July 2009
Financial Planning
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A Good Crisis is a Good Opportunity
By Rees Olander
The latest saying making the rounds is, “Never waste a good crisis.” And with good reason, for whether congregations find their budgets funded through pledges or endow- ment income or both, vestries are facing hard financial decisions.
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Audits: A necessity, not an option
By Tom Patterson
Especially in these difficult economic times, when every penny counts, an effective church audit is a necessity and no longer an option.
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Create a sound parish budget
By Craig A. Bossi
Effective budgeting is not the result of the stressful days and nights of budget preparation, or the reams of financial spreadsheets produced, or even the many hard choices required to finalize a budget.
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L.E.A.D.E.R. — The Mission-Driven Budget
By Matthew Freeman
What follows are insights into the “narrative budget,” growing in popularity because of its ability to draw members of the congregation into the budget process...and keep them there.
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The spiritual side of church finances
By Ibby Whitten
As vestry members, we often spend so much time worrying over the “deficits” and “losses” and “funding gaps” reported each month that we are unable to see the true abundance that is right before us.
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The Ten Commandments for Vestries
By David A. Williams
Thou shalt accept the fact that you can't fix everything.
