How much does Stewardship Campaign need to raise?

The question is simple, but the answer is a bit more complicated. Historically, the annual budget has been set according to the results of the Stewardship Campaign. This philosophy puts pressure on completing the Stewardship Campaign prior to the end of the fiscal year so that the budget can be finalized, but it also ensures that the Redeemer lives within its means.

Accordingly, Stewardship does not have a specific dollar goal. That being said, we certainly have objectives. We have an objective to ensure that we have the financial resources necessary to hire and retain the very best clergy and staff people available. We have an objective to ensure that the financial resources needed to provide meaningful and moving worship services are made available. We have an objective to provide our children with the most exciting and stimulating Church school program possible so that they receive a strong Christian foundation upon which to build their faith. And we have objectives to maintain our Church building as well as the other important programs for the parish.

All these objectives cost money, and the funds required have been provided by the Annual Stewardship Campaign (66% of the budget) and supplemented by funds from the endowment (22% of the budget). The problem is that we are currently taking close to the maximum amount possible ($171,030) from the endowment to balance the operating budget. As a result, when faced with unusual expenses (repair work for the tower, repair work for the front of the church, etc.), the Redeemer has needed to undertake capital campaigns or withdraw principal from the endowment to provide the funds required.

What this means is that we are using the Redeemer’s endowment to support our annual operating requirements and relying upon additional parishioner support to meet “unusual” expenses. This approach is the opposite of what most people would assume should be the case.

To ensure that the Church of the Redeemer remains in a sound financial position for years and generations to come, your Wardens and Vestry have adopted a very simple philosophical goal. Our church leadership believes that our operating budget should be met by the annual stewardship campaign while the resources in the endowment are preserved to fund “unusual” or “one time” expenses that cannot reasonably be funded by the annual budget. Put another way, we believe that contributions from current members of the parish should be sufficient to operate the Church. While philosophically this is an easy statement with which to agree, in practice it means that we must substantially increase our Stewardship giving  for 2005! Not a small task, but by no means impossible.

Now back to the original question. How much does the Stewardship Campaign need to raise? In 2005, as in prior years, our budget will be based upon the results of the Stewardship Campaign. Our operating expenses  for 2004 are estimated to total $786,877. We hope and pray that the results of the Campaign for the coming year will enable us to move towards our goal of fiscal independence. We need your help and welcome your support.

Please help us make Stewardship successful.  Make a pledge to support the Redeemer.