Please find in the pdf here the quarterly financial report through the third quarter of fiscal year 2023-24 (July 2023 through March 2024). First and foremost, I always want to thank you for your continued support and generosity in tithing to the parish. Your generosity supports operations and our efforts in missionary discipleship. Thank you! I offer the following narrative to explain the current financial state of the parish:
Income
Total income remains greater than budgeted income primarily due to:
Increased Mass attendance throughout the year (25% increase compared to October 2022; 8% increase over 2019 pre-Covid attendance numbers)
A significant gift of $60,000 of which $30,000 has been restricted for evangelization
An exceptional fall fundraiser/auction response and turnout
Diocesan Services Appeal refund from last fiscal year (50% of the amount over and above the parish goal)
Exceptional giving to the Affordable Tuition Fund
Some investment income (with Finance Council’s approval we placed approximately $500,000 in a time deposit drawing greater interest than the Parish Savings and Loan Trust)
Overall, total income is $1,933,657; $367,549 over budgeted income.
Expenses
Total expenditures remain greater than budgeted expenditures primarily due to:
Facility and Plant - We have had a number of various maintenance related issues to address throughout the year including but not limited to:
The two pumps at the lift station failed during Lent due to an electrical issue. It has since been repaired and the pumps inspected. We should get another 30-40 years out of the pumps if they are maintained annually. They are now on an annual maintenance plan.
Various HVAC repairs in the church and school
Rectory appliances - water tank, water heater, washer and dryer, dishwasher all failed and were replaced. All the appliances that failed were 20-30 years old.
Lighting project in the church (all of the lights in the church have been replaced with energy saving LED lights)
Elevator repairs
Regular contracted services have increased due to significant invoices from last fiscal year being received late from a couple of vendors, in addition to a contract with a new custodial vendor beginning in July
Hiring Gregg Alchin as our Facilities Director
Overall, total expenses are $1,719,765; $136,148 over budgeted expenses.
Net Income
Net Income from operations (church, school, pre-school/child care, and adult/youth faith formation) as of March 31, 2024, is $294,940 which is $274,940 over budgeted Net Income from operations. Consolidated Net Income, which includes operations in addition to investments and special groups such as CCW, Parent Service Organization, and SCRIP as of March 31, 2024, is $213,893; $231,394 over budgeted Consolidated Net Income.
Balance Sheet
Our balance sheet remains strong with $696,723 in cash on hand and an additional $1.6 million in unrestricted savings and investments. This includes $520,461 in a short-term time deposit that we will likely renew. We also received a generous restricted gift of $500,000 a year ago that has generated $19,372 in interest. After speaking with the donors and seeking their approval, I intend to seek Finance Council and Diocesan Finance Council and College of Consultors approval to transfer the funds to the Catholic Foundation as seed funding for a new Education Endowment. Total assets are $2.823 million. Liabilities include both pass-thru and operating accounts payable as well as the deferred revenue for tuition that will be recognized as income when earned through the end of the school year. Net assets total approximately $2.711 million.
Capital Expenditures
As you are already aware we have made a significant investment in our Information Technology and safety/security infrastructure. Before you read the balance sheet you will see at the very top of the page a box showing total capital expenditures of approximately $124,505. As I write this we have paid $193,674 through April 2024 for these upgrades.
We still owe approximately $100,000 to the vendors for the completed work. We are just waiting on the invoices. We had approval, for and intended to pay, for these endeavors out of unrestricted savings. However, we have had significant positive cash flow throughout the fiscal year so that we have been able to make these payments through current fiscal year operating income.
Excluding these capital expenditures, we do not foresee running an operating deficit this year. If we are unable to use current income to pay for the remainder of these expenditures, we will transfer from savings what we need to make up the shortfall but it should not be the total $300,000 we sought approval for. That is great news!
A Few Notes:
Looking ahead to the last quarter of the fiscal year (April, May, and June) we will face some challenges:
As the weather gets nicer our Mass attendance tends to dip throughout the spring and summer months. April’s offertory was considerably lower than it has been over the past six to seven months. I encourage everyone to enroll in weekly or monthly recurring online giving. This ensures that, should you be away on vacation(s), you are still tithing to your parish. Our overhead and operating costs do not take a vacation. Offertory is the primary income generating stream for parish operations.
