Steve Klimkowski, chief financial officer of the Evangelical Covenant Church, told delegates to the 2021 Annual Meeting that the denomination did better financially than expected during the Covid-19 pandemic yet still sustained a significant budget deficit.
When the pandemic hit, the fiscal year 2020 budget was revised to project a budget shortfall of between $2 million and $2.75 million. Actual performance surpassed those revised projections with a budget shortfall of $1.71 million, Klimkowski said.
The denomination received a $1.776 CARES Act PPP loan during 2020, which Klimkowski said he expects to be forgiven, thus covering the shortfall.
Three factors contributed to the better-than-expected results, Klimkowski said: the strong performance of the stock market, generous giving that remained steady, and measures that reduced expenses by $991,000, or 7.2 percent, versus the same period in 2019.
Due to the change in 2020 that adjusted the Covenant’s fiscal year to end September 30, fiscal year 2020 was shortened to an eight-month period.
Klimkowski also reported that the resilient stock market enabled the Covenant Pension Plan to be fully funded.
Investments under management by Covenant Trust Company grew by 6.5 percent to $1.1 billion. It holds another $986.6 million for which it provides accounting and performance reports.
