Synodical Council to consider encouraging budget news
Filed Under: Budget, CMO, Finance, Offering, SC, Synod Finances, Synodical Council
The latest support forecast anticipates a synod operating budget surplus of $2.2 million for the fiscal year ending in June 2008 and will be presented for approval to the Synodical Council when it meets later this month. (Note: the forecast was prepared before the special one-time Congregation Mission Offering gift of $200,000 mentioned by President Schroeder in his opening remarks.) Any surplus would be applied to re-establish a buffer fund to offset future budget shortfalls.
The forecast also projects a shrinking of the $2.6 million shortfall anticipated for the following fiscal year to $940,000. That deficit was authorized by the 2007 synod convention to restore planned cuts to Ministerial Education and World Missions.
Driving the encouraging numbers are increases in Congregation Mission Offerings (CMO), offerings individual congregations commit to synod's collective ministry. Through the first seven months of the current fiscal year, synod has received $13.6 million in CMO or $1.4 million greater than the same period last year. Gifts from individuals for the operating budget are up $900,000 compared with the prior year.
Congregations have submitted their CMO subscriptions, or commitments, for calendar year 2008—those numbers are also encouraging. Subscriptions are up 10.5 percent over subscriptions for 2007, but Mr. Todd Poppe, WELS chief financial officer, notes subscriptions are up a more modest 2.1 percent over actual receipts for 2007. Initial subscriptions for 2007 were up 1.4 percent over the previous year—actual receipts turned out 6 percent higher than the previous year. "We pray that God will again lead congregations to exceed their subscriptions in 2008," says Poppe.
To view the complete report for the period ending Jan. 31, 2008—prepared for members of the Conference of Presidents and Synodical Council—go to: www.wels.net/jump/finance
