Annual Contribution Letter and link to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting's online donations site.

Letter from our Treasurer...
How to give online...
What are contributions used for...

Letter from our Treasurer

Westtown Monthly Meeting
Westtown, Pennsylvania

Dear Westtown Meeting Member,

We hope this letter finds you well. Whether you live close by and worship with us regularly, or whether you live at a distance, we value the gifts you bring to Westtown Monthly Meeting. The Meeting needs the help of all of its members to accomplish the good works of the meeting. Some of this help is labor; some is financial. We all contribute in the ways we are able; all our contributions are vitally important. This letter is an appeal for financial contributions. Each year in the budget process, a recommended amount per member is calculated based on the anticipated budget and the number of Meeting members. This number is a recommendation only; we all have a different ability to give, and each member contributes the amount he or she is able.

The request for the 2018-2019 fiscal year: $500 per adult member.

What are contributions used for? Find out by clicking here.

There are two ways to make a contribution. Click below for details:

• Contribute through Philadelphia Yearly Meeting's online giving service. (Recommended!) For more information about giving online, click here.
• Send a check to Assistant Treasurer Marc Dear. Click here or scroll to bottom for a printable form.

The financial gift you make to the Meeting is important, but it is not the only commitment we ask of our members. Other contributions that are vitally important to the life of Westtown Meeting include attending worship, committee meetings, and meeting for business; helping to host coffee and refreshments after meeting or lake suppers during the summer; and supporting special projects such as the plant sale and advent garden.

Remember: the meeting needs our time, spiritual energy, and money to remain a vibrant community. Thank you for all that you give.

Elson Oshman Blunt
Treasurer

How to give online at PYM's site

Instructions for Paying WMM Annual Contribution by Credit Card through the PYM Website.

~ Recommended!~

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting's online donations page has a section for contributions to monthly and quarterly Meetings. This is a secure way to give online and is also an easy way to set up an automated recurring gift to a monthly or quarterly meeting.

Our yearly meeting is offering this service out of a desire to help monthly and quarterly meetings in their fundraising efforts. It is hoped that this will make it easier for members and attenders to give to their monthly or quarterly meeting.

Finding the donations webpage:

You can get to the donations page by going to the PYM site at http://www.pym.org/supporting-pym/ and clicking on the green "Make A Gift" button.

Two contribution sections:

You will see on the page that there are two sections for making a gift. The first is for gifts to the PYM annual fund. Below that is the section for gifts to monthly and quarterly meetings. If they so choose, members can give to both PYM and to the monthly/quarterly meeting in a single transaction.

[The processing fee is 3%, paid to the online payment processing merchant.]

Other information about giving online:

• The donation can be by credit card or by ACH checking account withdrawal.
• Friends may make a one-time gift or a recurring gift.
• The frequency can be once, every other week, monthly, quarterly, twice yearly or yearly.
• Recurring gifts can be limited to an end date or total gift amount.
• Friends will receive an email receipt from Acceptiva, PYM's online donations processor.
• PYM will send a quarterly check for the total amount that was donated to your meeting.
• PYM will send a quarterly statement of the donor names and amount of the gifts.

Questions about this service? Contact Jennie Sheeks, PYM Director of Development at jsheeks@pym.org or 215-241-7115.

What are contributions used for?

We are blessed to share a space with Westtown School and Oak Lane Day Care; as a result, our overhead expenses are low and most of our money goes directly to good work in our local community and throughout the world. We have committed to spending more than $26,000 (nearly 85% of our budget) to support the following this coming year:

• Philadelphia Yearly Meeting has an extensive ministry both in the Philadelphia area and beyond. The largest share of our budget goes towards supporting its programs
• Concord Quarter. Our pledged contribution includes support for the salary of our Quarter's Coordinator. scholarships for students throughout the quarter to attend Friends schools, and our contribution to the Quarter's operating fund.
• First Day School Teachers for our own Meeting. By offering a modest payment to our teachers, we can continue to ensure the quality and consistency of the experience for our children attending FDS.
• Education Grants can help children of our own Meeting members attend Westtown School and other Friends schools and colleges.

At the end of the fiscal year, we determine how much money we have left over in our budget for additional contributions to groups that are doing good work in the world, both locally and internationally. We are committed to supporting the following four organizations every year:

• Westtown School is our neighbor and an invaluable support to Westtown Meeting in a myriad of ways.
• Oak Lane Day Care is the Quaker day care and preschool with whom we share a space in the basement of the school's meetinghouse.
• Friends Committee on National Legislation is the Quaker lobby promoting peaceful resolution to conflict, environmental stewardship, and equality on the national level
• The American Friends Service Committee works for peace and social justice around the world.

Last year, we also had funds to support the following local organizations:

• Safe Harbor of Chester County, a homeless shelter here in West Chester.
• ACT in Faith of Greater West Chester, a local organization that helps low-income people obtain
• basic supplies for their homes and avoid evictions.
• New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, an interfaith immigrant justice organization.
• Ceasefire PA, a violence intervention organization working for gun control.

None of these contributions would be possible without your support!