UUCC uses an online platform called Realm to manage giving and member information.
Realm is so much more than a membership database! It is a portal for community connections, with options for communicating with groups you are part of and other UUCC community members.
Here are some frequently asked questions about Realm.
Joining Realm
Why do I need a Realm account?
Realm is UUCC’s member contact management system, intended to help all of us be more actively involved in the UUCC’s ministry and activities. The system will help us keep our records up to date as your families grow, as you move and change addresses, when you change your contact information, and much more.
How do I sign up for Realm?
Reach out to Hannah at hannah@uucolumbia.net. She will send you an email with an invitation to create and verify an account. From there, you’ll create a password, and then you’ll go to onrealm.org/UUColumbia to log in.
I don’t remember signing up for Realm, but when I try to log in I get the following error message: “Account already exists. Sign in with your current password.” What do I do?
All you need to do is click “Forgot Your Password” on the Realm login screen and type in your email. Realm will send you a link to that email, and you will be able to create a new password. Going forward, you’ll be able to go to onrealm.org/UUColumbia and use your new password to log in.
I forgot my password! What do I do?
No worries! — it happens to everyone. Just click “Forgot Your Password” on the Realm login screen and follow the prompts. Realm will send you a link to your email, and you will be able to create a new password. Going forward, you’ll use this new password to log in.
Managing Your Profile
How do I locate my user profile to see or update my personal information?
Once you’ve logged in to Realm, you’ll land on the home page.
- Look at the top right of the screen, where you’ll see several icons and a search bar.
- Directly to the right of the search bar, you should see your first name (or preferred name) with a downward facing caret.
- Click on your name, and a dropdown menu will appear with several options.
- Each of these options corresponds to a different segment of your profile, and you’ll be able to edit the related information by clicking on these links.
How do I add a profile image?
Start at the Realm homepage.
- Look to the top right of your screen and click your first or preferred name.
- A dropdown menu will appear.
- Select “My Profile” and once on your profile, click on the large circle containing your initials.
- This should bring up your computer’s file explorer, allowing you to upload your preferred photo.
I don’t want my phone number and email address to be publicly available. How do I make sure my privacy is protected?
Start at any page on Realm.
- Navigate to the dropdown menu in the top right under your name (where options like “My Profile” and “Manage Account” are located.
- From here, click on “Manage Privacy.”
- You will be able to choose from the following general privacy options to decide who can see your contact and personal information: Anyone in the Church; Leaders and Group/Serving Team Members; Leaders; or Church Staff Only.
Additionally, you can set up custom privacy settings to allow or restrict access to some of your personal and contact information. For instance, you can use the dropdown menus to make sure “Church Staff Only” have access to your address, email address, and phone number, but allow “Anyone in the Church” to have access to your personal information.
How do I change my password or the email associated with my account?
For these sorts of changes, you will want to click on “Manage Account” under the dropdown menu that is available when you click on your name in the top right corner of Realm. Once you have navigated to the “Manage Account” page, you are able to create a new password, or associate your Realm account with a new email address.
Giving on Realm
How do I set up a pledge or make a donation?
On the left side of the home page on Realm, there is a list of different navigation hubs.
- Click on the category titled “Giving,” and you will see everything you need to start the process of Pledging or making a donation.
TO MAKE A PLEDGE
- Click “+ Pledge” to begin the pledging process.
- You will be taken to a form where you can fill out the details of your pledge.
- In the box following “I pledge,” fill in the amount you intend to pledge at the increment that you denote farther along on the form (Example: if you intend to pledge $5 a month, totaling $60 in 2021, you will enter $5 in this box).
- The next box, following “to,” allows you to select the specific pledge you will be making, based on the year.
- After “to be given,” you should select the interval at which you will be making your donations.
- Finally, you are able to select a start and end date for your pledge in the two boxes containing calendar icons. The default is the upcoming fiscal year (UUCC’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30)
- Once you’ve entered all of this information, you can either save your pledge as is, or you can save the pledge and move on to set up your donation by clicking “Save and Set Up Online Gift.”
