Six-Month Financial Report

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Dear Parishioners: 

It is my pleasure to present you with a six-month financial report.

Before getting into the financial reports themselves, I would like to update you on a couple of issues: 

• As you are probably aware, since August of last year we have been dealing with voltage fluctuations in our electrical system which caused the organ to malfunction. After numerous attempts to work cooperatively and collaboratively with Consumers Energy to identify and rectify the problem(s), our insurance company decided to retain an attorney to help us identify and rectify the issues. Our attorney hired independent electrical engineers to test our equipment and, as expected, everything passed inspection. This issue has not yet been resolved but I look forward to a resolution in the near future. 
• We continue to work with our insurance company to ensure that the damages and claims regarding the organ are resolved in a satisfactory manner. The Michigan Catholic Conference is helping us a great deal in coming to a resolution with our insurance company so that the necessary repairs can be made to the organ to get it functioning.  

As you pray, please include these issues in your prayer intentions. Both issues have dragged out much longer than we would have liked.

Let’s look at the financial position of the parish as of December 31, 2024 beginning with income:  

• Income related to church activities is over budget by approximately $168,000. This is primarily due to increased offertory and Mass attendance and an exceptional auction/fall fundraiser.
• Income related to school activities is over budget by approximately $61,000. This is primarily due to increased school enrollment and generous donations to the Affordable Tuition Fund.  
• Income related to faith formation activities is over budget by approximately $6,000 primarily due to increased enrollment.  
• Income related to preschool and child care is near break-even.
• We have non-operational income in the amount of $138,546. The majority being restricted donations for the Stewardship for Saints and Scholars campaign.

Looking at expenses: 

• Expenses related to church activities are under budget by approximately $34,000, which is just 6% of the budget.  
• Expenses related to school activities are over budget by approximately $36,000 primarily because all insurance premiums related to the school were being recorded on the church side. Once discovered, we reclassified insurance premiums relating to the school under facility and plant on the school side.  This will be properly budgeted in the next fiscal year.    
• Expenses related to both faith formation and preschool/child care are under budget.  
• Expenses related to youth ministry are over budget.  Recall that we did not budget a lot for youth ministry because we currently do not have a youth minister. Dcn. Jack, with my approval, held various youth events throughout the first six-months of the fiscal year that we did not budget for.  
• Regarding the Lansing Catholic Assessment, a check was recently released to LCHS for the parish subsidy amounting to approximately $11,000. This is significantly higher than what was budgeted primarily because we have more students attending LCHS. This is good news!  
• Non-operational expenses are over budget by approximately $140,000. This requires a bit of explanation.  
  • Regarding capital project expenses: 
    • Recall that we had the parking lot sealed and cracks filled at a cost of approximately $50,000. This needed to be done to help ensure the longevity of the new parking lot.
    • In addition, the roof on the rectory began leaking. A new roof was required at the cost of approximately $22,000.  When the roof was removed, it was discovered that it required re-decking at an additional cost of approximately $5,000.  
    • The additional $21,000 was the completion of the safety and security upgrades begun the previous fiscal year.    
  • Regarding capital campaign administration: 
    • $130,504 is the amount we paid The Steier Group to manage the combined capital campaign for the classroom addition and parish hall refurbishment.       

Overall and given the large amount of spending related to non-operational activities, income still exceeds expenses by $184,493.

The balance sheet remains strong and healthy. Regarding assets for the period ending December 31, 2024 we had:

• $516,307 in cash on hand including approximately $48,000 of restricted funds.
• Unrestricted savings and investments of approximately $1.58 million. 
• Restricted savings and investments of approximately $650,000.
• Endowments held at The Catholic Foundation total $211,624 (more information detailed below).*
• Total assets amount to approximately $2.95 million.

Total liabilities amount to approximately $168,000 including $132,335 in accounts payable mostly related to accruals, payroll, benefits, and insurance premiums.  School prepayments in the amount of $28,463 relates to prepaid tuition.  Income related to prepaid tuition is recognized monthly as the school year ensues.      

