$2.2 million deficit in 2010
Reserves tapped to balance mission budget
By Paula R. Kincaid, The Layman, September 29, 2009
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The General Assembly Mission Council (GAMC) has revised its 2010 mission budget to “live in the reality of what we have to spend,” according to Joey Bailey, deputy executive director for shared services for the Presbyterian Church (USA).
The total revised 2010 mission budget is $101,141,077, which includes $26,008,082 in unrestricted funds and $75,132,995 in restricted funds. It is $5.76 million less than the original budget and a total of $2,215,000 will be needed from reserve funds to balance it.
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“We are also living into the current reality of the economic situation,” he said.
In his Sept. 24 report to the GAMC, Bailey said that the denomination is having a “hard time” receiving funds from churches and presbyteries. He cited decreases in shared and direct mission support and in special offerings.
Bailey also mentioned that funds from endowments at the Presbyterian Foundation also have been decreased because of the market drop.
“We could use some more endowments,” he said. Most funds for endowments were given in the World War II era, Bailey said “and they are running out.”
As part of its action to balance the 2010 budget, the GAMC decided to take an extra $215,000 from its reserve fund, technically known as the Presbyterian Mission Program Fund (PMPF). When the 2009-2010 mission budgets were approved by the 2008 General Assembly, the original draw down of reserve funds needed to balance the budget was $2 million. Bailey said that by adding the extra money to the original amount, no staff would have to be cut, and the denomination would still be $4.12 million above the minimum amount of $8.4 million required by law.
Bailey said that the biggest change in the budget was in the area of Compassion, Peace and Justice from $24 million to $17 million. He attributed the $6.8 million difference to the planned expenditures in the Hurricane Katrina funds by the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA).
Sarah Lisherness, director of the Compassion, Peace and Justice, reminded the GAMC that PDA received more than $24 million in donations for the Hurricane Katrina Fund. She said that PDA committed to a long-term recovery work, so it scheduled payment of those funds over a five-year period.
“In 2011 all funds will be gone” and the PDA will stop its Gulf Coast recovery work, she said. “When you have $24 million and you spend it down, unfortunately you don’t have $24 million anymore.”’
Earlier report to executive committee
During a GAMC’s executive committee meeting on Sept. 23, Bailey said for August shared and directed mission were down “fairly significant numbers. …The economy has made presbyteries and churches hold on to the money longer.” As far as special offerings, Bailey said “we were down in July about a quarter of a million more than we are now.”
On the expenditures side, Bailey said that staff was working to hold down expenses. “Just because it is budgeted, we don’t have to spend it.”
Some other changes to the 2010 budget included:
- Reducing the travel budget to 15 percent.
- No salary increases in 2010.
- Reducing postage budget by 10 percent.
- Evangelism and church growth mission program grants reduced by $350,000.