Education for Church Managers
Thank you for your ongoing support of the Church Management Academy! We look forward to continuing to bring new content to our readers in 2024. If there is something you would like to read more about on these pages in 2024, let us know at ChurchManagementAcademy@gmail.com. May this year be blessed!
Thank you for being a follower of this blog, for your support, and for all that you do to make the Academy what it is today. Thanksgiving reminds me yet again reflect on how grateful I am for all of you.
In celebration of Thanksgiving, I have been thinking about the art of the thank you note!
I truly believe you can’t say thank you enough. Some people tell me they don’t agree. But I go back to what my mom taught me as a little boy. She would say, “When you offer thanks, it is letting people know that YOU care.”
No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks. – St. Ambrose
For church donors, a thank you note is an acknowledgment of generosity of someone’s time, treasure, and talent – and in some cases, their love! People have taken time to give, to offer, and to provide. We should let them know we appreciate what they’ve done. “Oh, no need to thank me.” But it is not about need or reciprocation, it is about an acknowledgement. You care enough to say thank you.
Do everything for the love of God and His glory without looking at the outcome of the undertaking. Work is judged, not by its result, but by its intention.
– Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
I don’t know about you, but I have procrastinated at times writing thank you notes. Not because I don’t want to write a thank you note, but sometimes, in an effort for the note to be “perfect,” I wait until the perfect time to write. Instead, write the note promptly, get it done, it will be appreciated.
Tell a story, let people know how you feel about their gift or donation.
Write what is true for you. I don’t think you can mess up a thank you.
Like all things, practice makes perfect.
As many of you know, I have a deep love for St. Francis DeSales and his practical wisdom. I love this quote:
You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working; and just so you learn to love God and man by loving. Begin as a mere apprentice and the very power of love will lead you on to become a master of the art. – St. Francis De Sales
I’d like to add to the quote, and I think St. Francis would agree wholeheartedly, to give thanks by thanking!
May your Thanksgiving be wonderful!
In gratitude,
Michael Castrilli
Here are some good blog posts about saying thank you to donors:
I would love to hear from you as to how you thank those who support your church, your work, your ministry! Contact me!
Were you able to sleep in today? Did you arrive at church an hour early?
What does this have to do with church budgets? Good question! The answer is that church budget forecasts are impacted by events like the changing of the clocks for Daylight Saving Time. Most notably in the Fall, have you ever had someone say, “Gosh, I forgot to set my clock back and I woke up an hour later and missed Mass!” As we all know, the time change always occurs on a Sunday.
Have you ever noticed if your collections go down by a certain percentage in the Fall because people are more likely to miss Mass?
The point is that when you are creating revenue projections for the next year, like forecasting collections, note which Sundays have special circumstances surrounding them. For example, does New Years Day fall on a Sunday? Have you accounted for the cash flow impact when Easter is early (March) or late (April)? Is the Pope visiting? Is it an El Nino or La Nina weather forecast (just kidding)?
The budget is impacted by a wide variety of other circumstances as well. This summer, I wrote a blog post titled, Beachgoers, Snowbirds, and Church Budgets. The post explored the wide variety of factors that may impact a church budget like weather, holidays, holydays, or even accounting for the migration of the northeast snowbirds (like my parents)! These factors call all wreak havoc, or create harmony (with an influx of cash) on church budgets. Without repeating all of the content on my summer post, click here to read more!
Budget Action Step: Review the past year and understand what has impacted your church budget. You may find that your budget is highly-sensitive to a variety of special circumstances – or maybe not sensitive at all. The bottom line is that if you have never checked, you may never know. This type of analysis can provide you the information and insight you need to prepare the budget in the best way possible!
Happy Halloween! Tomorrow, November 1, let’s turn from the darkness of Halloween to the light of All Saints.
The Academy presents, Church Finance 30/30: 30 Tips for 30 Days! Hmm, intrigued? Check back every day at www.ChurchManagementAcademy.com/blog.
Is your church impacted by seasonality? An example is a parish in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Holy Redeemer by the Sea. From Memorial Day through Labor Day the church has an increase of 75% of people coming through their doors for Sunday mass. In the winter months, parish attendance declines and then Easter Sunday brings the people back into the pews! The fact is that seasonality and other special circumstances can wreak havoc on church budgets. (As a side note, if you ever find yourself in the Outer Banks, Holy Redeemer is awesome!)
As you create the budget, there are some factors that you’ll want to consider. These factors can be positive, negative, or both as it relates to the amount of money coming into your parish or the expenses you’ll pay. Understanding whether these factors influence your parish can serve to inform you as you develop income and expense estimates for the church. Some are one-time occurrences (events), and others may be ongoing (seasonal adjustments) regarding their impact. Remember, information is power!
Snowstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and other weather related events impact the church budget. The emotional, spiritual, and financial toll these events cause can be enormous. At the same time, regions can prepare and even plan for the likelihood that weather will play a roll in the impact on the parish community. The average snowfall in Syracuse, New York is 124 inches. However, like other upstate New York cities that face similar snowfall amounts (i.e. Dioceses of Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, New York), they will want to prepare their budget keeping this type of weather in mind. For example, additional spending may be needed for the cost of plowing the church parking lot, the purchase of snow melt/salt for slippery sidewalks and high heating bills to keep the church warm will all be factors in the budget.
For parishes that are located by the ocean and adversely affected by less frequent but possibly larger scale events (tropical storms, hurricanes, flooding) a church will want to prepare for these types of events as well. The goal of planning for weather events is to determine the likelihood that an event will impact the parish and then determine the scope to which it will impact the budget.
The term “snowbirds” is the affectionate term used by many to describe the large numbers of people that travel from the northeastern states (New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania) to the southeastern states (Florida, George, South Carolina) seeking warmer weather during the cold winter months. Both regions are affected. The loss of the parishioners in the north means swelling church communities in the south. Cities like Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Tampa see significant increases in daily and Sunday liturgies.
Events in the local and regional community can also cause large fluctuations in the number of parishioners attending services. For example, when Pope Francis came to the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in September 2015, the event drew over 2 million visitors to the region. Mass attendance grew at local parishes as some visitors came before the visit and some tourists stayed in the area after the Pope had left. No doubt that Philadelphia’s Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul saw an increase in collections during those weeks.
It’s apparent to church members that holydays will affect church attendance, but what about the special circumstances when holidays and holydays collide with one another? For example, if December 25 falls on a Friday or Saturday, do church members tend to go to Mass again on Sunday? Does July 4th occur on a Sunday and many parishioners go on vacation for the weekend? Sometimes national or local holidays will affect church attendance. It is important to be aware of these factors as you create your budget assumptions.
When developing the budget, review the list above and determine, “Will any of these factors impact our parish income and expenses? Are there other special circumstances?” Next, build these factors into your budget, create assumptions, forecast impacts on income and expenses, and develop a concise narrative.
As you continue your journey to developing a realistic budget, remember, you don’t need to implement every recommendation written on this church finance blog all at once! Any step you take towards ensuring that your budget is reflective of your situation will yield results. Take it one step at a time!
