January 2010
Financial Update
Dear Church Member,
This is a year-end
report from your Committee for Stewardship and Finance at First
Church and, as is sometimes the case, there is good news… and
not-quite-so-good news.
We are pleased to report
that 48% of our faith promises have been contributed during the
first fifteen months of our three-year
Capital Fund Campaign. This remarkable response, especially
in light of a struggling economy, has resulted in a near record
year of stewardship.
We also received
excellent support for our benevolence projects at home and
overseas with gifts totaling more than $134,000 in 2009.
Unfortunately, not every
facet of our financial picture is as rosy. For the first time in
many years, our gifts to cover our operating expenses were
considerably behind the previous year. And the reason we have
not been in more financial trouble is the fact that we began
2009 with a comfortable surplus in our General Fund.
With continuing Capital
Funds commitments and the aforementioned economic woes, you can
understand our Committee’s deep concern as we tried to formulate
a 2010 plan for funding Ministry. After hours of deliberation,
we came to the conclusion that we had no choice but to request
significant reductions in the proposed 2010 Spending Plan
requests for Administration, Trustees and Ministry programs. In
addition to these unpleasant measures, our Pastors asked the
Staff-Parish Relations Committee to reduce their salaries
appreciably and this unselfish gesture enabled us to maintain
the same rate of pay for our other staff members.
The 2010 Spending
Plan projects total disbursements of $755,245, which are 6%
less than our total operating expenses in 2009. This plan was
approved by the Church Council on December 15th with
the abiding hope that our stewardship in 2010 will permit us to
restore some, or all, of the Spending Plan cuts. We will
continue to closely monitor our weekly offerings to see if that
is possible.
A copy of the 2010
Spending Plan and this letter was included with the record
of church contributions sent to each member in January 2010. If
you have any questions concerning this statement or would like
further details on our finances, please call our Financial
Manager, John
Fisher at 533-9668.
As always, we are
grateful for the way in which God called you to support His work
at First Church. Our congregation has always responded when we
have been faced with a need. As we begin the New Year, our
financial challenge is to increase our support for operating
expenses and still maintain the momentum in our Capital Fund
Campaign and the continuance of our excellent program of
Benevolences. Will you be able to help us meet this need?
Sincerely,
Committee for Stewardship and Finance
Download the
letter, January 2010 Financial Update (pdf).
Electronic
Giving
Recent Giving
Trends
Electronic giving has greatly improved the cash flow in
the General Fund account since it was first implemented in 2005.
You will like the convenience and time savings associated
with electronic giving and it smoothes the church's cash flow
especially over the summer months.
How
Electronic Giving Works
The service is called ELECTRONIC GIVING or Electronic Funds
Transfer (EFT). It is
administered by Vanco
Services Inc., and recommended by the General
Council on Finance and Administration of the United Methodist
Church.
To begin using this service you must complete an
EFT
Authorization Agreement Form (must install the free Adobe
Reader
to view form) and provide a “VOIDED” check. The authorization form and the voided check will be retained
at the church office and the information you provide will be
uploaded to Vanco, via their secure website.
On the date you specify (weekly, monthly, or semi-monthly)
Vanco will electronically transfer your contribution from your
account to the church’s checking account.
When the funds have been transferred, Vanco will send a
report to the finance office via e-mail.
The finance office will enter the information into the
Record of Contributions file in our computer.
The date and amount transferred will appear on your monthly
bank statement, and the information will be included in your
annual Contributions Statement.
There are several advantages to Electronic Giving:
-
You
save time by eliminating the need to write checks.
-
The
service is safer than writing checks or depositing cash since
the transfers are made electronically, eliminating the chance
they could be lost, stolen or misdirected.
-
The church’s year-around cash-flow will be more
consistent, since your contribution will be made at the time
you designated, regardless of vacation, weather conditions, or
any other reason which might
prevent you from attending on any given Sunday.
Some people have asked, “What will I do when the offering
plate is passed to me?” When
you sign up for the service we will be glad to supply small cards
that read “I Give Electronically”, which may be placed in the
offering plate.
As has always been the case, your family’s commitment to
financial support at First Church is a personal matter between you
and God. The
congregation has been most generous in making these commitments
and fulfilling them through the use of the offering envelopes you
receive each month in the mail. This will continue to be the
primary vehicle for contributions. Now we are offering an alternative method for giving, a
modern service that fits the lifestyle of many of our members.
Signing Up
For Electronic Giving
If
Electronic Giving seems right for you, please print an
EFT
Authorization Agreement Form (Must install the free Adobe
Reader
to view form) or pick one up at
the Welcome Center or church office. Complete
the agreement, attach a voided
check or savings deposit slip, and return it to the office.
Deductions from your account will begin on the date you
specify. You may stop this service at any time by contacting the
church office and you may make changes by submitting a new EFT Authorization
Agreement Form. If you have any questions, please contact
me via e-mail
or at 717-533-9668 x107.
