Treasurer’s Annual Report
1) Overall Financial Condition
Please note 2U’s fiscal year runs from July 1 – June 30.
2U’s overall financial position is satisfactory, neither poor nor great. Our liquidity is good and is balanced against significant building needs in the coming years that will remain even after the Capital Campaign is completed this year.
Liquidity May 31, 2025 June 30, 2024
Operating Reserves – Byline Bank $152,582 $86,115
Building Reserve – Byline Bank $ 26,073 $31,520
General Reserve – Fleishman Fund – Devon Bank $133,284 $139,345
The Fleishman Fund has restrictions.
Our operating reserve at Byline Bank have been bolstered by a bequest of $26,928 from Nanna Cross and starting in FY 25-26, a portion of this will be used to support our music program over several years. The operating reserve will decrease by $13,327 as capital donations will be transferred to Devon Bank shortly. They also include $15,000 set aside several years ago for the sabbatical minister. After these reductions, the Byline Bank operating reserve is $124,255.
Why do we need to hold cash reserves ? Reasons include building expenses, seasonal income fluctuations, recessions which impact giving, the loss of a minister, loss of major donor(s), and weather related damages. Making payroll is always a good thing!
Won’t our building insurance cover us in case of storm damage ? Church Mutual Insurance raised our wind/hail deduction to 2% of our property coverage in May. The first $107,000 would be 2U’s responsibility. A good reason to have some reserves!
2) Actual Revenues/Expenditures vs Budget FY 24-25
Please refer to the FY 24-25 Summary Budget handout.
Will we have a surplus or deficit this year ending 6/30/25?
Great question. We expect a surplus and the amount is quite tricky to forecast.
11 Months at 5/31 FY 12 Mo ‘24-25 Budget
Total Revenues $444,721 $412,770
Total Expenses $395,034 $434,962
Operating Surplus/(Deficit) $ 49,687 ($22,192)
Less Mortgage Principal $ 16,828
Adjusted Operating Surplus/Deficit $ 32,859*
*Please note this includes FY 25-26 pledges paid already of $8,050 so excluding this, our Adjusted Operating Surplus declines to $24,809 for the 11 month period. We will very likely have a deficit in June given seasonal patterns so our overall surplus taking into account mortgage principal (not expensed per accounting standards) will more likely be in the $10,000+ range. Please understand my forecasting ability is suspect!
Revenues for the year through May have been strong and we have already exceeded our full year income budget. These income categories have exceeded budget:
Pledges $310,603 (includes $8,050 for FY25-26) are 5% ahead of budget
Fall Fest $42,247 was over by $13,747. Helped by $7,500 match.
Collection Plate $34,237 over budget by $11,321 . Good attendance a plus.
Rental Income $17,474 over budget by $ 7,849
Expenses overall are 2.1% over budget. A big “thank you” to volunteers Bill Crowe for saving us at least $6,000 in cleaning expense (while doing a great job!) and to Diane Sander for saving us at least $6,000 in bookkeeping expenses. Building repairs & maintenance are over budget by nearly $10,000; however, $6,992 of this is for the new stove which was paid for by two members. We are under budget by $3,750 on the Sound/Digital Producer due to a late hire.
What large unplanned expenses were incurred this year ?
Retirement contributions for the Music Director and DFD were omitted from the FY 24-25 budget. We are legally required to pay these. This added over $5,200 in cost.
Masonry Work. The northeast façade was deemed in need of immediate masonry restoration and this cost $31,400 with the work just completed. This work will be capitalized. The Board approved using this amount from the Fleishman Fund. We owe ~$21,000 for this work and this will reduce Fleishman to $112,000.
Stained Glass Repair. Inspection revealed 5 bowed panels with some cracked glass. Lead weakens over 100 years. This work will cost $6,700. Similar work was done in the sanctuary about 11 years ago at a higher cost.
