Parishioners have expressed concern about the negative balances which are being published in the bulletin each week. We thought it would be appropriate to explain the Purpose, Process, and Recent Changes affecting our Weekly Contributions/Stewardship of Treasure display box.
Purpose
The Purpose is to be transparent. As parishioners, you should definitely know how we are doing financially. This display gives us a week-to-week sense of whether our Mass donations (aka Sacrificial Giving) are meeting the annual parish goals we set.
Process
The Process is simple. We total up the projected annual cost to perform our mission as a parish community (salaries, benefits, operations, etc.). For income, we subtract out “other sources of income (e.g., rent from Catholic Community Services, wedding fees, savings interest).” We then divide the remaining income balance by 52 weeks, which gives us the average weekly Sacrificial Giving contributions needed to balance our budget.
Recent Changes
This year the Stewardship of Treasure weekly goal was increased by approximately $1,000 per week, from $19,327 per week to $20,643 per week. Here’s why. We have a parish savings account (created for unbudgeted expenses or special unplanned mission-related projects). In recent years, we have fallen short of our annual revenue goals; we have had to use savings interest to balance the budget. Last year, we knew that we would have to use the interest earned as “income needed,” $38,317, and included it in the weekly Stewardship of Treasure calculation. Savings interest earned is not included in this year’s calculation.
Budgetting Best Practices
Using savings to balance the budget is not a good business practice. As the Parish Finance Council, we believe that the weekly goal should reflect a target that will enable us to preserve our savings, and to re-invest any interest earned to help prepare us for the future. Expenses for the current year include increases in health benefits, property insurance and liability insurance.
Planning for the Future
On a positive note, even though our current total is $58,715 short of our target, our community has contributed $45,001 more this year than this same time last year.
Historically, we have relied on bequests and capital campaigns for major maintenance and the upkeep of our beautiful worship space and for our school. We will continue to encourage bequests and campaigns, but will also work to build our savings from more consistent and reliable sources.
Transparency is Important
We realize it is a little uncomfortable to talk about our parish in terms of dollars and cents. But it is our responsibility to be transparent (without overwhelming you with numbers and figures). We owe it to our community to let you know that we are not on pace to avoid having to tap into our savings to balance the budget by the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2016.
We hope this explanation improves your understanding of our Stewardship of Treasure, your Sacrificial Giving. Thank you so very much for your ceaseless generosity to your parish.
Georgeann Cukjati
Finance Council President
Kevin Lovejoy
Pastoral Coordinator
Finance Council Members
Stephanie Cisakowski
Brent Hall
Steve VerValin
Bev Wombacher
