Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Over the summer, I wrote you to let you know how our operating budget was doing, half way through 2016. In summary, as a result of some unexpected maintenance issues (the AC for the sanctuary) and a bit of slowdown in giving, we were $28K behind budget through the end of June, 2016.
I am very happy to report that through the end of September our financial position has markedly improved. We remain behind budget but are now only $21K behind budget. The improvement is due to 3 things:
1. Member giving has rebounded from what turned out to be a summer hiccup. Through June, we were $11K behind the 2015 giving total. Through September, we are still $11K behind the equivalent figure from 2015. While at first blush this might not seem like progress, it really is. That the difference has stabilized means that our 3Q 2016 giving equaled our 3Q 2015 giving.
2. The staff continue to be good stewards of our resources, and that has continued to help in small ways across many accounting lines.
3. The DNC gave a nice little, unplanned, bump in our building usage income.
Looking to the end of the year, we will continue to hold off on discretionary spending, identify some additional building usage income opportunities, and most of all ask all of us in the congregation to give as we are able. And if you can go beyond your pledge and feel called to do so, please do, someone else might be struggling to make their pledge and we can all use some help, even if only God* sees us do it.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Jonathan V