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Finance Committee
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Giving Matters...Thank You!
Pledging matters, you know it, you meet your pledged vows year after year, and the Church (and our Finance Committee) appreciate it!
During the 2008 annual fund campaign, you pledged to give despite what has been referred to as the Country’s worst financial collapse since the Great Depression. Moreover, during the financial meltdown in 2009, you fulfilled your financial vows---the Church collected approximately 93% of what was pledged, on the mark with our commitment in years past.
Not only did the pledgors meet their commitments, our non-pledged income exceeded our budgeted expectations.
That is, despite the financial downturn, you supported the Church as if nothing had changed. Indeed, you supported the Church as if the national economy and each of our respective family incomes were growing. Where that clearly was not the case, however, your commitment was especially remarkable.
For those of you who attended the Special Charge Conference at the beginning of the year, you know we set our budget for 2010. You can review the budget in more detail by visiting the Church’s website. It projects financial growth and the ability to continue fulfilling and, where possible, growing our various missions despite what projects as another tough year for our nation, albeit hopefully improving from last year.
Your support not only keeps the lights on and allows us to maintain the Church’s physical structure, it supports many missions such as the Appalachia Service Project (ASP) which repairs homes for those in need in the Appalachian region, the MAPA project which provides educational assistance to children in the Dominican Republic, the Brigham Hills Farms Ministry which grows food for local food banks, and we support food banks directly through contributions. We also support the United Methodist Church’s many missions by fulfilling our ‘Mission Shares,’ our local Church’s financial commitment to the United Methodist Church. These are just a few of the many wonderful things we’re proud to be a part of. Much of it is accomplished by hard work and effort but much of it also requires financial support.
One of the reasons we have been able to make the commitment to continue fulfilling our missions is because our pledged income for 2010 grew from last year. Specifically, we increased our pledged total to $287,199, a $7,874 increase over last year. Further, our average pledge grew from $35.81 to $40.31. Despite these difficult times, thirty-nine percent of contributors increased their pledges from last year. Further, we have found that folks who do not increase their pledges, find the need to decrease or even discontinue them because of these tough times, ultimately give when they are able.
We appreciate all of this and simply wanted to take this time to thank you for your generous support and commitment.
Sincerely,
The Finance Committee
Endowment fund:
The Finance Committee has establishd an endowment fund which will accept gifts to First UMC, to be invested with the United Methodist Foundation of New England. The following documents explain the details of the endowment fund:
2010 Budget
The 2010 budget was approved at the Charge Conference, held in January at First UMC.
| Income/Expense Category |
FY10 Budget |
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| Pledge Income |
$ 265,000.00 |
| Other Income |
125,500.00 |
| Total Income |
390,500.00 |
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| SPRC |
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| Salaries |
191,616.75 |
| Health Insurance |
17,491.25 |
| Employee Social Sec. |
9,021.40 |
| Utilities |
23,180.00 |
| Maintenance |
12,550.00 |
| Maintenance Contracts |
14,650.20 |
| Rental Property |
5,550.00 |
| Insurance - property |
7,431.00 |
| Insurance - workers' comp |
1,367.44 |
| Office Expense |
9,900.00 |
| Parsonage Expense |
7,374.00 |
| Outreach |
6,000.00 |
| Worship |
3,650.00 |
| Children & Family |
6,725.00 |
| Adult Studies |
1,000.00 |
| Evangelism/UMW |
1,000.00 |
| Stewardship |
1,000.00 |
| UMYF |
500.00 |
| Spiritual Life |
500.00 |
| Health & Welfare |
500.00 |
| Other |
5,006.56 |
| Conference Pension |
13,226.40 |
| Conference Apportionment |
46,260.00 |
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| TOTAL EXPENSE |
385,500.00 |
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| NET BALANCE |
$ 5,000.00 |
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| Other Income: |
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| Unpledged |
$ 69,000.00 |
| Loose plate |
10,000.00 |
| Holiday offering |
10,000.00 |
| Prior year pledges |
2,500.00 |
| Prepaid pledges |
5,000.00 |
| Preschool |
5,500.00 |
| Investment income |
6,000.00 |
| Building use |
2,400.00 |
| Property rental |
12,800.00 |
| Other |
2,300.00 |
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| Total Other Income |
$ 125,500.00 |
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Please direct your questions for First UMC's finance committee to Mike Sams, chair, via the church office. |
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