Christina Jackson-Skelton has served as ELCA treasurer since February 2002. She will begin a new position as executive director for the Mission Advancement unit on Sept. 1.
“Since I last addressed the assembly, we have gone through a difficult financial period for this church, but I am pleased to begin by reporting that the churchwide organization completed fiscal years 2009 and 2010 with revenue exceeding expense in its current budgeted operations,” she shared with the Churchwide Assembly.
As part of her report, Christina shared slides that contained condensed highlights of financial results. Here’s some highlights of the treasurer’s report:
Total revenue available for current operations decreased from $76.5 million in 2009 to $66.8 million in 2010 – a negative variance of $9.8 million or 12.8 percent, she said.
Operating expenses of approximately $64.2 million in 2010 reflect a decrease of $8.4 million from 2009. These expenses were favorable to the operating budget in both years, meaning expenses were kept within the approved spending level.
“Revenue minus expense resulted in a positive variance of approximately $3.9 million in 2009 and $2.6 million in 2010. Net revenue in excess of expense – a positive bottom line – is important to us financially because it maintains cash reserves, assures sufficient liquidity and covers capital expenditure needs. Careful budgeting, contingency planning and controlled spending have been essential over the past three years in order to maintain a positive balance of income to expense,” she said.
Mission support income – the unrestricted income from congregations through synods to the churchwide organization – declined from $59.7 million in 2009 to $52.6 million in 2010, a negative variance of $7.1 million or 11.8 percent.
“Mission support is the foundation upon which the churchwide operating budget is built, representing almost 80 percent of total current fund revenue in any given year,” she said.
All other categories of revenue, representing the remaining 20 percent of total revenue available for current operations, decreased from $16.8 million in 2009 to $14.1 million in 2010.
A pie chart on revenue illustrated that the percentage of income received in 2010 by major source featured that mission support represented approximately 79 percent of current revenue available for budgeted expenses in 2010. Other major sources of current revenue included missionary sponsorship, endowment distributions, bequests and trust income, Vision for Mission appeal, the Mission Investment Fund, grants, investment income and other.
Following four years of consecutive increases in ELCA World Hunger (which is not part of the current operating revenue and expense), 2009 and 2010 income was down, with 2010 closing at $17.7 million, a decrease of $1.8 million from 2009. “Some of the prior increases were driven by extraordinarily high levels of gifts from bequests and trusts for ELCA World Hunger – beyond what would be considered a sustainable budget level,” Christina said.
With ELCA World Hunger income down in the first three quarters of 2010 and critical program support at risk, a call went out to church leaders and through ELCA networks and you, the church, responded, resulting in all-time best for December ELCA World Hunger income, so that the year closed down, but considerably better than earlier projections with vital program support protected, the treasurer said.
