Let's Talk Finances
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Disclaimer:
All Angels by the Sea Episcopal Church has retained the services of a third-party, Vanco (an online giving and payment processor), to record and process individual contributions. No credit card payment information (i.e., credit card issuer, credit card number, security code, and/or card expiration date) is recorded, stored and/or maintained by All Angels by the Sea Episcopal Church. |
This is a summary of the work the Vestry and the Finance Committee has been diligently working on before and during the pandemic.
Pledges. We are ten pledges below from where we ended last year. Reminder letters have been sent out. If you have received a letter, or were considering a pledge, it would help us if you could let our Treasurer, Sandy Wood, know of your contribution plans. Her contact information is below.
Year to date giving is less this year than last year at this time. This is not surprising since physical distancing has stopped us from having a robust plate offering during a time when we would have had the highest plate giving of the year.
Despite this, the finance committee and the rector are not concerned. Our first concern is the health of our parishioners and staff. We have established difficult and uncomfortable physical- distancing procedures so that our congregants and staff will not become infected; at least not as a result of our actions. Financially speaking, if any member of our congregation, our leadership team, or our staff, became sick, it would have a direct impact on our financial health. These unprecedented distancing steps have been put into place to keep our folks healthy; and, subsequently, we are helping our financial health too.
As far as pledges, we are not concerned because historically we collect pledge cards through the spring and are on pace similar to last year. But, as far as plate giving goes, yes, we are a little concerned because it is simply an opportunity lost – as it has been for every house of worship during this time. But, this missed opportunity is also a catalyst for innovation. After weeks of careful research, planning and testing, All Angels is now able to have an electronic offertory plate! Click the link here. https://onrealm.org/AllAngelsBySeaE/-/give/now
Giving to the mission of All Angels has never been easier, and, just in time for Easter. Your contribution with a credit card, or your bank – both available at this site – will go directly to All Angels. In the future, this portal will be available to purchase tickets, make an altar flower donation, and to even give directly to outreach events. Although we have received less in our plate as we did last year, we have grown in this opportunity which will pay dividends now and in the future.
There is more good news. We do not qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program through the Federal government and the CARES act. That may not sound like good news, but there is a silver lining to it. According to CARES, the organization seeking funds must certify that 1) the funds are necessary to keep the business open and 2) the funds would go to paychecks for employees who would otherwise be laid off and/or to pay for the mortgage or lease that would otherwise go into default.
The good news is threefold: for years All Angels has been living at, our below, our means; we have no mortgage or lease; and, we have very generous parishioners who support our church financially. Even though we have had a short-term dip in contributions, we remain in a strong financial position. In addition, over the past year, our attendance is climbing. This past Sunday (Palm Sunday), we had 224 people either attend the service on Zoom or watch the service on YouTube. Compare that number to the 150 people who attended the 8 and 10 am service last year. A church rule-of-thumb is this: a rise in attendance precedes a rise in contributions.
Even with physical distancing, our outreach commission continues to do good work and recently sent a $5,000 check to Children First who really needed the money to feed those who depend upon them in the Sarasota area. Outreach still has funds to use for those in need and are working on finding the best way to help others. Despite the pandemic, we have parishioners that continue to volunteer their time to help others; specifically, we have a parishioner who makes cloth masks and is giving them to those who need them and another is volunteering her time to help deliver Meals on Wheels – at a safe distance wearing a mask. Parishioners are calling others just to check-in and say hello. Lastly, our on-line services, discussion groups, and our Bible study are socially bringing parishioners together while remaining physically apart and safe. This is good news indeed.
If you would like to contribute financially to the mission of All Angels, please click on the link below and make a Good Friday/Easter contribution. If you set up your contribution to repeat every month, that will be considered the same as filling out a pledge card. By contributing, I want you to know that you will be a part of the early adopters of our new electronic offering plate and that you are helping us to bring the living Christ to those within and outside the church.
May God bless you this week and in the Easter season.
- Fr. Dave
Link to contribute: https://onrealm.org/AllAngelsBySeaE/-/give/now
Contact Sandy Wood, treasurer, [email protected]
Pledges. We are ten pledges below from where we ended last year. Reminder letters have been sent out. If you have received a letter, or were considering a pledge, it would help us if you could let our Treasurer, Sandy Wood, know of your contribution plans. Her contact information is below.
Year to date giving is less this year than last year at this time. This is not surprising since physical distancing has stopped us from having a robust plate offering during a time when we would have had the highest plate giving of the year.
Despite this, the finance committee and the rector are not concerned. Our first concern is the health of our parishioners and staff. We have established difficult and uncomfortable physical- distancing procedures so that our congregants and staff will not become infected; at least not as a result of our actions. Financially speaking, if any member of our congregation, our leadership team, or our staff, became sick, it would have a direct impact on our financial health. These unprecedented distancing steps have been put into place to keep our folks healthy; and, subsequently, we are helping our financial health too.
As far as pledges, we are not concerned because historically we collect pledge cards through the spring and are on pace similar to last year. But, as far as plate giving goes, yes, we are a little concerned because it is simply an opportunity lost – as it has been for every house of worship during this time. But, this missed opportunity is also a catalyst for innovation. After weeks of careful research, planning and testing, All Angels is now able to have an electronic offertory plate! Click the link here. https://onrealm.org/AllAngelsBySeaE/-/give/now
Giving to the mission of All Angels has never been easier, and, just in time for Easter. Your contribution with a credit card, or your bank – both available at this site – will go directly to All Angels. In the future, this portal will be available to purchase tickets, make an altar flower donation, and to even give directly to outreach events. Although we have received less in our plate as we did last year, we have grown in this opportunity which will pay dividends now and in the future.
There is more good news. We do not qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program through the Federal government and the CARES act. That may not sound like good news, but there is a silver lining to it. According to CARES, the organization seeking funds must certify that 1) the funds are necessary to keep the business open and 2) the funds would go to paychecks for employees who would otherwise be laid off and/or to pay for the mortgage or lease that would otherwise go into default.
The good news is threefold: for years All Angels has been living at, our below, our means; we have no mortgage or lease; and, we have very generous parishioners who support our church financially. Even though we have had a short-term dip in contributions, we remain in a strong financial position. In addition, over the past year, our attendance is climbing. This past Sunday (Palm Sunday), we had 224 people either attend the service on Zoom or watch the service on YouTube. Compare that number to the 150 people who attended the 8 and 10 am service last year. A church rule-of-thumb is this: a rise in attendance precedes a rise in contributions.
Even with physical distancing, our outreach commission continues to do good work and recently sent a $5,000 check to Children First who really needed the money to feed those who depend upon them in the Sarasota area. Outreach still has funds to use for those in need and are working on finding the best way to help others. Despite the pandemic, we have parishioners that continue to volunteer their time to help others; specifically, we have a parishioner who makes cloth masks and is giving them to those who need them and another is volunteering her time to help deliver Meals on Wheels – at a safe distance wearing a mask. Parishioners are calling others just to check-in and say hello. Lastly, our on-line services, discussion groups, and our Bible study are socially bringing parishioners together while remaining physically apart and safe. This is good news indeed.
If you would like to contribute financially to the mission of All Angels, please click on the link below and make a Good Friday/Easter contribution. If you set up your contribution to repeat every month, that will be considered the same as filling out a pledge card. By contributing, I want you to know that you will be a part of the early adopters of our new electronic offering plate and that you are helping us to bring the living Christ to those within and outside the church.
May God bless you this week and in the Easter season.
- Fr. Dave
Link to contribute: https://onrealm.org/AllAngelsBySeaE/-/give/now
Contact Sandy Wood, treasurer, [email protected]