Financial Fundamentals September 2025

This report briefly addresses finances at FUMC Fox Hill. The latest information is in the weekly bulletin available at church or through our web site.

When you read this, the majority of our two huge projects – new boiler and new roof – should be essentially complete with only some minor residual wrap-up. Thanks to the generosity of the First Fox Hill congregation, about half of the combined projects have been paid for with the balance funded through a loan. That loan will involve payments of $908 monthly. We will, however, be doing all we can to pay it off early saving on interest expense. We raised half in a year, let’s see if we can do the balance in less time! Please help us accomplish that goal in the near future.

We are entering the period when we compile our annual spending plan or budget for 2026. The process involves the functional chairs and their committees estimating what it will take for their areas during the coming year. The Finance Committee then compiles that data for review and presentation to the Church Council for approval before it is presented to the Congregation at the Charge Conference.

While the spending plan is broken into nearly 100 different line items, they are all funded through what we call the General (or One) Fund. That gives the Finance personnel the ability to apply available funds where most needed at any given time. We sometimes have special giving requests – like the boiler and roof or youth mission trip – but it is important to remember that we could not exist without the funds to pay for everyday things like utilities (to heat, light, and cool the building), our staff’s salaries, the AV and IT equipment/systems that allows us to amplify and stream our services/programs, run the office, supply the kitchen, clean the building including restrooms, as well as fund our missions and programs.
At this time, we are behind on our Apportionments which help to fund the greater UMC operations. Thanks for all your help.

Your contributions count whether they are through the offering plate, in the mail, or on-line. For many, if not most, of our members, regular giving is the most convenient. One way to help you stay current may be on-line where you can easily give one-time or set up regular recurrent donations. Get started at our web site www.firstumcfoxhill.org by clicking on Give. If you are reading this online, click here for easy on-line access. Or use your camera to scan this QR code which is regularly seen in our publications and live stream. For those with IRA funds which must be withdrawn and/or appreciated stocks, you may be able to achieve some added benefits by using them for direct contributions. Always talk with your tax and/or financial advisor before taking any unfamiliar action. Also talk with Bill Bryan, our Finance Chair, about your plans.

Please direct concerns/questions about FUMC FH finances to our financial staff via the office or Bill Bryan, Finance Chair, at (757) 851-0748 or by e-mail to billb-1111@cox.net.

Total One Fund – Through July 2025
Income For Planned Expenses1		$259,412
Total One Fund Expenses (excludes pass through2)	Planned	$347,914
	Actual	$273,627
Pass Through Income2		$1,085
Pass Through Expense2		$3,950
“Pay-It-Forward” Contributions		$1,433
LUMENs Fund Raiser Income		$25
LUMENs Fund Raiser Expense		$0
Roof & Boiler Repair Income 20253		$83,594
Roof & Boiler Repair Expense 2025		$100,882
1 Includes regular and memorial contributions, building use income, interest, not listed, etc. 2 Represents contributions for non-budget items, e.g., flowers, special mission programs, not listed, etc. 3 Does not include funds collected in late 2025.