I met with the Finance Council this week to review year-end financials. Here are some takeaways. We will publish a more detailed report sometime in the next month or so.
Generosity
Before discussing numbers, I have to say – and I really mean this – how impressed I constantly am at the generosity of our community. Roundly speaking, we have approximately 1,000 at Mass each Sunday, and our parish income is around $1,000,000. Which means that every person in the church is giving about $1,000/year. This is even more impressive when we consider that many of the people in our church are children, so some people are giving much more than that for this to be the average. Thank you for your continued generosity to our community!
Income is Flat
Last year (July 2021 – June 2022), Ordinary Income (OI) was $1,059,995. This year (July 2022 – June 2023), OI was $1,070,113. This is a 0.95% increase year-over-year. Inflation over the same time period was 3.0%, meaning we have fallen behind in actual income relative to inflation. The solution to this continues to be asking our parishioners to give as a percentage of their income. That way, as parishioners receive cost-of-living increases due to inflation, the parish will automatically receive an increase in giving (i.e., if income goes up by 5%, then amount given to the church will also increase 5%).
Major Maintenance Expenses
Beyond the gym roof, which we had already budgeted for in the property sale money, we had quite a few unexpected and expensive maintenance projects this year. Quickly scanning that budget category, I see:
- $19,000 to repair the gutter drainage system on the north side of the church, which was originally installed in such a way that the downspouts easily backed up during major storms.
- $31,500 to replace the failed heating unit in the church Gathering Space.
- $4,600 to replace the Stafford Room door, which had fallen off its hinges due to an ill-advised historical reversal of its hinge placement.
- $10,500 (half covered by the school) to replace two of the four gym heating units, which had cracked and failed.
- $1,400 to deal with a blocked sewer line to the rectory.
These alone account for about $50,000 in unforeseen expenses. We will run a deficit this year because of that, but blessedly it looks like we underspent in other areas, meaning our deficit will be closer to $30,000 (I am still working on getting that final number).
Major Maintenance Going Forward
At the Finance Council meeting, we discussed how hard it is to budget for unforeseen maintenance, especially given that our budget gets tighter and tighter each year (because we fall behind in income relative to inflation, and because some categories like insurance have greatly outpaced inflation for almost a decade).
We decided the solution going forward will be to fundraise for major, unexpected maintenance expenses when they arise. So, for example, when the furnace breaks, asking people to give additional money to cover that cost (we actually did do that, briefly, with the furnace, and one or two families gave additional donations to help, which was greatly appreciated). This goes against my overall stewardship philosophy, which is to exclusively emphasize appropriate (percentage-based, regular) giving, with the idea that good giving practices paired with responsible budgeting will cover a parish’s needs, allowing us to focus on evangelization rather than fundraising. However, I also need to recognize the reality that people often assume everything is copacetic at the parish until they are informed otherwise, and that I need to invite our people to help us with unexpected financial needs. So I am going to try to do that more in the future. If you would like to get an early start, I was informed yesterday that replacing the roof on the covered walkway in front of the gym (you can see the one corner that has rotted, and it makes sense to replace the whole thing at once) will cost us $11,000. Any help defraying that cost will be appreciated.
Fr. Moore 