*Regarding the endowments included on the balance sheet. These include both the Robert and Grace Hoffer Fund which is a much more restricted endowment to be used for school textbooks and scholarships. We primarily utilize the Hoffer endowment for textbooks. Due to the low tuition rate, every Catholic student is provided with financial assistance/scholarship.

The second endowment is a new St. Martha Education Endowment. If you look at past balance sheets you will see an asset account identified as an Education Trust.  This asset account has been on the balance sheet since I arrived here. We investigated where this trust originated from and could not find any supporting documentation. In discussions with diocesan legal counsel and the parish finance council, I recommended that the trust be dissolved and the funds be remitted to The Catholic Foundation as seed money for an education endowment. The finance council agreed and approved the alienation of the funds to The Catholic Foundation thereby creating the St. Martha Education Endowment.  The diocesan finance council and college of consultors also approved the request per diocesan policy.    

Establishing the new St. Martha Education Endowment endowment required recording an expense of $123,732 (including accrued interest) in the agency fund and recording corresponding income in the proprietary fund effectively rendering the transactions budget neutral.  This is complicated governmental/nonprofit fund accounting jargon.
One of the reasons we decided to establish the new St. Martha Education Endowment is to give future pastors and finance councils more latitude and flexibility in spending as they draw down funds.  The limitations we set for the new endowment are simply to fund faith formation and the school (nothing more). This will help offset total costs associated with operating both ministries.

It is my hope that, over time, the endowment will grow such that interest can be drawn annually to alleviate the burden of fundraising and the need of the Affordable Tuition Fund. For that to realistically happen, the endowment would have to be funded at approximately $2 million (present value). The establishment of this endowment will provide the parish and parishioners a planned giving strategy as parishioners think ahead to estate planning. More information about this will be forthcoming. For the time being and with the timing of the capital campaign, I thought it was time to take a rest from talking about money.    

To update you on a few more things that are occurring within the office: 

• We are seeking to hire a full-time business manager to oversee the business affairs and finances of the parish. The job description has been posted on the diocesan website and various other recruiting platforms.
• I want to thank Hallie Card for stepping into the position of Director of Operations for the last year and half. She has been tremendous in supporting both the parish, Andrea Patton in the school, and myself. It is my intention to get her back into ministry where her desire truly lies. Hiring a full-time business manager will help with this and allow us to offer more ministry to the parish and greater community. 
• I also want to thank David Martell for helping us on a part-time basis to help manage portions of the business affairs. He’s been phenomenal as well. Understandably, he wants to enjoy retirement and time with his family. He will help us with the budget process for next fiscal year and remain on staff until we onboard a business manager.  
• As we move into the next fiscal year and the fall, it is my intention to increase our ministries in the parish. There have been numerous capital projects, a capital campaign, electrical issues, etc. that have taken up an inordinate amount of my time and the staff’s time.
• Youth ministry is still obviously lacking. I am certainly aware of that fact. As of now, I beg your patience. I want to position the staff where their skills and talents will be most effective. Once we onboard a business manager and get all the more serious about ministry, youth ministry and youth engagement is next on my agenda. In the meantime, please pray!  
• Finally, regarding the Stewardship for Saints and Scholars campaign… Designs are currently underway with Mayotte Group for architectural design.  Once that is complete and the Requests for Proposals are ready, we will send the RFPs to various construction firms for the bidding process.  When we have decided upon a construction firm and have a final budget prepared, we will then seek a bridge loan from the Parish Savings and Loan Trust to fund the project. The loan will be a fixed term of five years paid as the pledges are paid over the five year pledge redemption period of the capital campaign. It is our hope to break ground sometime in September 2025 with completion of the project sometime in August or September 2026. This timeline might prove a bit aggressive but as of now it is our goal. Stay tuned!

I hope you found this report helpful. It is our continued aim to remain transparent about the financial situation of the parish and accountable to you as our donors, benefactors, parishioners, and families. I cannot thank you enough for your generosity and your continued support of the parish. Without you and your generosity, we would not be able to accomplish the mission of Christ.    

Know of my prayers for you all!  And, please pray for me!  
Fr. Ryan

Download PDF with Full Report Here

Fr. Ryan