One of the ways individual United Church members, congregations, and church groups are invited to participate is to raise funds that will be used to support peace initiatives here in Canada and around the world. The financial goal for the United for Peace Campaign is $2 million.
The United for Peace campaign has lots of fundraising options, from making and selling cookies to selling olivewood pins made in Bethlehem. For a new hands-on idea for having fun and raising funds for the campaign, read Raising Funds for Peace - piece by piece
[PDF: 1 p/133 KB], distributed in the August 2008 Infopac.
NOTE: There have been reports of fasteners falling off some United for Peace olivewood pins. The artisans in Bethlehem are working on this problem, but in the meantime, please use a glue gun to reattach the fastener.
How Do I Start?
For a successful United for Peace Campaign in your congregation, you'll need a team of people working together. As more people get involved, the ideas will multiply and the work will get lighter!
- Start by spreading the word around, and getting people interested. Useful resources include a letter from the Moderator, Frequently Asked Questions, and information about grants to partners.
- Before inviting people to join your committee, be clear about what you're going to ask them to do.
- Then ask people personally to join you in a United for Peace Campaign.
Here are some first steps for your committee:
- Raise awareness in your congregation.
- Make United for Peace info easily accessible to anyone who's interested.
- Promote the campaign as an effective way to support peace together with United Church congregations across the country.
- Make learning, giving, and action easy for members of all ages.
- Encourage more people to join the leadership group and come up with new ideas together.
- Set up a simple and efficient system to thank everyone who donates and volunteers.
- When the campaign is over, give a report of how much was raised in your congregations, and share regular updates on what work the funds are supporting.
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Suggestions for Your Campaign
- Put together a "toolbox" with everything that's needed for presentations, information, donations, an events calendar, etc. Resources available from UCRD include olivewood pins, dove-shaped cookie cutters, United for Peace gift bags, and complimentary United for Peace thank-you cards, offering envelopes, brochures, and posters.
- Make sure you have some start-up funds to launch your United for Peace Campaign. Depending on what you're planning to do, you may need to buy pins, dove-shaped cookie cutters, gift bags with the campaign logo, etc.
- Plan for a Peace Sunday or Peace Season with workshops, worship, bulletin inserts, and special giving envelopes.
- Order special peace bulletin covers. 2008 peace-themed covers 45-08 and 50-08 may still be available. 2009 peace-themed cover 45-09 can be ordered now.
- Set up a spot in your church for donation envelopes and info sheets, and check regularly to make sure you've always got a good supply.
- Purchase a package of 20 olivewood pins and resell them to generate donations (suggested minimum $30.00 each).
- Have a special fundraising lunch after church.
- Use the United for Peace bags for collection or invite the children in your congregation to make special United for Peace "gift box" put it in a visible place.
- Celebrate regularly gifts that have come in and send thank-you cards regularly.
- Help your congregation better understand the kinds of peace work that are supported by the Mission and Service fund. Use the Minutes for Mission from September 7 or November 2, 2008, or share grants to partners made with United for Peace funds.
- Check out A New Day (available from UCRD) for stories, activities, and craft ideas about peace.
- Visit the Peace section for more information about peace.
For a detailed price list of United for Peace fundraising items available from UCRD, read Fundraising Resources [PDF: 2 pp/115 KB]
For more ideas and info about sending donations and issuing receipts, read How-To Instructions for Fundraisers [PDF: 2 pp/52 KB]
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The Olivewood Pins
These special pins are a great way to raise funds for the United for Peace Campaign, share your commitment with others, and connect with global partners working for peace.
- The Story of the Olivewood Pins [PDF: 2 pp/42 KB]
- The story of the olivewood United for Peace pins, carved by artisans in Bethlehem.
- Video Clip: Making the Pins
- A behind-the-scenes look at how the United for Peace Campaign's olivewood pins are being made in Bethlehem, from the 2007 Spirit Connection "United for Peace" program.
- How to Use United for Peace Pins to Generate Donations [PDF: 2 pp/50 KB]
- Detailed ideas about how to purchase and sell United for Peace pins.
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How to Turn Cookies into Cash for the United for Peace Fund
This fundraising effort can be initiated either by an individual or a group.
- Purchase one or more peace dove cookie cutters from United Church Resource Distribution. The cookie cutters are being sold for $1.00 each, plus shipping (taxes included).
- Don't forget to order other United for Peace resources at the same time in order to cut down on shipping costs.
- Choose a favourite recipe (easy if you let the children pick one!) and bake up a batch of cookies.
- Decide on a selling price for your cookies. Consider making it no less than $5.00 per cookie.
- You can sell cookies individually or you can package them in a United for Peace gift bag.
- Income tax receipts should not be issued in conjunction with the sale of cookies.
- If an individual wishes to make a donation to the Peace Fund in addition to purchasing a cookie, then an income tax receipt can be issued for the amount of the donation but not the cost of the cookie. Be sure to collect all the donor information that your church treasurer will need in order to issue an income tax receipt.
- Decide whether all the money raised from the sale of cookies will be given to the Peace Fund, or whether you will recover the cost of your ingredients before forwarding a cheque to the United for Peace Campaign.
- Remember to give people who purchase a cookie one of the United for Peace complimentary thank-you cards and an information brochure.
- Think about giving a pin or free cookies to for each gift of more than $30.00. These could be put in a gift box.
- Use the cutters to make items other than cookies—a paper mobile, clay decorations, or peace cards.
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Finance Information
- Information for Church Treasurers [PDF: 2 pp/54 KB]
- Concrete details about prices, donations, and receipts.
- United for Peace Donor Form [PDF: 1 p/31 KB]
- This form can be used to collect donor information for receipting purposes.
- Sample Thank-you Letters
[RTF: 1 p/26 KB]
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Online Donations
Make a secure online donation* to the United for Peace fund.
For more information, please e-mail United for Peace
.
The United Church of Canada/L'Église Unie du Canada
Supported by donations to the Mission and Service Fund.
© 2008 The United Church of Canada/L’Église Unie du Canada. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca. Any copy must include this notice.