New Stove. Thanks to two generous donors, a new stove has been purchased and is awaiting installation once the main door is functional. Cost was $6,992.
Handyperson. The Board approved $4,200 and spending will be about $2,600.
3) Capital Campaign Update
Will our capital donations be enough to pay for all of the work being done?
Yes, if most donors complete their pledges….
Capital Pledges made in 2022: $973,317 Less 5% Haircut: $924,651
Capital Pledges Received: $892,771 =91.7% of Pledges made
Capital Expenditures to date: $670,133 or $787,106 with Mirek invoice
We recently received an invoice from our general contractor, Mirek Construction, for $116,973 (for the elevator, concrete, heat for the ramp, steel railing, carpentry, doors and hardware, drywall, etc.) and once documentation is verified and payment made, this will reduce our capital campaign cash to about $87,000. There is still much work to be done from the east entryway to the Loft and this includes new windows, flooring, electrical, electric heaters for the east entryway, architect fees, garden restoration, and completion of the fire detection/alarm system. The remaining work will be approximately $145,000. For the current fiscal year, we have received donations of $68,274 and incurred expenses of $345,241. We continue to forecast additional borrowing of about $50,000 so please keep your capital campaign donations coming.
There have been some cost overruns this year with the price of concrete (+$25,000) and the elevator eating into our contingency by about $30,000. We also are adding electric heaters in the east entryway stairwell at a cost of about $8,000. We budgeted $6,000 for garden restoration and this will not be adequate.
4) Mortgage Situation
Our current mortgage is $72,614 and is up for renewal on Sept. 1. We anticipate borrowing about $50,000 more to finish the capital campaign. The good news is our current balance is the lowest since 1990 when it was about $400,000 after the completion of the capital campaign which created the “new” basement offices and classrooms, etc. ! Five years ago (6/30/2020) our mortgage balance was $155,974 so we have made good progress in paying down principal. Capital campaign donations received after Sept. 1 will be used to pay down the mortgage and we expect this extra debt will be paid off with these donations and a bequest.
5) Asset Values of Note / Future Work
Loft Shower. We are currently requesting bids to add a shower and replace galvanized
steel pipes to the Loft. The Board has not yet made a decision whether to move forward on
this idea and will await quotes.
HVAC. In February we replaced a 20 yr old furnace in the basement which heats the Fleishman room and the kitchen at a cost of $5,500. What is the replacement cost of our 7 furnaces and air conditioning compressors ? We estimate this amount is approximately 84,000 - $94,000 with the timing mainly after 5 years.
Stained Glass and Art Glass Windows. Just an FYI, the estimated replacement cost per a valuation assessment by Drehobl Art Glass Co. several months ago is about $680,000. This includes the sanctuary, narthex and door facing Barry.
Masonry Restoration. The largest project in terms of cost will be masonry restoration on the rest of the church. The north façade will probably be next and cost perhaps $50,000 within 5 years.
Other. Our sewer connection to the street needs to be repaired at some point. Exterior painting was last done about 22 years ago.
6) Collection Plate Share – Your Contributions in the Community!
June 2025 Lighthouse Foundation TBD
May 2025 Pushing Envelopes $1,789
April 2025 The Night Ministry $1,391
March 2025 ONE Northside $2,109
Feb. 2025 Chicago Torture Justice Center $2,088
Jan. 2025 Rainbow Railroad/Rohingya Refugee $843 each
Dec. 2024 Minister’s Discretionary Fund $2,942
Nov. 2024 UU Service Committee $1,493
Oct. 2024 Rainbow Railroad $826
Sept. 2024 Rohingya Family Refugee $826
Aug. 2024 UU Prison Ministry of Illinois $739
July 2024 UU Action Network of Illinois $804
Total $16,693 to date
Thank you for paying attention to 2U’s finances and thank you so very much for your generous support!
Feedback on the monthly Anvil “Money Matters” column is welcome!
Respectfully submitted,
