By Ronald KellyUpdate from Finance & Planning
First quarter of 2002 complete
By Ronald Kelly
At last our mail processing staff has caught up with the backlog that began to accumulate in December. The staff worked extra hard to have a more accurate accounting of church finances by the end of the first quarter.
Our regular mail and local church donation income for March was just over $1.9 million—and that’s an increase over March of last year. However, because donations for January were down more than we hoped, the totals for the first quarter show a seven percent decrease. The donation income for January through March 2001 was $4.86 million, while the same period this year was $4.53 million.
When we report income figures each month, we divide income into two major categories: (1) Donation Income—primarily from church members and co-workers; and (2) All Other Income—that mainly consists of estate donations, Legacy Partners escrow extension payments, property leases and auction sales, but also includes tax refunds and a variety of other sources.
In early 2001 we had a rather extensive auction of furnishings and equipment as well as a tax refund from the Big Sandy campus after all bills were settled there. This year we had neither of those sources of revenue, so the "other income" picture is obviously less when compared to last year.
Adding both income sources shows a total first quarter income right at $5.1 million. That’s a decrease of almost 12 percent compared to $5.8 million in total income last year.
As we report on page 19, we have sold the summer camp site in Orr, Minnesota. Although that sale generated a small revenue compared to the value of the Big Sandy and Pasadena campuses, nevertheless, the sale proceeds will help our financial picture through the middle portion of the year.
I want to compliment our management team for doing all they can to keep expenses as low as possible. Because our major expense (as is the case in almost all churches and non-profit organizations) is employee salaries, it is difficult to trim expenses. Over the past several years we have reduced the number of employees at headquarters by more than 90 percent.
Our staff works hard to maintain a high level of efficiency. But as I noted earlier, the mail processing staff fell behind in January and did not catch up till the last week of March. So, other than ongoing salaries, the staff has managed to save about $500,000 in expenses during the first quarter of the year!
In the meantime, we continue through what seems like a painstakingly slow process to complete the Pasadena campus sale. Pasadena city staff, planners and the city council regularly evaluate the information they have regarding the proposed development, but often find they need further information to proceed. We and Legacy Partners are doing all we can to meet the requirements for city officials, but we are finding these matters take a great deal of time.
Last month I reported that it looks as though the decision on the sale process will not be completed by midyear, but will be moved toward the end of the year. That still seems to be the best-case scenario.
We anxiously await the implementation of our new local congregation financial procedures after the campus sells. We realize many of you are equally anxious to move into the new financial model in order to have local funds available for outreach ministries. I think we are all excited about the potential for our local churches, so let’s continue together in prayer to our great God, who has control over all timing, that he will bless us with a successful completion of the campus sale.
Statement of Income and Expenses for
WCG and PTM combined for March 2002
For the Month For the Year-to-Date
Income
Mail Income $ 1,927,000 $ 4,532,000
Other income 272,000 636,000
Total income 2,199,000 5,168,000
Expenses 2,483,000 6,947,000
Net gain (loss) to bank reserves $ (284,000) $ (1,779,000)
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2002