TO MAKE A GIFT
- Click on “+ Give” to begin the process of making a donation.
- You’ll see a popup screen that allows you to designate the amount of money you want to give, and if you want to make this a one-time donation, or if you want the donation to repeat multiple times at specific intervals. Additionally, you can schedule one-time donations for a later date by clicking “Gift Date” and choosing a date other than today.
- Finally, on the top line to the right of where you input the amount of money you want to donate, you can decide where this donation will go by choosing a “Fund.”
- By default, the money will go into your “Pledge” fund if you have a pledge set up on Realm, but you can choose a different destination for the money like Food Insecurity or the Endowment Fund.
- Once you have your donation set up as you desire, click “Continue” on the bottom right.
- This will bring you to a payment screen, where you are able to enter either a credit/debit card or bank account information.
- If you want Realm to remember your payment information, make sure to check the box next to “Save for future use.”
When I set up a pledge, does Realm automatically make donations for me on the time frame I established?
No. This is important: while the two features are housed on the same page, pledges are completely distinct from gifts. You will need to set up a donation separately, following the instructions listed in the previous question on this page, or by reaching out to Valerie Hsu, our Executive Director, at valerie@uucolumbia.net.
How do I change or delete my pledge?
Unfortunately, Realm does not currently allow parishioners to make changes to, or delete, pledges. If you incorrectly enter pledge information, or need to make a change to a pledge, contact Valerie at valerie@uucolumbia.net.
How do I make a change to a recurring donation or stop a scheduled donation?
As with all things pledging and giving, navigate to the “Giving” tab on the left toolbar on Realm.
- In the range of options you see on the Giving homepage, click “Scheduled” to see all upcoming and recurring gifts that you have scheduled.
- On the list of donations that appear, locate the gift you want to change.
- To the right of the listing of this donation, there is an icon that looks like a set of ellipses. Click on this icon to see three options: Edit, Place on Hold, and Cancel.
- Click “Edit” to make a change to the amount of money you intend on giving, the date when this money will be donated, the duration of the gift, and the payment method. Note that the “Edit” option does NOT allow you to change the donation’s frequency.
- Click “Put on Hold” to temporarily suspend your donation. You can suspend the donation for as long as you need to, but you will have to return this page, navigate to the donation you have placed on hold, and select the option labeled “Reactivate” in order to reinstate this donation. When you reactivate the gift, you will have the same set of options listed under the “Edit” option.
- Click “Cancel” to stop a donation permanently. This is also the option you will need to choose if you need to change the frequency with which you plan on making a donation (IE if you decide you want to give every other month rather than monthly, you will need to first “Cancel” your initial donation).
How do I add a new payment account, make a change to an existing payment account, or remove a payment account from my profile?
Navigate to the “Giving” tab from the Realm homepage.
- On the Giving page, there is a toolbar on the right side of the screen wherein you will see an option that says “Manage Payment Options.”
- Click on this text, and you’ll be taken to an account management page including all of the credit card and checking account payment accounts that you have saved to Realm.
- On this page, you can click “Add Payment Method” to save a new bank account or debit/credit card to your Realm profile.
- To make a change to an existing payment method, navigate to the payment method you wish to alter and click on the ellipsis icon.
- This will provide you with a dropdown menu where you can click “Edit Account” to change billing address, expiration date, etcetera; or click “Delete Account” to remove this account from your Realm profile.
When I go to make a donation, I see an option that says “Contribute an extra $XXXX to help offset processing costs.” What’s that about?
When making a donation, Realm has a processing fee for certain transactions. You have the option to increase your donation by a small percentage to help offset these costs for UUCC. Simply click the box next to the “Contribute an extra…” message to add the amount listed in the message to your donation.
What other questions do you have?
Are there other questions that ought to be in this FAQ but aren’t? Do you have a question that isn’t answered on this page?
Reach out to Hannah Nelson (hannah@uucolumbia.net) and Valerie Hsu (valerie@uucolumbia.net), and we’ll help you track down your answers.
With deep gratitude to Nooshin Ghabari and St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church of Austin, Texas for their wonderful Realm resources!