May 2011
Capin Crouse, one of the nationís most respected church audit firms, has completed the audit of our 2010 financial statements. We are very pleased to announce that the auditorís report was clean and the management letter included helpful recommendations to improve our financial procedures. We had a blessed 2010 in which we ended the year exceeding our budgeted general fund contributions. We had budgeted to receive $1.52 million in contributions and received just over $1.72 million. Given the changes in the economy, we feel very blessed to have experienced this level of support from our congregation. During 2010, our preschool ran at near capacity for the entire year and we are very pleased to report that it contributed over $220,000 in operating cash.We are well into 2011 and continue to see Godís hand of favor on our church! As we look toward the balance of this year, we appreciate our many blessings but are aware of the financial challenges in so many lives, especially now. Our goal is to faithfully implement our vision, mission and values with every resource available to us. We are continuously blessed by the generosity, creativity, industry and initiative of our members and friends. Here is an update of where we are:
Operating Expenses and Revenues
We have completed our 2011 forecast for operating expenses and revenues. Your staff and Board of Trustees have worked hard to hold costs down while at the same time trying to increase our range of services.
We budgeted our 2011 contributions to the General Operating Fund to be $1.52 million to support our operating expenses (including current programs) and begin 2012 with sufficient cash reserves. This is the same level of giving that we had established for 2010. We also project that our preschool will have another strong year. We are prayerful that the increase in our membership will be able to help offset the downturn in the economy that has affected so many of you.
For the three months ending March 31, 2011 we budgeted to receive $307,000 in General Fund contributions. We are tracking close to budget for these three months. We thank you for your generous support of La Jolla Community Church. Our budgeted contributions is based on the past 3 years of historical giving data and is our best tool for trying to monitor giving levels.
Currently our mortgage expense represents 32% of our total projected 2011 expenditures. We are attempting to renegotiate our mortgages to combine them and try to decrease those expenses. Our refinance position has been strengthened now that we have five years of audited financials. However, key to these negotiations will be proof of steady and sustainable contributions.
Capital Campaign
We completed our first capital campaign in September of 2010 and thank all who participated. The funds raised during the capital campaign allowed us to make some much needed improvements to the property and to the preschool also home of our children's ministries. The improvements to the preschool have allowed us to maintain a high enrollment rate and have increased the operational revenue of the preschool. Even though we fell short of our budgeted capital campaign contributions we were still able to complete the payoff of the $350,000 bridge loan in January of 2011.We are so very blessed to be given the opportunity to join together to meet the challenges of building a church family that will bring many into a personal, living relationship with our Lord, and to support them as they fulfill God's will for their lives. The Board of Trustees continues its utmost efforts to be good stewards with all you have entrusted to LJCC. We thank you for your faithful giving and welcome your prayers.
Jason Gabsch,
CFO, La Jolla Community Church