Table of Contents

• Gratitude
• 2024 Highlights
• Meet UCC Philanthropy Team Member Rachel McDonald

Giving Thanks during this Season

Spring provides us with an opportunity to pause and reflect on the messages of hope, beauty and abundance. We cherish this time of rebirth with our church community and families, expressing gratitude for the grace, mercy and kindness surrounding us. 

We give thanks for you and the abundance you shared with us last year. Your generosity brings meaningful change across the life of the United Church of Christ, from our local churches and communities to our work globally. We have captured several ways in which you made a difference, as summarized in the picture below. It is a blessing to work alongside you as we journey to create a just world for all. 

With gratitude,

Michelle Carver
Director of Philanthropy

2024 Highlights

We awarded grants to help individuals and families in the U.S., Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Southern Asia, East Asia and the Pacific.
     • 59 Disaster grants totaling $834,750
     • 24 Refugee grants totaling $227,880
     • 13 Sustainable Development grants totaling $510,505

Using our weekly action alerts, we sent more than 30,000 letters to Congress on justice issues, including LGBTQ+ rights, voting rights and peace in the Middle East.

Our Child and Elder Sponsorship Program nurtured relationships with partner schools, institutions and sponsors and continued to develop engaging web pages to expand the program. 547 sponsors, 768 children, 40 elders.

The National Ministries and the Pension Boards partnered to create the Free Will portal, which helps people create legally valid wills at no cost. Their goal is to make creating a legacy for loved ones and charitable causes easier and ensure congregations and church settings have crucial tools for promoting planned giving.

General Synod: Past and Present

Rev. Rachel McDonald

Last December, Rachel joined the UCC National Ministries’ staff as Generosity Officer, Our Church’s Wider Mission and Special Mission Offerings. It’s an exciting role for her to connect the generosity of our UCC members and followers with the UCC’s mission: United in Spirit and inspired by God’s grace, we welcome all, love all, and seek justice for all.  

Her UCC journey began long before she started her National Ministries gig. She grew up in the Penn West Conference and attended her first General Synod as a teenage youth delegate in 2007 in Hartford, Connecticut. The Lake Erie Association sponsored her trip.

After returning from Synod, she thanked her congregation and the Association for funding her trip, embracing the importance of gratitude. As part of her report she spoke about the passed resolutions and the church history she absorbed. She also played piano and shared a song from a General Synod worship service. Rachel still has the local newspaper clipping about this presentation, complete with her grandmother’s red underlines.

She can’t help but see parallels between her youth and life today. Her gratitude continues as she will attend General Synod 35 in July, not as a youth delegate but as a National Ministries staff member. Rachel’s story is one of ongoing church generosity.

She looks forward to making new UCC connections at Synod this year and plans to leave Synod with stories to share about who we are as the UCC. If you see Rachel at Synod, be sure to introduce yourself!

Happy Spring from the Philanthropy Team

Please reach out to us at giving@ucc.org with questions or comments about philanthropy, generosity and our mission. We would love to hear from you.