After our Town Hall April 28th, the Board and Rev. Pippin were presented with an idea: what if we did an internal no interest loan among members of the congregation to pay back the remainder of our loan at the bank?
The board discussed and agreed to move forward with this idea.
What is it?
Generous members and friends of the congregation would offer UUFA a loan. The board would utilize these loans from these individuals and pay off our bank loan at Cadence Bank, relieving external financial commitments.
The minimum to participate is $5,000 and maximum would be the remainder of the loan which is estimated $140,000
What about the Capital Campaign? We did a great job. The balance owed as of 5/16/25 is currently $414,593. At this point due to the generous pledges from the Capital Campaign we anticipate being able to pay $275,621 off of our loan which leaves us a remaining of $138,972. It is this remainder that would be paid down (or paid off!) by member no-interest loans.
The no-interest loans will be paid back at a rate of 10% annually in January each year. No interest will have accrued during this process. For instance, if you loan $5,000 to UUFA you will receive your repayment installments of $500 for ten years each January.
If you are interested in participating, please complete a Letter of Intent which is needed by June 30th (new date). Promissory notes and payments must be completed by July 5th to pay off our loan in August 2025.
Please contact Susie Weller, president@uuathensga.org with questions, inquiries and completed documents.
Updates as of June 12th 2025
Dear UUFA Members~
As of June 12, 2025, we have internal loan letters of intent valued at $115,000. We are almost there. Thank you all so much for your contributions.
For the remaining Sundays in June, Board Members will be available at the Fellowship to answer questions and gather your letters of intent.
We’ve started collecting Promissory Notes. To start and complete this process you need to contact either the current President of the Board Susie Weller (president@uuathensga.org) or the Treasurer Paul Schliekelman (pschliekelman@gmail.com). We will be available to sign promissory notes and receive your internal loan monies until June 30 when our service term ends. Starting July 1 Scott Mason, Treasurer, and Tracy Brown, President, will be able to accept your promissory notes.
Paul will be available this Sunday June 15th to sign off on Promissory Notes.
Susie Weller will be available the following Wednesdays:
June 18th from 5:30-7:30 and June 25th 5:30-7:30 to sign off on Promissory Notes. Please make an appointment if you would like to meet with Susie on either of the next two Wednesdays by emailing president@uuathensga.org
Thank you all!
Here are some questions that have come up:
I really want to help, but I am not sure I can contribute? That’s okay. We are a whole together if you can contribute at least $5,000 without straining yourself financially, we would be very grateful. If this loan would cause you strain, please do what is best for you and that will be what is best for the congregation.
What if I’m not alive in 10 years? Please make it clear in your will where you would like the loan repayments to go. We can also include in the promissory documentation where the loan repayments can go if the lender is deceased.
Can we continue to get updates throughout the process? Yes, we will continue to provide financial updates in our weekly email and directly to members through Realm.
Can I receive my money as a direct deposit? Yes
What do we plan to do with the financial difference? For the past few years the budget line item for paying down the loan has been about $38,000. By paying down the loan and then paying 10% of the no-interest loan each year, we will be paying approximately $14,000 toward the loan each year.
What do we plan to do with the difference? At this time the difference would allow us to reduce the 2025-2026 budget shortfall. This means we will be able to retain almost all staff positions and programming.
