The Demands of Responsible Stewardship
As I write, April 15 is looming! Since it is tax season, we thought this would be an appropriate time to update you on the Federation budget. As the finance report at the membership meeting was “electronically challenged,” it is even more necessary to put into print some of our financial realities so that as members we can be fiscally responsible.
Understanding the NFCYM Budget Cycle
As most of you are aware even though our budget represents one fiscal year, we always think in terms of two years. The year of our adult conference (NCCYM), we operate with a deficit budget; the year of the youth conference (NCYC), we operate with a “profit” budget. In an ideal world, it is our hope that we are at +$100,000 at the end of this two-year cycle. Even though this has not been the case for the past two cycles, we have operated in the black. That is the good news, and we have reserves to carry us through the times when that may not be the case.
That brings us to this year’s budget process, which is the midway point in our two-year cycle. It appears that we will end this year with a $600,000 deficit. We planned for a $638,000 budget deficit. While NCCYM did realize a profit, it fell short of the anticipated net figure and our publications revenue line is significantly below budget. However, because of good stewardship on the part of staff and board, we were able to pare back on the expense side in order to whittle away at the bottom line.
Significant Challenge Ahead
As you can see this presents us with a significant challenge for this year’s budget. We need to prepare and approve a budget that will cover the $600,000 plus cover this year’s operating expenses. In order to meet this challenge, we are significantly “tightening our belts” and that “we” includes each of us that claims the name “member.” The budget submitted to the NFCYM Board of Directors from the Finance Management Committee (FMC) contains significant cuts. No one—staff, board, management committees, dioceses—will escape feeling this “tightening.” Face to face meetings—including the board spring meeting—will be eliminated; scholarships to NCYC and the NFCYM Annual Membership Meeting will be reduced or eliminated; staff travel and pay increases are affected; our Foundation tithe will be reduced; management committee conference calls will be reduced; and needed office equipment may not be bought—to name a few of the impacts.
During the treasurer’s report at the membership meeting, it was announced that we are stable fiscally and we are because of our reserves. It is the intention of the FMC and the board of directors to approve the above measures first rather than tap into those reserves to any great extent. The good news is that we have these reserves.
What Members Can Do
The other good news is that we—the member dioceses—can positively impact this budget. The most obvious way is through increased registrations for NCYC. With one thousand more youth participants and we would realize $160,000 gain in our bottom line without touching the expense side. As youth ministry leaders we need to constantly remind our constituents of the excellent resources NFCYM has and encourage them to purchase our youth ministry resources and religious recognition programs. The National Association for Catholic Youth Ministry (NACYML) is growing, but there are many youth ministers in our dioceses who are not members. This year NACYML realized a profit of $3,000 and we know that we have only tapped the surface of its potential.
The final piece of good news is that we are confident that this year’s budget is a “stop gap” measure only. We have high hopes for participation at the NCCYM in Las Vegas and we are going to Columbus for the 2007 NCYC which will significantly reduce our facility expenses. With the growth of NACYML and the National Center for Catholic Youth Sports, we are hopeful that our next two-year cycle will see us in that +$100,000 range again.
We ask your patience, your support, and your prayers as the FMC and the NFCYM Board of Directors along with the staff navigate us responsibly through this coming fiscal year.
Email Connections at connections@nfcymoffice.org