It’s been a long year of financial uncertainty for most of us, whether we’re talking about our individual households, our businesses or the non-profit organizations we support. Thankfully, due to some generous and unexpected donations from BUUF members and friends, our fellowship has so far weathered the crisis.
62 voting members pledged to donate $41,000 for the current budget year (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021). To date BUUF has received almost $33,000 (or 80%) of pledged income. Thank you, BUUFers, for working hard to fulfill your pledge despite an uncertain economy.
Our fellowship has also benefitted from some unexpected and much appreciated donations:
- One especially generous BUUFer donated $7,000 toward member and RE gift bags, tech support needs, our music program and social justice activities
- Various individuals, including friends of the Gilpins who do not attend our fellowship, generously donated several hundred dollars for the soup kitchen
- Other BUUFers have donated various amounts (beyond their pledge) toward general fellowship expenses or specific needs like parking lot repair, Zoom licenses, our caring fund and new A/V equipment
- Newer BUUFers and BUUF friends have made several unpledged donations
These amounts do not include the many in-kind donations for activities like janitorial services, bookkeeping services, building and grounds maintenance, music production, technical services and religious education. These in-kind donations have saved our fellowship thousands of dollars!
Due to conducting nearly all our services and events online, we saved on some expenses but accrued other unanticipated expenses. For example, we saved $1,700 on childcare expenses and a few hundred dollars on utilities. On the other hand, we had higher soup kitchen expenses due to new meal preparation requirements. We purchased a new large screen monitor and portable speaker to facilitate hybrid services down the road. We needed to replace both our printer and water heater. We also hired a tech support person (Martin Hutchinson) to edit music videos and run our Zoom services. We twice delivered gift bags to members and also delivered monthly RE kits to children. And we used our caring fund to help members in financial distress.
Here’s a summary of our income and expenses to date, thanks to the meticulous records maintained by our volunteer bookkeeper Dorothy Long and treasurer Dave Sarra.
Income YTD
| Pledged Donations | $32,670 |
| Unpledged Donations | $10,383 |
| Caring Fund Donations | $200 |
| Fundraising | $210 |
| Music Director Grant | $2,600 |
| Endowment Income (General Fund) | $4,004 |
| Endowment Income (Social Justice) | $2,000 |
| Rental Income | $2,400 |
| Miscellaneous (interest, dividends, etc.) | $113 |
| In-Kind Donations | $4,596* |
| TOTAL INCOME YTD | $59,175 |
* Includes a $1,760 special donation carried over from the 2019-2020 fiscal year
Expenses YTD
| Soup Kitchen | $1,048 |
| Utilities | $2,111 |
| Pastoral Services | $7,860 |
| Religious Education Services / Supplies | $6,305 |
| Administrative Support | $6,045 |
| Tech Support | $1,470 |
| Music | $4,695 |
| Sunday Service Guest Speakers | $930 |
| Office Supplies (including new printer) | $559 |
| Building Equipment and Repairs | $1,553 |
| Snow Plowing | $350 |
| Caring Fund Distributions | $831 |
| Miscellaneous (fees, taxes, building supplies, insurance, gift bags, training, etc.) | $3,178 |
| In-Kind Services | $2,807 |
| TOTAL EXPENSES YTD | $39,742 |
This is the first time in years we are anticipating a possible surplus, pending additional expenses through the end of June. Any surplus will help greatly as we work to build up our operating fund and make plans for future anticipated expenses, such as a new HVAC system, parking lot repairs, upgrades to our building and grounds, expanded social justice activities, progress toward equitable staff compensation, and the possible construction of a covered pavilion. Many of these items were rated highly popular in our recent strategic planning survey.
Stay tuned for details from BUUF’s board on our rapidly developing 5-year strategic plan and arrangements for our annual meeting in June. BUUF has accomplished great work within our fellowship and in the greater community throughout the past year, thanks to numerous generous donations of time, talent and treasure. Please continue to fulfill any remaining pledge amounts through June 30th, and the board will provide an updated financial statement at the annual meeting. Thanks to all as we look forward to an even more exciting and impactful year ahead!
