Updates

Pledge to the Campaign – Posted December 2025

We have created an online pledge form for easy submission. Click here to pledge to the campaign now!

Our Campaign Brochure! – Posted September 2025

Our brochure is here! Hard copies of our brochure are available in the office, and an electronic version can be found here. Please feel free to share our vision far and wide!

Rounding the Campaign Corner – Posted August 2025

This September marks a major milestone: the launch of our Capital Campaign! From September through December, we’ll invite every member, friend, and partner to make a pledge toward this vision. Every gift matters, and together we will make our vision a reality. 

We have developed some information that will help congregants feel prepared to pledge and knowledgeable about the Campaign process:

• Please take a look at our Campaign FAQs to find out more about how this Campaign will work, who is involved, and what it takes to get us to our goals!
• And it is not too early to start thinking about how you might make your Campaign gift. Check out our Ways to Give document to find out more!

Special Congregational Meeting to Approve 2.6m Fundraising Goal – Posted July 2025

On July 20th we held a Special Congregational meeting for congregation members to vote on the proposed campaign goal for our Bridge to the Future project. You can read more about the Board’s recommendation and reasoning here. 

Our congregation overwhelmingly approved a $2.6 million goal for the Bridge to the Future campaign — thank you! (Learn more about how we arrived at this figure here).

Together we can do this! $2.6 in 2026!

Financial Feasibility Study Report Out – Posted July 2025

In late June Rachel Maxwell, our campaign consultant, joined us to share the results of our “Financial Feasibility Study”—a key step in envisioning what’s possible for our community’s future. A recording of this presentation can be found below and a link to the shared slide deck can be found here.

During the Financial Feasibility Study, Rachel engaged in conversations with a cross-section of member households about the Bridge to the Future Capital Campaign project, specifically to help the Board set a target for what we might be able to fundraise. Through these conversations, Rachel was able to gauge our congregational capacity to make this project a success. Her findings offer clarity, inspiration, and direction as we plan the next phase of this work. 

Take a virtual tour of campus with our Bridge to the Future Flipbook!

BttF Flipbook by Unitarian Society Santa Barbara

Building Team Update Part 3 – Posted March 2025

The Building Team has been developing building plans for our small, medium, and large scope lists that were introduced to the congregation in December. With the help of our talented architect, we have turned those plans into beautiful renderings. These renderings bring life to the vision that took shape through our congregational visioning process, and allow us to visualize all the hope, thoughts, and wishes for our campus as a place that builds community, offers accessibility to all, and is resilient through environmental changes. 

Please click here to see the slide deck that was presented on March 16th! 

Building Team Update Part 2 – Posted December 2024

The Building Team has been working on developing “Three Plans” for our future campus, divided into Small, Medium, and Large scopes. The scope and size of our final draft plan will be determined later this spring, depending on the results of the Financial Feasibility Study which will help to determine the amount we think we will be able to raise. These plans are open to feedback! Should you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please communicate those with erin@ussb.org so we can be sure your feedback gets to the right place.

In December Rev. Julia and Erin Wilson shared some details about what is included in the Building Team’s Three Plans at this stage during a Town Hall meeting. A recording of the presentation can be found below. 

Building Team Update – Posted November 2024

In November Rev. Julia and Director of Admin., Erin Wilson, shared what the Building Team has been working on over the summer and early fall months, where we are in the Bridge to the Future project, and where we are headed.

Emerging Vision Priorities – Posted April 2024

In March, over 100 of us participated in the small group visioning gatherings and/or completed the online survey!  The Vision Team has had a chance to review all your input and some core priorities have emerged. 

Building Community, we envision:

• A campus that is a safe and welcoming home for people of diverse ages, backgrounds, and identities.
• A trusted location for building community partnerships that reflect our values of love and justice.
• A campus that inspires joyful and meaningful social connections.

Building Accessibility, we envision:

• A place where people of diverse abilities participate seamlessly in all aspects of community life.
• Using technology in ways that improve access and build community.

Building Resilience, we envision:

• A campus equipped with sustainable facilities that allow us to be of service in times of crisis.
• A campus that models our commitment to climate action and care for the environment.
• Our campus as a sanctuary that sustains the spiritual and physical wellbeing of the community.

Visioning Update & Report – Posted April 2024

On Saturday, April 21st we held a congregational update and report on the results of the visioning process where we shared with you what we’ve learned, and continued the process of clarification, refinement, and congregational input as the “Bridge to the Future” campaign takes shape. A recording of that meeting and a copy of the slide deck can be found below.

Vision Update & Report Slide Deck

Bridge to the Future Visioning Update – Meeting Recording

Process: Our Bridge to the Future Roadmap – Posted April 2024

Where are we in the campaign? What do we do next? What have we done so far? 

Click on the image below to see the expanded version of our Bridge to the Future Roadmap, with details under each of the four stages, and get your burning process questions answered!

Let’s Dream! USSB Bridge to the Future Visioning Process – Posted March 2024

We are in full visioning mode at USSB! We need every voice to shape this congregation, so please sign up for our Bridge to the Future Visioning Gatherings. 

During these small-group gatherings you will have the opportunity to let us know your hopes and dreams about the future of our congregation and our campus. Members of our Vision & Building Teams will ask you to reflect on a few questions that will guide the development of our capital campaign project. These hour-long meetings will take place over the remainder of March at a variety of locations and times to make it possible for all to participate.

Who do we want to hear from? Everyone! Your dreams are crucial to shaping USSB’s future.

We need every voice to shape this congregation!  Sign up here to participate.

Next Steps Weekend Recap & Reports – Posted October 2023

Report from our September 22, 2023 Next Steps Weekend

Thank you to everyone who participated in the September 22, 2023 session with our capital campaign consultant, Rachel Maxwell.

Ms. Maxwell met with your Board of Trustees, Staff, and a wide range of lay leaders and members in the congregation to hear about our boldest hopes and dreams for USSB. She has reviewed a variety of information about our congregation to get a sense of our financial health, culture, and opportunities for growth.

From these small group meetings, our consultant gauged our readiness for a Capital Campaign and shared a presentation on her findings. From the findings it was clear that we are ready for a capital campaign!

You can find a recording of that presentation here: https://youtu.be/EA9SREVN5co . And a copy of the slides from the presentation can be found here. 

Here are the takeaways from the presentation:

• We are financially sound; we have diverse income streams and are on solid financial footing.
• We have a healthy, non-anxious congregation; we are engaged, optimistic, and have a sense of abundance and gratitude.
• We are enthusiastic about our future and see opportunities for improvement and growth.
• We are ready for a capital campaign!

Click here to view the full Next Steps Weekend Report from our consultant, Rachel Maxwell

Some next (next) steps…

• Your Board of Trustees is developing a capital campaign visioning process for this fall to gather ideas and refine our shared vision. Please keep an eye on your inbox for details about that process and how you can participate! Full congregational participation in the visioning process will allow us to move forward together with a bold plan that will benefit this congregation and the wider community for generations to come.

In addition, if you would like to listen to Rev. Julia’s ‘Remembering the Future’ sermon from the NSW Sunday, please click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoC3ctO-ZKw