Hello, St. James’ Family,
As you may know, our finances at St. James’ have changed considerably (for the better!) over the past few years. Our Vestry Finance Committee monitors those finances monthly, creates our annual budget, and keeps an eye out for important changes and trends.
This year, our giving has fallen behind its usual annual trajectory, including pledged giving.
Take a look at the graph below. The red-dotted lines represent our expectations of pledged giving and unpledged contributions based on your 2025 pledges and our best estimate for unpledged giving (based on a five-year average). The black lines below represent our actual pledged giving (top) and unpledged giving (bottom) to-date for 2025. The green lines represent our pledged giving (top) and unpledged giving (bottom) for last year.
You can see that we are pretty much on trend with the unpledged contributions, which often run behind and then kick up at the end of the year. The difference that we are seeing and feeling is in the pledged giving category where we are lagging behind previous years and budget. In total, we’re lagging about $81,000 behind where we’d like to be at this time of year.
We know this year has been a time of uncertainty and challenge for many in our community. Our overall financial health at St. James’ remains strong, and we carefully keep our expenses in line. We wanted to share this mid-year update so you can consider ways to recommit and engage.
If you are behind on your pledge and have the ability to catch up or even pre-pay, doing so will positively impact the church’s financial picture.
If you haven’t yet set up automated giving, we encourage you to consider it. It’s a simple step that makes a real difference in our ability to plan wisely and care for our community. You can reach out to Aimee Estep in the church office for help, or explore automated giving at the link below:
👉 https://stjamesaustin.org/give/
Looking ahead, there is much to be hopeful about.
Our Strategic Vision is actively taking shape, guiding how we will grow and serve in the years ahead. This summer, the VFC has been hard at work on several key initiatives, including:
- Exploring new grant funding opportunities
- Running financial scenario analyses to support strategic growth and giving needs
- Reviewing personnel recommendations for clergy and staff compensation to ensure fairness and sustainability
- Assessing the management of our expanding endowment
- Completing a full financial audit—an important best practice for an organization our size
Thanks to your generosity beyond the operating budget, we were able to support several high-impact ministries in the second quarter. These included:
- The Latino Lay Leadership Conference
- The Pauli Murray Scholarship at Seminary of the Southwest
- The St. James’ Youth Mission Trip
- The St. James’ Poetry & Jazz Event
- Campus Ministry at Huston-Tillotson University
We encourage you to stay tuned through our weekly e-newsletter for more updates and opportunities to get involved. Above all—thank you. Your generosity makes possible every part of our shared life: worship, outreach, music, formation, and so much more.
Your Vestry Finance Committee, Vestry members, and clergy are working with deep care to nurture the health of this community—spiritually, physically, and financially.
We’re grateful for each of you and for the spirit of welcome, faith, and generosity that makes St. James’ such a vibrant place.
