Through February, expenses are even with our budget, however, giving is short by $11,000, resulting in a net loss in the General Fund so far this year.
Compared to the same period last year, giving is down more than $12,000. Expenses are higher by almost $5,000. The latter was anticipated and is due to activities like landscaping and choir that were not being incurred at this time last year due to the COVID-19 shutdown.
Why are we here? As communicated at the Budget-Review Meetings and the January Congregational Meeting, total pledging for 2022 was down. Rather than making significant reductions to programming at the time, the Council decided to set the budget at a level slightly above total giving in 2020 and 2021 (whether pledged or unpledged). We committed to monitoring trends and communicating with the congregation on an ongoing basis.
While ordinarily one would want more than two months to declare a trend, the early results are concerning. The Finance team and Council are reviewing potential options for discussion at the May Congregational Meeting in the event this pattern continues.
Thank you to all who support the ministries of Esperanza, both financially and with your time and talents. If you have not yet made a pledge for 2022, you may still do so online or by contacting the church office.
Please continue to pray for our community and consider whether you can increase your giving.