Expenses come in under budget, fundraising exceeds goals
By Connie Faber
USMB finished its 2013 fiscal year with a strong positive balance of $34,889 and is moving forward in 2014 with its full slate of ministry opportunities.
USMB is in the process of shifting from a June 1 to May 31 fiscal year to a calendar fiscal year. As part of this process, the national conference had a seven-month fiscal period that concluded Dec. 31, 2013. Preliminary financial reports were released Jan. 31, and a final audit of this abbreviated fiscal year will be completed later this spring.
On the expense side, the preliminary report shows that expenses came in under budget by $32,000; expenses for the seven-month period had been budgeted at $486,377. This contributed to the positive operating budget.
Income for USMB comes primarily from two sources: church contributions and donations from individuals.
Church giving for the seven-month transition period was budgeted at $254,000. Although church giving was strong in December, overall church contributions fell short of the goal by $34,870.
Donations from individuals are becoming a key source of USMB funding, particularly for church planting projects. 2013 marked the second year of an ambitious 10-year goal to annually plant six churches in the United States. Mission USA, the USMB church planting and church renewal ministry, is leading this effort.
USMB staff hoped to raise $183,525 from individuals during the abbreviated 2013 fiscal year. When all was said and done, USMB executive director Ed Boschman and Mission USA director Don Morris raised $271,657.
Thanks to this surplus, earlier this month the USMB Leadership Board increased by $50,000 the 2014 church planting budget.
“We are pleased to be able to reassure our partner districts and specifically their district ministers and church planting boards that we can move ahead with passion and confidence,” said Steve Schroeder, Leadership Board chair, in an earlier announcement concerning the 2013 fiscal year. “We are deeply thankful that significant fund raising efforts by both Don and Ed resulted in generosity by God's people and partner churches.”
PHOTO: Funding new church plants is a USMB priority for the next decade and Plant 2014, a church planting fundraising event held in Wichita, Kan., is among the efforts organized by USMB staff to raise the needed funds.
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