establishes triple damages to employers who violate the law and discriminate against women;
· Allowing employees the right to tell each other what they earn without fear of retribution from employers, prohibits employers from making people sign a contract in which they are sworn not to disclose their compensation to co-workers;
· Extending the time in which a discrimination lawsuit can be taken (expands the statute of limitations) by making every paycheck an possible offense, thus restarting the clock on statute of limitations every time someone is paid.
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Women leaders press Christie to sign pay equity bill
#WomenAreNotWorthLess #CloseTheGap #PayEquity
Laurice Grae-Hauck is the Outreach Coordinator of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of NJ.