First Quarter Financial Report, April 2023
Our financial reports for March are an opportunity to check in on our financial well-being. Our 2023 budget is a deficit budget, meaning we expect to take in about $13,000 less than we need to maintain our common life and ministries at current levels. Your Finance Committee and Vestry are committed to keeping a close eye on our finances and sharing what we see with the parish.
Here is an informal narrative report based on the first quarter of 2023:
INCOME: Our income is very close to our budget at this point. We are right on the mark with pledge payments – thank you so much. What we call “plate” giving – general giving to the church (check, cash, or online transaction) – is also strong.
EXPENSE: We’ll go through the Expense part of the budget by category — and flag places where interested folks may be able to volunteer their time and skill.
- PERSONNEL (Clergy and lay staff): We are quite close to budget here.
- WORSHIP: We are over budget, but these expenses are not evenly spread across the year and may even out in the coming months.
- OUTREACH: Outreach spending is also not evenly distributed across the year. Our Outreach Committee makes donations on behalf of St. Dunstan’s in response to community needs or requests. If you’d like to learn more or get involved, contact Evy Gildrie-Voyles at .
- FORMATION: This total reflects the costs of winter and spring activities with kids and youth. We expect a lull in programming and expenses over the summer. (Keep an eye out for fundraisers and sponsorships for our youth summer mission trips!)
Volunteer opportunity: Rev. Miranda hopes we can organize our art and craft
supplies soon, so we can plan projects using what we have. If that sounds fun and
you’d like to help, let Rev. Miranda know!
- OTHER MINISTRIES: The total is over budget mainly because Kitchen and Fellowship expenses are over budget. For context, our 2019 pre-Covid budget for this area was $3500, and we budgeted $2000 for 2023, not knowing how ready we would feel to eat together in 2023. Higher food prices are also a factor.
Volunteer opportunity: If you would enjoy occasionally providing snacks or a
light meal for social gatherings or group meetings, let Rev. Miranda know!
- BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS: We are over budget due to two expense lines: Gas and Electric (by over $2000) and Snow Removal (by around $3000). Our solar panels should be installed very soon, reducing electricity costs by about 75%. Snow removal costs are more difficult to manage.
Planning for the Future: This spring we plan to set up a Place-Keeping Fund to receive designated gifts and bequests to support the ongoing costs of maintaining our buildings and grounds while reducing the strain on the annual budget. Talk with Rev. Miranda or Val McAuliffe if you’d like to learn more.
- ADMINISTRATION: This area is about $1200 over budget. We expect most costs to even out in the months ahead.
- DIOCESAN & OTHER PROPERTY EXPENSES: Both of these budget areas are very close to budget.
The Bottom Line
We are about $8800 over budget right now in our expenses.
As the wider society is dealing with inflation and other long-term ripple effects of the Covid pandemic, so are we. A wise member of the Vestry told us in 2020 to expect prolonged uncertainty and financial stretch. St. Dunstan’s has also been affected by the deaths of long-time faithful and generous givers, some of whom helped sustain our budget for decades.
We have received generous gifts to help us weather this time and even grow in our capacity. At this point, our parish leaders do not feel it’s time for cuts that would impact our ministries and common life. But we are aware we can’t continue with deficit budgets indefinitely. We are exploring solutions to protect the long-term sustainability of St. Dunstan’s. If you have ideas to share, let us know.
In the meantime, your continued gifts of time, money, and skill sustain our community. Thank you.
To see complete and detailed financial statements, contact our Treasurer Valerie McAuliffe at .