Financial Stewardship
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The Stewardship of Finances at Our Lady of RansomBeing responsible with your generosity
For 60 years, men and women of our community have sacrificed in order to give us the financial resources needed to both grow as a Catholic Church and to move out into the world to share the Gospel. We are committed to being good stewards of our financial resources and, therefore, commit to you that:
- In evaluating financial decisions, we will always give the highest importance to how an expense helps us share with others the beauty of a relationship with Jesus Christ. In this way, we strive to treat our budget as a mission statement.
- We are committed to radical transparency when it comes to our use of finances, and will only withhold information when it is legally required.
- We encourage you to reach out with any questions or concerns you have to either our Business Manager, John McNally (john@olransom.org), or our parishioner led Finance Council.
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FYE20 - Expenses
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Ordinary Expenses at OLRkeeping expenses under control
As is shown in the graph below, many of our expenses have either remained unchanged or slightly decreased. The one exception is staffing expenses. This expense has increased as we try to staff our parish at a level that is appropriate for the size of our community and the associated ministerial needs.
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Pre-COVID Income Unchanging; Signifant COVID Lossinsufficient income for long-term stability
The graph below shows the amount and sources of income over the past few years. Removing the COVID effect, collections have remained relatively stable over the past few years.
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Ordinary Income vs Expenses: A Challenge for usUnable to cover Basic Operating Expenses
This past year, we learned that the diocese does not look at extraordinary income when evaluating the financial stability of a parish. Because of that new information, we learned that the parish has failed to submit a balanced budget for the past several years.
In addition, as we have communicated for the past several years, our parish is far too dependent on lease income. Dependence on lease income is considered by the Archdiocese as a sign of financial instability.
Below is a graph the shows our expenses in comparison to our ordinary income, excluding lease income. This is a more accurate representation of how the diocese will view our financial situation.
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Financial Challenges Made WorseThe Pandemic AffectUnsurprisingly, the pandemic and it's associated shelter-at-home mandates from the state government have caused significant financial hardship to Our Lady of Ransom. We believe that part of the reason our community has seen a more dramatic decrease than other local parishes (40% decrease vs an average of 27% for parishes across the Archdiocese) is that our percentage of online giving has historically been significantly under what is considered normal for a financially healthy parish. The graph below shows the difference that the pandemic has made on our income.
While certain expenses have decreased (costs for liturgical supplies, miscellaneous expenses associated with parish-wide events), other costs have increased (cleaning and sanitization supplies, materials required by the Archdiocese to remain open, technology costs to try to continue communications with parishioners).
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Clergy Support and Stewardship
Financial support for the clergy is determined by the Archdiocese of Chicago and does not vary from parish to parish. It does change slightly based on years of ordination and the position that the priest has (pastor, associate pastor, teacher, etc). In addition to room and board, the salary set for our current pastor is $34,468, exclusive of sacramental stipends.
Knowing that proper stewardship of financial resources is just as important for clergy as it is for all members of our community, our pastor donates 20% of his salary back to the parish.
Unless they are in a paid staff position in the parish, our deacons do not receive regular financial support from the parish. Instead, they receive stipends for individual sacraments or services they provide. This amount varies and is usually determined by the family involved.
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