Hello St. Paul’s,
On Sunday our Financial Controller, Erin Sacco Pineda, will present the 2026 Cathedral Operating Budget, as passed last week by Chapter. Unlike many denominations, in the Episcopal Church the budget is not determined by the congregation as a whole; authority is delegated to the elected leadership of the parish, in this case our Chapter.
The revenue for our operating budget comes from several sources: the largest and most important portion, roughly 50%, is made up of your contributions, whether pledged or spontaneous. We try to estimate how much will come in over the next year in the offering plate, in addition to payment of pledges which we can count on with some confidence. We are blessed to have significant invested funds, mostly the result of generous bequests from former parishioners (don’t forget to include St. Paul’s in your estate plans!); our policy is to draw no more than 5% of the capital of these funds each year, allowing for longterm growth. Nutmeg & Olive, our subsidiary LLC, also holds invested funds from the sale of the land for 525 Olive. Like the cathedral funds, we have a policy of drawing no more than 5% for the operating support of the cathedral. Together, the draws from both sets of funds provide about 25% of the budget.
Thanks to the efforts of Kathleen Sheehan Burgess and her team, we have a thriving ministry of renting out our space, revenues from which generate about 6% of our operating budget. We also have a number of special funds which have restricted use according to the wishes of the donors; this money is carefully apportioned to appropriate ministries.
Policies are important, but sometimes Chapter has to make hard decisions and override policy in order to be able to adequately support our ministries. For the last decade or so, with pledges being more or less flat, we have been forced to make additional special draws from our invested funds in order to balance the budget, and this year is no exception.
We are blessed to have resources from which to draw, and Chapter is committed to supporting the important ministries that we offer. This is a strong community, and you have a good and wise Chapter leading it.
Come to the forum at 9 am on Sunday (1.18.26) to learn more details of the 2026 budget.
Your sister in Christ,
Penny
