As our conference prepares for the Special Session on Nov. 16, the Conference Council on Finance and Administration (CCFA) wants to provide an update on our financial condition and information regarding some of the changes in our budget.

Through September 2019, our conference has received $3,073,671 from local churches towards our 2019 Annual Conference budget, which is approximately 66% of our budgeted apportionment income for the year. Additionally, we have received $119,845 from local churches towards our General Church Apportionments, which is approximately 6% of what we have been billed, and $265,440 in second-mile giving (gifts to specific ministries beyond apportioned dollars). While we greatly appreciate the effort local churches have made to ensure that the NIC Annual Conference remains strong, we encourage our local churches to keep our UMC connection strong as well through the support of General Church Apportionments.

In recognition of our continued difficult financial position, the 2020 Annual Conference budget of $4,574,255 shows a reduction of $288,221 from the 2019 Annual Conference budget. The reductions in the budget are primarily from the following:

• A change from an in-house IT professional to outsourced IT support, resulting in a reduction in expenses of approximately $60,000.  This change occurred in late 2018, and we have realized these savings in 2019. 
• A consolidation of district offices and staff resulting in approximately an $80,000 reduction in expenses. Our technological improvements have enhanced the work of our cabinet and enabled much of the work of our district superintendents and administrators to be done via the web. As a result, this has reduced the necessity for regional offices and we will be closing them in 2020. Additionally, we will be consolidating and realigning the duties of regional administrators and reducing them from 3 to 2 positions. The savings from these changes are projected to be approximately $80,000 in 2020, with additional potential savings in 2021 once we have paid any outstanding lease obligations.
• A reduction in Cabinet Ministries of $50,000. Due to the reduction in the number of clergy moves per year, we estimate a savings of $20,000 in moving expenses, and the remaining reduction will be allocated by the Cabinet. A full list of the ministries and mission supported by the Cabinet can be found in the budget explanatory materials.
• A reduction in Program Ministries of approximately $60,000. The majority of this reduction will come from a reduction in Conference programming. A full list of the Program Ministries and Missions supported by the conference can be found in the budget explanatory materials.

CCFA also recommends a change in our apportionment formula for 2020. Earlier this year, we reorganized our apportionment bills to show the Annual Conference and General Church apportionments separately. The proposed budget for 2020 shows the Annual Conference revenues and expenses separate from the General Church receipts and apportionments. The proposed apportionment formula uses the same methodology as previously used to calculate the Annual Conference apportionment, with the exception that the apportionments will be calculated using 12% instead of the current rate of 14%. The General Church apportionments for each local church will be calculated based on their pro-rata share of the Annual Conference apportionments.

CCFA will host two opportunities to learn more about the 2020 budget and apportionment formula. The first will be an in-person pre-conference session on Saturday, November 2 at Sycamore UMC from 10 am - 11:30 am, and the second will be a webinar on Monday, November 4, from 7 pm - 8:30 pm. We hope that you can join us and learn more about the legislation submitted for the Special Session. Click here for details.

Please visit www.umcnic.org/specialsession to find links to the legislation and registration for our pre-conference sessions.