Finance Summary (4Q Quarter Report, 2023-24)

pdfRev__Exp_Board_-_June_2024.pdf

4Q Finance Update (FY2023-24)
Financially, giving remains very stable on a monthly and annual basis. In addition, ERUUF is in a very strong position with multiple designated funds for specific and strategic purposes. Overall, this has been a good year in finances for the Fellowship. We celebrate a successful pledge drive that yielded the highest pledge total to date for ERUUF (for the second year in a row). In May we projected a pledge total of $844,000 from 350 pledge units. A growing membership with ongoing pledge commitments and generosity will support the budget in the near term as a sustainable long-term financial plan is developed over the next two years.

A task force has been established to develop this long-term financial plan, which will include member development work, membership growth, building Foundation and reserve funds, legacy giving, possible capital campaign, and more. We will be working with the Board, BFAC, Coordinating Team and key ERUUF leaders to prepare for a sustainable financial future.

Highlights for FY 2023-24:
• Rental income remained solid ($63,703 for 23-24 versus $74,664 for 22-23).

• Generous gifts for special collections:

  • Minister’s discretionary fund (FY2023-24: $15,530; current total balance: $25,298)
  • Collection for Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project from Sept. Pride service ($665, plus amount from the Minister’s Discretionary Fund = $1,000 total).
  • November Giving for Justice collection: You Can Vote ($6,182)
  • Jazz Vespers ($1,117, plus amount from Minister’s Discretionary Fund = $1,200 to 2 local non-profits, Esteemed Coffee and Color Me Country Foundation)
  • Generosity Sundays:
    • Families Moving Forward ($2,978)
    • Pro-Choice North Carolina Foundation ($2,215)
    • Life Skills Foundation ($4,236)
    • Step Up Durham ($2,531)
    • Freedom Schools ($3,317)
    • Swim for Charlie ($2,742)

• Most budget lines are at or slightly above budget. This is a sign of growth and the return of program activity, full staffing, and engaged participation.

  1. Music and worship -- higher due to special services and programs.
  2. Staff Development - higher due to additional safety and CPR trainings.
  3. Information Technology - higher as our tech needs continue to grow as our systems become more complex (livestream, multiplatform, remote access, AV upgrades, and full staffing).
  4. Property Insurance increase. This pattern is showing up at churches across the US. The UUA is gathering data and working directly with Church Mutual to address hardships placed on local congregations with significant cost hikes or loss of insurance coverage altogether. On a positive note, we did receive a check for $932 for our annual insurance dividend.
  5. Choirfest inflated the programming expense figure $10,203, which was offset by registration fees.

• The planned reserve transfer is included as a line item in the Rev/Exp to balance the budget. The transfer is a bookkeeping adjustment and only occurs at the end of the fiscal year to cover the final YTD net -$73,644 which will not show on the Rev/Exp report.

Key Balances (as of June 30, 2024)

 

June 2024 (NOW)

June 2023

Net Operating Total YTD

$-73,644

$-75,512

General Reserve Fund

$31,525

$30,868

Strategic Initiative Fund

$298,423

$274,392

Campus Needs Fund

$113,196

$198,868

Truist Loan

$57,405

$79,869

Minister’s Discretionary Fund

$25,298

$33,429

Inside the Numbers
We will need to transfer $73,644 from the Strategic Initiative Fund to balance the budget (versus $116,000 planned transfer). The variance is mainly due to income from pledge gifts and interest income. Also, we decided to remove from the books the static and stale figure of bookstore inventory ($-4,760) that has been carried for over 15 years.

In addition, the net YTD figure in the revenue/expense report does not reflect an additional $8,071 on the Balance Sheet in the General Operating Fund which is really a reclassification of interest income from the previous fiscal year. The effective net YTD is $65,573 ($-73,644 + $8,071) which is within the projection range of the report shared at the annual meeting.

The Strategic Initiatives Fund balance is not static, especially at the turn of the fiscal year. The July balance sheet will record the new balance after the transfer to balance FY 2023-34, adding interest income, adjustment to General Reserve Fund (per policy), plus a special gift in July.

The upcoming 2024-25 budget includes a planned transfer of $129,000.

Please refer questions on financial details to the Lead Minister, Executive Minister or the Board Finance Advisory Committee. 

(document by Daniel Trollinger, Executive Minister)