We will face some additional costs that were not included in this fiscal year’s budget including:
Sealing of the parking lot. Before Fr. Mike (semi) retired, he and Don Morgan made a significant investment in the parking lot. We want to maintain the parking lot to the best of our abilities. Sealing and repairing cracks will cost between $40,000 - $60,000.
Sanctuary spotlights - As mentioned above, all the lights in the church have been replaced with energy saving LED lights. The spotlights above the sanctuary cannot be retrofitted with LED because they are on an older dimmer system. The old system does not accommodate the new fixtures or light bulbs. You will notice that some of the spotlights have already burnt out. The cost to make this fix is significant and, given all of the other facility related expenditures incurred this year, we are going to sit tight for a bit before we decide what to do.
Roof replacement on the rectory. The roof is original since the addition and we have a significant roof leak that was identified this spring. This will cost just over $18,000.
Capital Campaign Feasibility Study - In order to help make a decision about a combined capital campaign effort we were required to hire the Steier Group to conduct a feasibility study per diocesan policies for the Stewardship for Saints and Scholars capital campaign. We are responsible for these costs which include their services, travel, and meals. This was approved by the parish Finance Council.
Microphones - If you were at the 10:00 AM Mass on Easter Sunday you would have noticed that my microphone went dead when the transmitter in the wireless mic pack failed. To make a longer and more technical explanation short, the wireless microphones and transmitters will have to be repaired. Before we make any decisions we are going to investigate the issue further to ensure we have a good understanding of the problem.
Capital Campaign Feasibility Study
The feasibility study will be complete by May 14. At that time the Steier Group will provide their final report to parish leadership including the Finance Council. We will use the information provided and their recommendations to have a more robust discussion with the Finance Council and diocesan leadership to make a final decision as to whether or not we will move forward with a combined parish capital campaign. We will also make the report available to you sometime after May 14.
Thank you everyone who generously and kindly participated in the study. Your feedback is extremely helpful. We presented our wishlist knowing that if we decide to move forward with a combined parish capital campaign, the scope would most likely be reduced.
One question that came up from a few in the interview process was, seeing that we have approximately $1.6 million in unrestricted savings and investments, will we use any of that money toward the projects outlined in the capital campaign. It is not my intention to use those funds toward the capital projects as outlined in the feasibility study. I would need approval from the parish Finance Council, Diocesan Finance Council, and the Diocesan College of Consultors and I do not think those approvals would be granted for the reason outlined below.
We should have a reserve of liquid cash on hand for emergencies should something unforeseen happen. We will incur just over $2 million in expenses this fiscal year. What we report on the balance sheet would get us through about three quarters of a fiscal year with no income. Given the immensity and complications of the physical plant (e.g. HVAC system alone), we need to have a healthy reserve of funds for some unforeseen building issue, failure, etc. Things happen, and I do not want to put the parish in a position for some large unforeseen expenditure that we are unable to pay for if or when we need to.
The current amount of cash on hand of $696,723 is needed to operate for cash flow purposes. I would argue, however, that we can probably reduce the amount needed on hand at any given time to about $400,000 per month. It is my intention to seek Finance Council approval to reduce the balance in the checking account and transfer the difference to the short-term time deposit to generate a little more interest revenue
Education Endowment
You will note on the Balance Sheet an Education Endowment and you might be asking yourself, why does Fr. Ryan want to establish a new education endowment as part of the capital campaign? The education endowment reported on the balance sheet was gifted to the parish from a very generous parishioner as part of an estate. After consulting with the Catholic Foundation and diocesan legal counsel, we think it best to leave the current endowment alone because it is restricted for supplies and scholarships/affordable tuition for the school. By funding a new educational endowment and making it less restrictive, we can use the interest on it to help fund the operations of both the school and faith formation.
Conclusion
The financial position of the parish is strong though we will always have our challenges. To reiterate, we do not forecast an operating deficit at fiscal year end. We will, however, have made significant investments to the property and physical plant with the IT and safety/security upgrades. These expenditures will push us into an overall deficit but, we will likely have enough positive cash flow to cover some or most of the added expenditures.
Thank you again for your generosity in giving to the parish!
Fr. Ryan