Dear members of Trinity,

At the end of June, the Trinity Voters approved the budget for this fiscal year running July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.

When establishing a budget, the Board tries to anticipate expenses for the fiscal year in order to maintain the day to day operations of the church.

Expenses include salaries for our pastors and staff, payroll taxes, health insurance and benefits, property insurance, utilities, operating, office, technology and maintenance expenses. There are also costs to run the many ministries we have here at Trinity – the largest of which is our contribution to Illinois Lutheran School.

The total budget for this fiscal year is $854,182.

This total then dictates the amount of offerings that we will need from our members to cover these expenses.

Currently we take a distribution from the Endowment fund that is equal to 5% of the balance at the end of the calendar year 2025. This amounts to $118,100.

The remaining $736,082 needed to cover our budgeted expenses comes from the offerings that our members donate. This amount averages $61,340 per month.

The following is our financial picture for the first quarter of the year July – September:

• Total offerings needed: $184,020  ($61,340per month x 3 months)

• Total offerings received: $157,506  (this includes a large one time gift of $15,000 in July)

Excluding that one time large gift, we are averaging about $47,000 per month in offerings when we need $61,000 to keep a balanced budget. Unfortunately, this is not a good trend and is unsustainable in the long run.

The temporary good news is that spending is under budget mainly because we are not paying salary and benefits to a second pastor, resulting in a positive cash flow of $28,400 for the quarter.

Another bit of good news is that the total offering amount mentioned above does not include the generous donations our members give to Synod and Missions, ILS Tuition Assistance, Financial Assistance Fund, the Facility Repair Fund and the Raise the Roof Campaign.

It is the responsibility of our Board to make sure that Trinity is fiscally sound and responsible as we carry out our ministry. There will be future financial information on offering statistics and ideas on how to improve our financial situation with increased regular giving to not only cover our current expenses but prayerfully give us the opportunity to expand ministry at Trinity and our surrounding communities.

Respectfully,

Trinity Board of Directors

Fiscal Year 2025-26 / Second Quarter Financial Update

Here is a scorecard of Trinity’s financial situation at the end of 2025:

• Total Operating Income was $390,137 which includes Endowment Fund disbursements of $57,324.

• We need $362,310 in offerings to meet budgeted expenses ($60,385 per month). Offerings from members totaled $332,813 (about $55,468 per month). This is $29,497 under what we need.

• Total expenses were $336,317. Our budgeted expenses are $419,636. This is $83,319 under budget. About $42,000 of this is from not having to pay salary and benefits to a second pastor — the remainder is keeping a careful eye on expenses.

• There is a positive cash flow balance of $53,832.

• Our commitment to Synod and Missions is $37,500 - we collected $40,454 during this period.

In His service,
Trinity Board of Directors