It takes a lot of effort to keep the wheels turning.
The First Unitarian Congregation of Ottawa is funded by its members and it costs about $1,000 per member to keep running our programs and maintaining our building. We have several different kinds of campaigns and events to raise funds for the congregation.
The 38th Annual Fall Fair
The “Fall Fair at First” Unitarian Ottawa has been described as the biggest church bazaar in Ottawa. Every fall, a week of preparation transforms the 16,000 square foot church into a market selling almost anything donated, from diamond rings at the Silent Auction, designer labels in the Boutique, to pad thai or momos in the International Café. You name it, we probably sell it. And everything possible, including items not sold, is re-used, re-purposed or recycled & even waste meets environmentally responsible guidelines.
So come to the sale this year – Saturday 17 November 2018, 9:30-2:30. Think about volunteering and set aside good quality donations to contribute too! Check out our Fall Fair Page.
The “Fall Fair at First” Unitarian Ottawa has been described as the biggest church bazaar in Ottawa. Every fall, a week of preparation transforms the 16,000 square foot church into a market selling almost anything donated, from diamond rings at the Silent Auction, designer labels in the Boutique, to pad thai or momos in the International Café. You name it, we probably sell it. And everything possible, including items not sold, is re-used, re-purposed or recycled & even waste meets environmentally responsible guidelines.
So come to the sale this year – Saturday 17 November 2018, 9:30-2:30. Think about volunteering and set aside good quality donations to contribute too! Check out our Fall Fair Page.
Pledge Campaign
We hold an annual pledge campaign in the early winter that educates members about our budget and what is needed to fund us for the year. Learn more about our annual pledge campaign.
We hold an annual pledge campaign in the early winter that educates members about our budget and what is needed to fund us for the year. Learn more about our annual pledge campaign.
Spring Auction (aka Time and Talent)
Every spring, we at FirstU, participate in a silent auction where we share our time, our talents and our treasures with each other and our community. We also go out into the larger community asking businesses and organizations to support this spring auction, the third largest annual fundraising event for First Unitarian.
To make Time & Talent even bigger, we are going to increase our outreach by:
Please contact Bob Armstrong if you have any questions. Or you can talk to Bob in person most Sundays at FirstU.
Every spring, we at FirstU, participate in a silent auction where we share our time, our talents and our treasures with each other and our community. We also go out into the larger community asking businesses and organizations to support this spring auction, the third largest annual fundraising event for First Unitarian.
To make Time & Talent even bigger, we are going to increase our outreach by:
- Using the new branding, "FirstU", in our communications outside the congregation. We're still "Time & Talent" within our church community, but we want to present ourselves to the outside world with the new branding.
- Making use of a new website, www.FirstUspringAuction.ca. It has information about the auction as well as testimonials from people who truly appreciate the Time & Talent auction. We hope everyone will share the website with others outside the Congregation, perhaps by Facebook, Twitter or just word of mouth. The more we advertise the auction, the more the Congregation will become positively recognized outside our walls and, just like the Fall Fair, we will get many more outsiders participating in our auction.
- Ensuring we avoid confusion with the silent auction that is part of the Fall Fair by putting "Spring Auction" in our materials. So we are using "FirstUspringAuction.ca" for our websites, advertising and email.
- Building on the success of last year's foray into an online auction site. Last year, we had already built up over $4,000 in bids online before we moved to the paper based auction in the church. We are changing to a new online auction site this year, www.BiddingOwl.com. When we go live on March 1st, please check it out. Bidding starts on March 12th.
Please contact Bob Armstrong if you have any questions. Or you can talk to Bob in person most Sundays at FirstU.
