By Lisa Arbelaez, Chairperson for Stewardship Committee
Glen Mar Funding Campaign Progress Report
The Stewardship Committee would like to summarize the results to date for Glen Mar’s annual campaign to fund our operating budget and triennial campaign to fund mortgage payments for our facility. Our income projection includes all Estimates of Giving, ongoing EFT payments, and historical trends in un-pledged giving.
First, some encouraging news. Estimates of Giving increased an average of 11% per giver for the Operating Fund and 14% per giver for the Capital Fund. In addition, during July we have already seen a similar increase in un-pledged gifts. On top of that, we collected over 100 pounds of change in July. We may continue that giving opportunity, since it seems to be popular. Also, the promised advanced gifts to reduce the balance of our smaller loan have been received, which will allow us to retire that loan before the end of this 3-year campaign period once regular monthly payments are made.
Projected income for the General Operating Fund totals just over $1.5 million. This meets the minimum goal we had set to continue operating our missions and ministries at current levels. We had set a stretch goal of $1.7 million, which would allow us to restore some cuts that had been made to the budget during the pandemic, and would also enable salary increases for our staff, who have not seen an increase in four years. At current anticipated giving levels, those goals are at risk.
Projected income for the Capital Fund currently falls around $101,000 short of our $1.9 million goal. $1.9 million is the amount needed to make all monthly payments over the 3-year period for the larger loan, and the remaining payments required to fully retire the smaller loan before the end of the campaign period. While Stewardship will continue to look for ways to increase income for this fund, your continued giving is crucial here.
Glen Mar is blessed with a faithful and generous congregation. We rely on all your giving, whether or not an Estimate of Giving was submitted. Un-pledged gifts make up nearly a third of our annual operating budget and a significant proportion of our Capital Fund needs. We thank God for each of you, for your faithfulness and generosity.
As you can see through this summary, the answer to the question, “Are we there yet?” is “Not quite.” If you have not submitted an Estimate of Giving, you can help ensure our ability to continue God’s work by submitting one at any time. If you have not been giving regularly and can step up your commitment, that would be greatly appreciated.