Reimbursement
Voucher
If you are a church member seeking reimbursement for
ministry expenses, print this
Voucher
Form (must install the free Adobe
Reader
to view form) and submit it to John Fisher via the church
office. If you have any questions,
contact
John via e-mail
or at 717-533-9668 x107.
Note - In response to our church audit, checks will be
signed/issued on the 10th, 20th, and 30th
of each month. Vouchers may be turned in anytime.
Fundraising
and Collection Application Form
You
may download and print the
Fundraising
and Collection Application Form and return it to the Church Office or Larry Grunden.
The form is also available at
the Welcome Center and Church Office.
To: All First
United Methodist Church of Hershey Leaders
In light of
increased fundraising activities by various program groups in
our church, concern has been expressed for the need of more
communication and coordination for these activities. Therefore,
by consensus of the Church Council, it was agreed that all
church program fundraising plans should be brought to the Church
Council prior to any promotion of the fundraising event. The
intent of this decision is not to limit fundraising activities,
but to facilitate planning and coordination among all groups.
The process for fundraising event approval is:
- The program leader desiring to do a fundraiser must provide
details to the Ministry Area Director who represents the
ministry area at Church Council.
- The Ministry Area Director must contact the Facilities
Manager for availability of space (rooms, narthex, parking
lot, etc.)
- The Ministry Area Director will advise the Church
Council of the plan.
- Potential conflicts with other ministry areas and timing of
activities will be identified and the affected program groups
will be expected to work through the issues before proceeding
with the fundraiser.
In all fundraising events, three important points must be
stressed:
- After a fundraiser event has been presented to Church
Council and any conflicts resolved, announcements may be
placed in Sunday bulletins, the PULSE, and other forms of
communications.
- Any giving should be over and above the regular church tithe.
- There are many opportunities to give, so individuals may
choose which fundraising events they wish to support.
A few reminders:
- These procedures are not new and have been in effect since
November 2005.
- Church Council meets on the third Tuesday of the month. Please
complete the
Fundraising
and Collection Application Form and forward it to your Ministry Area
Coordinator prior to this meeting. (Two months notice would be
best.)
- All fundraising events brought before Church Council can be
added to the next available PULSE. (Notification for the PULSE
is required by the 2nd Sunday of the month.)
For more
information, contact
any member of
Church Council or Lay Leader
Larry Grunden.
FUMC-Hershey Endowment
Did you know that our church
now has an endowment managed by The Hershey Trust? Comprised of
several smaller gifts and other funds set aside over the years,
the earnings from this endowment will be used to support 1)
Mission Projects, 2) Building and Equipment Projects and
Maintenance, and 3) Special Needs as determined by Church
Council that cannot be supported by the operations budget.
The proceeds of this Endowment
Fund will support our church’s programs in perpetuity. If we
build the principal of this fund, the future strength of FUMC-Hershey
will be assured. You can help by placing a bequest to your
church in your will, trust or insurance program. You can also
contribute real estate, stocks and bonds, IRAs, or charitable
gift annuities.
If you are interested in
learning more about how to make a gift to the Endowment Fund of
First Church, discuss it with your financial advisor and/or
contact Pastor Atanasoff for more information. Several lay
members of the Church (Harry Heath, Reath Edwards, Larry Grunden,
and Tim Curry) have also volunteered to counsel interested
donors, so feel free to contact any one of them.
Property
Donation Form
You
may now download and print the
Property
Donation Form and return it to the Church Office. The form is also available at
the Church Office.
Read
the
Notice
from the Trustees about the property donation process:
Our
Church is very fortunate to have such giving members. In
addition to financial giving, members often find themselves in a
position of having personal property that they no longer need and
would like to donate to the Church. Some recent donations include
a large screen TV and an air hockey table. The Church certainly
appreciates these useful gifts and we encourage it. We have
instituted a procedure for making this type of giving a little
more formal. We have developed a "Property Donation
Form" that can be obtained from the Church office or by
clicking
here. This form
will help to insure these donations are added to the property
inventory (for insurance purposes), and will help to ensure the
property can, and will be utilized. The form will also help
to ensure that the donor is recognized (if desired). Please call
the Church office at 533-9668 or
click
here to obtain a copy of the form. Thank you for your
cooperation and giving spirit.
Our
Virtual Bookstore
Our church has partnered with
Cokesbury to launch a virtual bookstore that will enable our
members to have quick and easy online access to the finest in
books, Bibles, music, software, and church supplies. Members also
can receive a 20% discount on many of Cokesbury's products.
Cokesbury will be capturing sales information that comes through
our virtual store in order to calculate a 5% rebate of qualifying
sales (curriculum, downloads, official products do not qualify)
for our church. In other words, each purchase made by a member
through our virtual store will increase the rebate check our
church will receive from Cokesbury. To visit our store,
click
here or on the Virtual Bookstore image below.
United
Methodist Giving Links
To learn more about United
Methodist Giving, click on the below logos.
 
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