"Gratitude"
During these past months of the virus situation, it was heart-warming to see so many of our parishioners remain faithful to their tithing as well as donations to our Development Fund for the building project.  I guess that should not surprise me, given the dedication of so many of you to St. Clare Parish!  That is the good news.

The challenge we face is we also have a shortfall in our income due to some who either forgot to send in their envelopes or faced financial challenges that kept them from giving their usual tithing.  Simply put, our contributions are down about $75,000.00 for the year, as you can see below.

Our fiscal year ends on June 30 each year, and our finance council and I simply want to be transparent with you regarding where we stand at the end of the year.  We are reaching out to parishioners who need to ‘catch up’ on their tithing or are able to make any extra donation at the end of our fiscal year.  For example, a few parishioners were honest in telling me, “We were a little ‘lazy’ in sending in our tithing and plan to ‘catch up’ through our parish’s online giving site.”  One joked with me, saying, “I wanted to see if you noticed!”  And I said with a smile, “We did!” 

If you look at the details of our financial position, you will see that this is not what we forecast a year ago.   It could have been much worse, given that we were not in church for over two months.  This is an unusual year for all of us.  So, I want you to remain informed of your “parish family” budget.  Thanks again to so many of you who have been faithful through this challenging time and always give your best for God and your parish.

God Bless You!
Fr. Jim Deiters
  2018-19 Income =    $ 1,080,037  
2018-19 Expenses = $ 1,065,266
2018-19 Surplus =    $14,771 

2019-20 Projected Income =    $1,012,109
2019-20 Projected Expenses = $1,096,884
2019-20 Projected Shortfall = $84,775
 

 
TRANSPARENT FACTS --
These numbers tell the story for our current projections for this year ending June 30.  The good news is it could have been much worse, given our months away from attending Mass in person.  In the past few months, many expenses were down due to fewer parish ministries happening.  However, last fall, we did have unexpected expenses for repairs on the church HVAC, which increased our expenses overall.  Due to the virus, contributions were down about $75,000 in March-June, leaving us with the shortfall.
 
OPPORTUNITY --
Since we will not officially ‘close our books’ until July 6, we hope some parishioners who simply need to ‘catch up’ on their tithing can get that to us in the next week through the options listed below ( online or marking a special envelope placed in the basket).  Also, some parishioners may be able to donate extra money at this time of year to help us meet our needs for our end of the fiscal year report to the diocese.
 
We are financially strong overall as a parish.  Parishioner tithing for our Operating Budget and donations to the Development Fund for the building project have been very generous over the past few years.  This is the first time we face an Operating Budget shortfall, and we wanted to be transparent with you, our faithful parishioners.

Thank you!
Your Parish Finance Council
   1. ONLINE GIVING/WESHARE is available for our weekly offerings, as well as other parish
collections. Donating is simple, safe, and secure and takes less than five minutes.
 
Set up a one-time donation by following these three easy steps:
-Go to stclarechurch.weshareonline.org
-Click special box “End of fiscal year giving”
-Enter your payment information
 
2.  SPECIAL ENVELOPE  Please provide your own envelope marked “End of fiscal year giving” and place it in the collection basket at church, mail to or drop off at the parish office or drop box by July 5.