Church Finances
There are two words we use to describe the financial base upon which West Shore Church rests and operates: “generosity” and “transparency.”
West Shore Church relies on the generosity of its members, friends, and legacy members who live on among us through their bequests. Two – thirds of our annual Operating Budget support comes from the annual pledged gifts of our current members and friends. One sixth of the budget comes from income from legacy bequests left to us by our members over the last half century. The remaining one-sixth comes from income we receive from various fees for services (primarily rentals) and unpledged gifts and grants of varying types.
The Operating Budget is created after an annual Canvass of all members and friends for pledge predictions of what they will be giving the church during the upcoming fiscal year. Our Canvass is held in the late winter and early spring of the year and our fiscal year is July 1- June 30. The Minister prepares the draft budget for the Finance Committee, which sends its recommendations on to the Board. Our bylaws require a balanced budget. The amount pledged in the Canvass is the major determinant of the church’s staffing and programs for the year ahead.
Our Canvass is an annual opportunity for us to engage with the importance of generosity as a spiritual practice. The decisions we make about how we use of our resources of treasure, time, and talent are a significant part of living a UU religious life. We encourage our members and friends to consider committing five per cent of their income to church giving and more to giving outside the church.
Our finances are as transparent as possible. Once the budget is approved by the Board, a summary of the approved budget is made available at our annual meeting in June and posted on this web site as a pdf. Spending is tracked by the staff and reported monthly to the Finance Committee. The detailed quarterly reports of budget spending that are given to the Board of Trustees are also posted on the Board’s bulletin board in the west hallway.
Our budget and spending are public information and you can request copies of recent reports at any time from the church office. Compensation details for all staff are included in these reports.
Certain funds are tracked off-budget because the donor has requested this, or because some committees and groups in the church ask the church to hold finds they use in trust.
West Shore Church has invested funds with various managers. We are currently building the monthly mortgage payment for our new building renovation into the operating budget and relying on unrestricted invested funds and legacy bequests to carry the mortgage until our annual giving is able to absorb this entire cost.