Congregational Finances During the Pandemic - The United Church of Canada L'Église Unie du Canada - United in Learning

Congregational Finances
During the Pandemic
           The United Church of Canada
           L’Église Unie du Canada

                                         March 25, 2020
                                         Erik Mathiesen
                                          David Armour
                                            Dave Jagger
                                           Clyde Harris

Greetings from our Moderator, The Rt. Rev. Richard Bott

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

A New Creed
We are not alone,                     We are called to be the Church:
    we live in God’s world.              to celebrate God’s presence
We believe in God                        to live with respect in Creation,
                                         to love and serve others,
    who has created and is creating
                                         to seek justice and resist evil,
    who has come in Jesus
                                         to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen,
          the word made flesh
                                                 our judge and our hope.
           to reconcile and make
                                      In life, in death, in life beyond death,
           new
                                            God is with us.
    who works in us and others
                                                  We are not alone.
    by the spirit.
                                                               Thanks be to God.
We trust in God.

  EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

2020 Current Headwinds

    Investment market carnage/volatility
    Coronavirus
       –    business continuity planning
       –   Cash needs
       –   Contingency plans to support all levels of the
           church
       –   Insurance rate spike coming too

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

BALANCING ACT
                            Cash crunch vs Ministry

         PRESERVING CASH                           PEOPLE
             • Cashflow /liquidity           • Personal and societal anxiety is
             • Short term financial            high
               considerations                • Pastoral care needs never
             • Avoid locking in investment     higher
               losses                        • Trying to support paid staff and
             • Risk tolerance                  volunteers
                                             • Church voice more important
                                               than ever

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

What We’ll Cover Tonight March 25
    Push to sustain donations
       –   Expediting online donations
       –   Asking for PAR support
    How to handle rentals
    Saving cash
    Guidance on accessing government funding
    Guidance on short-term layoffs
    Emergency financial support
And things are changing fast, so check
back!
EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Before you do anything rash……
    Check with your Region
    Especially if contemplating lay-offs.
    But also for any regional assistance programs or the
     latest on denomination support
    There may be new federal or provincial help too…..
    The church has never moved so fast. General
     Council Executive meeting this weekend to consider
     more.
And things are changing fast, so check back!

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Sustaining Revenue

 Sustaining                        donations
       – Post               Dated Cheques
       – PAR    - Pre Authorized
           Remittance
       – Canada                     Helps
       –E         Transfers

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Sustaining Revenue

QUESTIONS?

Please email us any questions not answered
tonight. We will respond as soon as we can.
(contact info on last slide)

Please send us your good news stories.
We love to share!!!

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Stewardship & Gift Officers

    Jane Harding
Pacific Mountain Region, Northern Spirit Region,
Chinook Winds Region, Living Skies Region,
Prairie to Pine Region
Mobile: 604-761-1677
jharding@united-church.ca

    Melody Duncanson Hales
Canadian Shield Region
705-618-3032
mduncanson-hales@united-church.ca

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Stewardship & Gift Officers

    Dave Jagger
Antler River Watershed Region,
Western Ontario Waterways Region, Horseshoe Falls Region
519-570-6892
djagger@united-church.ca

    Karen Seunarine
Shining Waters Region
416-779-7745
kseunarine@united-church.ca

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Stewardship & Gift Officers

    Trisha Elliott
East Central Ontario Region,
Eastern Ontario Outaouais Region, Nakonha:ka Region
613-299-8960
telliott@united-church.ca

    Roger Janes
First Dawn Eastern Edge Region, Region 15,
Fundy-St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Region
709-486-3239
rjanes@united-church.ca

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Contacts
    Mission & Service
              ms@united-church.ca

    Gifts With Vision
              info@giftswithvision.ca

    PAR
              par@united-church.ca

    Legacy Giving
              legacy@united-church.ca

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Rentals – Covid 19 impacts (1)
    Full refund on deposits for special occasion rentals
     which had to be or will be cancelled due to the
     CODIV 19 situation.
     Leases are different based on closure date.
       –   No refund of payments already made.
       –   March will be pro-rated for the time already used
       –   The unused portion will be credited toward the
           next rent due when the building re-opens

