How much is the finacial contributions Unitarian Universalist are required to pay to be members?

One dollar per year, at our congregation. Actually, our by-laws state "any amount", so you could contribute a penny a year if you wanted to prove a point. Note that is to be a voting member, not to attend services.

Most of us contribute more, of course. Very few of us give 10%, like the Mormons do. Some of us give 5% of our income to the church and 5% to other organizations, like the Sierra Club, the local food bank or the ASPCA.

Each congregation is supposed to give a set amount to their district and to the national organization per member. I do not have the exact figure. They are on the order of $27 and $75, so anyone who becomes a member but contributes less than $102 is a net loss to the congregation. Again, I have forgotten the exact numbers, but they add up to about $100.

People can be "Friends" for free, which is they get to come to all the services, potlucks and committee meetings they want, but they can't vote at the congregational meetings and they don't get the UUA magazine from the national organization. People who can't afford a reasonable annual contribution are usually "Friends".

You can be a "leech", too; come to the services, show up at the potlucks but don't bring anything to share, never volunteer to help clean up after the potluck, never come to help when there is a Saturday "garden party" (Weeding and trimming, followed by pizza and beer), never contribute a dime. We don't have any of those, but some congregations do. We do have a fellow who isn't a member but shows up once every year or two with a pocket full of business cards. He sells real estate and life insurance; he seems to change offices frequently.

Most adults realize that for every privilege there is a corresponding responsibility, and there isn't any such thing as a free lunch. The members who can't contribute much financially do a lot of volunteer labor. We have some students and some retired people who are on skimpy budgets.

Our congregation, in Stanislaus County, has about 155 members and a budget of about $160,000 a year. The average pledge is a little more than $1,000 per "Pledge unit" because we count couples as one "Pledge Unit".

The money goes for the minister's salary, the administrator's salary, the Sunday School director's salary, the power bill, lunches for prospective members on Orientation days, our domain rental, honoraria for guest speakers and musicians, janitorial service, garden service, dues to the district and national organization, etc. We spend about $300 for food and supplies once a month when we feed the homeless, for example. Our minister makes about as much as a teacher in a community college or a licensed family counselor. Our administrator makes about as much as any other book-keeper / administrative assistant.

A Pledge is a promise all of us members make at the start of the fiscal year, so the finance committee knows what to use for income on the annual budget. Most people pay their pledge once a month by check. The cash we get from the collection plate every week is about two percent of our income. (Some congregations don't even bother to pass a collection plate, or they donate the take to a local charity.) Pledges are about 80% of our income. The rest is from building rental, fund raising activities and oddball donations.

Some congregations have larger budgets per capita, some smaller. The one in Mendocino County meets in a rented room (We have our own building), has no children's program and pays their lay leader a pittance. They have just 18 members. The one in San Francisco has a professional organist, a building with multiple classrooms and a sanctuary that will seat 600, carved redwood beams, a stained glass window 16 feet across, and more staff than we have.

There is a weekly passing of a plate but that is totally at the person's discretion if they want to put money in and how much if they do. If you are actually a member of the church (you can just attend without formally becoming a member) they ask the members to make a yearly financial pledge to support the church and its charity projects. I used to attend one and there were also special projects or events that you could choose to donate a sum to if you supported it. It was always completely voluntary though and it wasn't done in a put you on the spot way. They usually would just say what it was and have envelops you could take to make a donation to it if you chose to.

From their FAQ:

"To secure financial support for their budget, most congregations conduct an annual pledge drive in which the amount of the pledge is determined by each person or family making the pledge. Although some congregations are more specific than others in suggesting what they would like their members to give, none demand a specified amount as a condition for membership."

Never heard of THAT. I go for free...and I've always gone for free..... This could vary per church. Mine usually passes a donation pot for you to donate money to the homeless or food bank or other charities. Mind you I don't go every week (I alternate between several churches and a synogogue) but in the weeks I've gone no one has ever tried to get me to pay money to be a member.