There’s no secret handshake to learn. Or password to memorize. To be in this society requires only one gesture: naming UUCB to receive something – no matter how little or how much – in your estate plans.

Called the “Maybeck Society” after famed architect and UUCB benefactor Bernard Maybeck, this designation of UUCB folks recognizes those who have committed to this church receiving an estate bequest.

A bequest can take various forms in your will or trust: setting a specific amount or percentage; designating that the principal or interest only be used for a special or general purpose; or naming UUCB as one of your beneficiaries in your life insurance policy or retirement account.

It wouldn’t come as a surprise if, like most people, you’ve been putting off your estate planning. There are three reasons to move it up to the front burner this summer:

One: There is a UUA-wide program, Wake Now Our Vision, which in 2020 will give UUCB up to 10% of your estimate of your bequest. The program will reach its maximum giving capacity any month now, so time is of the essence in getting your paperwork done via Wake Now Our Vision weblink or a member of the Endowment Committee.

Two: You will be treated to a free lunch on Sunday, October 28 if you notify the Endowment Committee that you have named UUCB as a beneficiary in your estate. For advice about getting started in estate planning and/or including UUCB, please contact any one of us on the Committee.

Three: Once you’ve taken care of your estate planning, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of your summer knowing that your to-do list has one less thing, and that one thing will benefit the people, values and places you hold dear.

– Beth Pollard on behalf of the Endowment Committee (Lenore Ralston, Ira Nelken, Susan Singh, Grace Ulp)