Since September 2009, the Offering Outreach program has selected one charitable organization per month to receive half of the money from the collection plate each Sunday. By supporting organizations that address social justice and humanitarian needs at the local, state, national, and international levels, we demonstrate our values as Unitarian Universalists.

How Organizations Are Selected
Do you volunteer for a charitable organization? Is there an organization that has helped you in the past? Have you recently stumbled upon a new and noteworthy nonprofit? We welcome any and all MLUC members to submit nominations!
The Offering Outreach Committee will review the forms and select nominations based on the following criteria:

• The organization’s mission must be consistent with Unitarian Universalist principles.
• It must be registered as a 501(c)(3) corporation.
• The organization must demonstrate good stewardship of its finances.
• The size and budget of organizations are important, because we would like our donation to be meaningful and make a difference. We feel that we can have the greatest impact by supporting smaller organizations; however, a specific program within a larger organization can be considered.
• We welcome international nominations, as long as they have a Unitarian Universalist connection.
• To avoid a possible conflict of interest, we ask that church members refrain from nominating an organization where they are currently employed as a paid staff member.
• Sometimes the committee can also make a decision based on immediate needs, such as relief from natural disasters.

Qualified nominations are coordinated with sermons, related educational programming, or active service opportunities whenever possible. In order to support a wide variety of organizations, themes or categories of nominations are usually rotated from month to month. Examples of such themes are children and families, hunger, disabilities, prison, violence prevention, immigration, physical and mental health, and LGBTQ issues. Nominees not immediately selected will remain on file for future consideration.