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September 27, 2011 From your Wardens and Vestry,
The Trough and the Sugar Bowl Late each summer, every church that operates by a budget based on gifts and pledges begins to fall into a cash trough. Our expenses are not reduced through the summer, but our giving and pledge payments do drop off just as our attendance does. The result of the “trough” is that the “sugar bowl” from which we pay the bills gets dangerously low in September. We almost always end up having to access our line of credit at the Whitney. We have no debt and we are glad we can do that. We always settle it by January, but we don’t ever enjoy doing it. For this year-to-date, our expenses are 4% over budget, all of which is due to the $35,000 we have spent on buildings and maintenance (we budgeted $20,000) for our wooden structures and HVAC systems. On the income side, we are at 92%, but that 7% represents a pretty big number within the discretionary portion of our budget. We need your help in erasing this deficit, climbing out of the trough, filling the sugar bowl, and staying even and prudent through the remainder of 2011. If you believe you are lagging in your gifts or pledges, please make them current as quickly as you can. If you’re not sure where you are, please ask one of our co-treasurers. And if you’d like to do something extra, please know how much it would be appreciated.
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