Esperanza may be $30-50,000 short of the funds we need to pay salaries, support important ministries and run our church by the end of this year. Please attend a meeting Sunday, April 24, between services at 9:30 a.m. to discuss taking action. We will livestream the meeting on our Worship webpage, or you may watch on YouTube.
This informational forum is your chance to learn more about the situation before the May 22 Congregational Meeting.
This table highlights our General Operating Fund through March 2022:
Our General Fund balance as of March 31 was $29,785.
March was a particularly strong month for pledge giving. Through the first quarter, pledge giving is ahead of budget, nearly covering a shortfall in projected non-pledge giving.
On balance, total revenue is just slightly behind expenses so far in 2022.
Outlook for the balance of 2022 cloudy
Unfortunately, the picture is not as healthy as it might appear.
First, while pledge giving is, indeed, ahead of budget, this is because several giving units have paid ahead on their pledge and a handful of folks already have paid their full annual commitment.
Right now, this more than offsets the 40 percent of pledge units who are behind. This will diminish as time passes and we expect a possible shortfall in pledge giving for the full year.
More importantly, recall that pledging for this year was down significantly from 2021. Total pledges for 2022 are $55,000 less than a year ago. Sixteen units who pledged in 2021 did not make a pledge for 2022. As the 2022 budget was assembled, the hope was that we would see a corresponding increase in non-pledge giving. So far, that is not occurring.
Forecasting where the church might end 2022 financially is difficult at best. Based on where we stand now, it is possible that we may face a gap of $30,000 to $50,000 in the General Fund.
Council has commissioned a team to explore potential options, some potentially quite difficult. This is unlikely to close the entire gap so we may face some level of deficit spending. Our Constitution requires congregational approval for deficit spending in excess of $2,500.
Save the Dates:
April 24 – Informational forum, in-person at 9:30 a.m. between services to discuss our financial outlook. This Forum will also be live-streamed by visiting our Worship page on Sunday, April 24th at 9:30am or by visiting the Esperanza YouTube Channel.
May 22 — Congregational Meeting, in-person at 9:30 a.m. between services. Watch this newsletter for information about the online option.