Update from Finance & Planning

January donations
get 2003 off to a good start

By Ronald Kelly

We are off and running with a brand new year and new opportunities. I’m excited to report that January donations show an increase over January 2002.

In part that is because of the way we processed mail this year compared to last year. In 2002 we were working with a significant backlog of mail from December 2001. As a result, much of the January contributions were not tabulated until February. That makes accurate comparisons difficult. However, anytime I can use the word increase is rewarding and cause for thanksgiving and appreciation.

Member contributions for the month were just over $1.1 million. That compares to $900,000 last year, or an increase of $200,000. January of this year is the beginning of what I have called a Small-Step program—that is, local congregations will receive 80 percent of the increase each month when the income exceeds that month of the previous year. However, because of the mail processing situation I mentioned above, we will combine the January and February donations and return the overages in March.

By way of preparation, we ask that all pastors and treasurers refer to the Financial Manual to determine the appropriate ways to use the funds they will receive. The Internal Revenue Service has strict guidelines that should be adhered to. This small step is progress toward our goal of an entirely new financial model that will eventually have all local congregations operating on 80 to 85 percent of their contributions.

I mentioned last month that our Finance & Planning staff submitted a budget to the church board that balances income and expenses for the first time in more than eight years. This is possible, in part, because of the continuing sale of surplus properties and equipment in addition to reduced expenses.

As Mat Morgan reports on page 10, the church sold selected properties that are near, but not part of the planned development of the main Pasadena campus. The first parcel of land was sold in January and resulted in a $2.2 million inflow of cash to our reserve fund. The second parcel of land sold Feb. 14, and we’ll update you on that next month.

We have also completed the first year of several congregations’ participation in real-time, new-model finances. This pilot program began with eight congregations operating under conditions that all congregations will implement after the sale of the Pasadena campus. These pilot program churches have helped smooth out a number of procedures that will make nationwide implementation a lot easier.

Entering the new financial model has proved rewarding to some of the pilot churches. One congregation had a 35 percent increase in donations over the previous year; another had a 27 percent increase. A couple of congregations did not have an increase, but reported their income was down because of members who moved or left the church. However, the combined fiscal year donations of the eight congregations showed a total donation base of $738,000 compared to $662,000 the previous year—an increase of more than 11 percent on average.

This year we will not cover church finances in our regional conferences. Our hope is that by the end of 2003 we will have a much better indication of how and when the property sale will be completed. If all goes as we hope, we will then have specific local church education and finance planning sessions at the conferences in 2004.

In the meantime, we hope your year is off to a good start and that you will have an exciting year of spiritual growth in your congregations.

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 2003