A narrated PowerPoint presentation of the 2021 operating budget for the Evangelical Covenant Church is posted online, available here.
The operating budget represents the ongoing activities of the core mission priorities and mission support teams of the denomination. Because the 2020 Annual Meeting was canceled as a result of Covid-19, the Executive Board acted on behalf of the Covenant Church as called for in the denomination’s bylaws.
The board approved changing the Covenant’s annual fiscal year end from January 31 to September 30.
The $17.5 million budget is “a sizable reduction from the budgets of the last three fiscal years,” says Steve Klimkowski, chief financial officer. He added that the coronavirus pandemic had made it more difficult to produce a forward-looking budget.
The budget is more than $2 million reduction from the 2020 budget and $2.5 million down from what was actually spent in 2019.
The 2021 budget significantly reduces recent reliance on reserve draws. It is the first in five years in which spending growth is less than the growth in giving. The Executive Board passed a resolution calling on the budget to be balanced by 2024.
Operating Budget Expenses
Start & Strengthen Churches – $2.9 million
Make and Deepen Disciples – $858,000
Develop Leaders – $922,000
Love Mercy Do Justice – $675,172
Serve Globally – $5.7 million
Communications – $1.25 million
Shared services – $3.95 million
North Park University support – $1 million
Other – $250,000
TOTAL Expenses – $17.5 million
Projected Sources of Income
Local church giving – $8.15 million
Individual donor support – $2.6 million
Affiliate fand ministry Investment – $4.2 million
Living Legacy Funds draw – $686,669
Annual bequests draw – $818,000
Miscellaneous income – $50,000
Communication sales – $340,000
Rental income – $111,209
Reserves contribution – $574,173
TOTAL Income – $17.5 million
