I just heard that a scammer is in action again pretending to be me and asking congregants to buy gift cards. You are all such generous people. I know that when I ask you to help, you will often say yes, if you can. I do not take this for granted. It is very upsetting when someone preys upon the trust we have between us, within our spiritual community, and our tendency to be generous.  
 
Let me take the time to remind you of all of the ways you can give, which makes a big difference in the life of our community, as well as what you can do if someone poses as me or another leader at the church and what to watch out for.  
 
The first and foundational way of giving is to support our Annual Fund Drive. The amount we raise is directly connected to what we can fund in our budget, which includes the ministers, program leaders, and all the staff; the cleaning and maintenance of classrooms, sanctuaries, meeting spaces, and outdoor courtyards; the efforts of caring, teaching, justice building, providing worship and other ceremonies, and social events; and so much more. The congregation voted to raise at least $1.35 million in our current Annual Fund Drive 2027: “Brighten the Light!” We ask all members and friends to respond to the request in their mailed pledge packet and to return the pledge card by Sunday, November 15 – Celebration Sunday! You can also go online to find out more and respond there. 
 
Here are four examples of additional opportunities to give: 
 
You can donate to our weekly offering, which we split 50% – 50% with organizations of community service, advocacy, and justice beyond our walls. This year we are focused on organizations that lift up vulnerable and marginalized populations who are housing insecure.  
 
You can donate to dedicated collections that we put forth from time to time. Last spring, we invited folks to give to the Intern Fund in honor of Rev. Tom Disrud’s retirement. We wanted to be able to support the learning of interns and our mission as a teaching congregation. We raised $118,000! More good news, we have applicants coming in for next year, 2027 – 2028!  
 
You can donate to our Congregant Care Fund, which we use to support members and friends in a time of financial hardship for things like – rental assistance, utilities, groceries, or other bills. Occasionally, we also have the chance to offer a scholarship for someone to attend a UU conference that they otherwise couldn’t attend – such as the DRUUMM National Gathering (BIPOC UU Organization – Diverse & Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministries).  
 
You can join The Legacy Society, which is made up of members and friends who include the Church or Foundation in their will or estate plans, or have made an outright gift of $3,000 or more.  
 
Thank you for all the ways you are generous with our community and with one another. Our capacity to be here for each other and the world is amplified by these financial gifts. 
 
Unfortunately, some people do take advantage of the trust and generosity in our space. If you ever have fallen victim to a scam, you know it feels awful. Please don’t feel any shame about it, though, as these scammers can be very clever. Here are three scams I heard about recently: 

• A scammer asked for gift cards for the staff and said I was in a meeting and too busy to talk 

• Another asked for gift cards for someone going through cancer who needed help and again that I was too busy to talk 

• A person posed as one of our ministers and requested their paycheck to go into a “new” account 

 
What to watch out for?  
 
I will never ask you for gift cards. I am not too busy to speak with you, which they often claim, especially if I am asking you to send money for a purpose.  
 
Sometimes scammers use suspicious language – a slight misspelling of my name or the name of our religion, or a lot of God Blesses because I am a minister. 
 
Often people will create a new email and start posing as a minister or the treasurer or some other person in a position of trust and authority. They have not hacked the minister or treasurer’s email account, so the minister or treasurer can’t see that this is going on. Frequently, the scammer email is a gmail account that they have just created, and they have attached my name to it in order to make it look like me.  
 
One thing you can do, which I would appreciate, is report the fake email to google and they will close that account – scammer’s email. Here is the link to do that: Report Scammer Email to Google 
 
I have one correct email at church and one correct gmail – if it’s not one of those, it’s likely a fake one.  
 
You can email or call me to double-check. I always like to hear from you.  
 
Thank you for your trust and your generosity at all levels and in many different ways. Let us learn together also how to protect each other as a part of how we take care of each other.  
 
With gratitude, 
 
Rev. Alison