|
Tuesday, January 12 2021
St. John’s Episcopal Church The regular monthly meeting of the Finance Committee for December was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts. With the resignation of Gerry Apple, the retirement from the Vestry of Mark Hampton and Ric Weatherman at the end of this month, and the demands on Sarah Clifthorne’s time with the legislative session which begins on Monday, we need to recruit new members to continue the work of this important committee. If you are interested in serving on the Finance Committee, or know someone who may be, please contact me. Our Current Financial Condition Our Budget Report for November 2020 may be found on our website (//n.b5z.net/i/u/6141178/f/SJOLY_Budget_Report_November_2020.pdf). As of November 30, 2020, our year-to-date operating deficit was -$73,499.51, a positive variance to budget of $15,726,71 attributable primarily to our receipt of $60,000.00 from our General (Unrestricted) Account with the Diocese of Olympia Master Trust. Pledge payments were down significantly in November to $14,002.90, -$7,978.10 (36.3%) below budget. Our year-to-date shortfall in pledge payments to budget is -$23,760.30 (9.8%). Unfortunately, given the current levels of giving, personnel costs, and unbudgeted expenses related to buildings and grounds and the upcoming capital campaign, we continue to generate less than half of what we need to sustain our operations. We are awaiting documents from Bessemer Trust in New York City regarding a $10,000.00 unrestricted cash bequest and hope to receive the funds by the end of this month. We have two additional sources of funds for operating expenses: the EIDL loan proceeds and our (endowment) account with the Diocese of Olympia Master Trust. One of the conditions for Diocesan approval of our acceptance of the EIDL loan is we would not spend any of the proceeds until completion of an independent audit, currently planned for some time in January 2021. However, with Diocesan approval, we withdrew $15,000.00 of the EIDL money and applied it to operating expenses within the guidelines of the loan program. The remaining EIDL funds, $134,900.00, are currently invested in an Investment Advisory Account with Edward Jones. To-date, the market value of the account has increased $4,731.53. As of November 30, 2020, the balance in our General (Unrestricted) Account with the Diocese of Olympia Master Trust was approximately $149,500.00. We have begun work on our Operating Budget for 2021. Again this year, we are engaging leadership of various ministries to provide input on their anticipated revenue and expenses. We will present a draft of the Budget for Vestry review and approval at the Vestry Meeting on January 21. We will share the Budget Report for December 2020 and the Operating Budget for 2021 with the congregation at the Annual Meeting on January 31. Capital Campaign Update We are finalizing plans for our upcoming capital campaign. In early March, we will share a new case statement with you laying out an exciting vision for the future of our church home along with updated information on the scope and cost of the work to be done on the sanctuary, including removing asbestos from the walls, replacing the roof, completing seismic upgrades essential for public safety, and enhancing our worship space. Early gift solicitation will begin on Sunday, March 7; our campaign kick-off will be on Easter Sunday, April 4, and we will celebrate the conclusion of the campaign on Pentecost, May 23. Also, we want you to know that we are now accepting gifts to the capital campaign. If you would like to make your gift online, please go to our website (https://www.stjohnsoly.org/home), click on the “Give Online | Done aqui” button, and select the new “Capital Campaign” option. If you prefer to make your gift by check, please make the check payable to “St. John’s Episcopal Church Capital Campaign” and mail it to St. John’s Episcopal Church, P O Box 977, Olympia, WA 98507. Respectfully submitted… …Bob Le Roy, Treasurer (bobleroy05@gmail.com) |
