PCUSA campaign: Pledges rise sharply, but cash deficit continues The Layman Online Wednesday, October 26, 2005 The Joining Hearts & Hands campaign of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has reported a sharp increase in pledges through the third quarter of 2005 and another quarterly deficit in cash receipts because of offsetting campaign costs. The campaign's accumulated pledges and cash through Sept. 30 were $22,561,785, an increase of $6.5 million over the total at the end of the second quarter. That's a 40.5 percent increase, the best performance since the campaign began posting quarterly reports in September 2003. But actual cash receipts for the third quarter did not keep pace with campaign expenses. The cash receipts during the quarter were $139,938, while expenses were $235,299. Since the campaign began, cash receipts through September totaled $1,338,001. Expenses have been nearly double that amount: $2,617,027. Before this year, the General Assembly Council fully funded the expenses for the campaign, but now requires the campaign to pay its own way. Furthermore, pledges by presbyteries – if and when they are fulfilled – will not relieve the campaign's negative cash flow. The fundraising campaign does not draw off the money raised by presbyteries for new church development. But a portion of the money raised for worldwide missions and undesignated gifts does underwrite the campaign costs. Actual cash on hand at the end of September was $973,918, which includes a campaign drawdown of $364,083 to hire mission workers and boost that component of the $40-million campaign. Authorized by the 2001 General Assembly, which also approved a budget that eliminated 30 world mission workers, the campaign was designed to raise $20 million for worldwide missions and $20 million for new church development, with the focus on racial/ethnic congregations. But the September report showed that pledges and contributions for mission workers are failing to keep pace with pledges for new church development. The total for world mission stood at $2.8 million at the end of the quarter, $628,195 in cash (22.1 percent) and the rest in pledges. The accumulated pledges and contributions for new church development, which will be undertaken by the presbyteries, were $14,689,500. Actual cash raised toward that pledge goal was only $33,074, which is 2.2 percent of the pledges. A third category in the September report is pledges and cash that are undesignated. The campaign total through the third quarter was $5,002,771, including cash receipts of $647,955 (12.9 percent of the total). Campaign officials have said that the undesignated money would be divided equally between new church development and worldwide missions. At this stage in the campaign, that would result in cash and pledges totaling $5,342,122.50 for worldwide ministries and $17,190,885.50 for new church development or 76.3 percent for new church development and 23.7 percent for world missions.

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