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Rentals – Covid 19 impacts (2)
    Regular lease terms will be in force once the
     government provides the ok to return to normal with
     building usage
    A rent calculation will be made for the partial month
     when re-opened
       –   The credit will be applied
       –   A statement of account showing the full rent for
           March, the credit outstanding, the partial rent for
           the first month back, the first full monthly rent.
       –   The statement and a request for the balance
           outstanding.
EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Cashflow Help
    Saving cash
       –   Request moratorium on loan payments if loan with
           a church body.
       –   Push out assessment due date
              •   If auto pay, ask us to stop
              •   If direct pay, just don’t
       –   If paying insurance annually, request mode
           change (UCC Protect total cost is the same!)

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Federal Temporary Wage Subsidy
    10% of each salary up to a maximum of $1,375 per
     employee
    How much is that worth to you?
       –   Can calculate now to improve cashflow
       –   Or wait and claim it later in the year
       –   Subsidy is miscellaneous revenue.
                 Dr Income Tax Payable
                  Dr Government Deductions
                                    Cr Bank
                                    Cr Misc. Income

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Federal Temporary Wage Subsidy
    10% of each salary up to a maximum of $1,375 per
Every congregation and charity should do this.

    Process on ADP
       –   All payroll providers trying to figure this out
       –   Hope it might be automatic

Details to follow when we have them.

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Federal Temporary Layoff EI
    To receive regular EI, you must have lost your job
     through no fault of your own, including lay-offs. EI
     sickness benefits include being unable to work
     because of illness or quarantine. Under last
     Wednesday's changes, the one-week waiting period
     for sickness benefits will be removed for those who
     have been told to self-isolate or quarantine, meaning
     applicants can be paid for the first week of their
     claim.
    If approved, the maximum amount paid out for EI is
     $573 a week.

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Federal Temporary Layoff EI
    The federal aid package also includes the
     Emergency Care Benefit and the Emergency Support
     Benefit.
    The Emergency Care Benefit provides up to $900
     every two weeks for up to 15 weeks, to those
     affected by COVID-19. It's intended for those who
     don't qualify for EI, can't go to work and don't have
     paid sick leave.
    System is swamped. We are working with service
     providers to streamline the process

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

ANNOUNCED TODAY
Dubbed the Canada Emergency Response
Benefit, the aid will replace the two announced
last week as part of a $82-billion funding
package
Laid-off workers who have applied for EI due to
coronavirus-related job losses will instead get
this $2,000 benefit for up to four months, after
which they will be switched over to standard EI
if they are still out of work. The government said
there is no need to reapply.
EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

All Hands on Deck! (1)
    Emergency Cash infusion possibilities
       –   Check with your region for any region programs
       –   Region support required to access any
           denominational loan program
       –   Need to explore local options first
       –   Expedited processes
              •   Flexibility in borrowing from manse funds
              •   Expedited paperwork
              •   Electronic flow of funds

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

All Hands on Deck! (2)
    Emergency Cash infusion possibilities
       –   Access own investments
       –   Obtain or increase local line of credit
       –   National LOC guarantee to be provided on request
       –   Automatic NSF protection for payroll run
              •   Staff will be paid and congregation/region
                  contacted for remedy
       –   Expedited emergency operating loan program
           proposed
              •   Interest free if repaid in 2020 ????

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

All Hands on Deck! (3)
    “How to: Guidance coming soon
       –   Access small business employee subsidy
              •   The subsidy will be equal to 10% of the wages
                  paid to an employee during the three months
                  period, up to a maximum subsidy of $1,375 per
                  employee and $25,000 per employer
       –   Short term layoffs
              •   Record of Employment issuance
              •   ADP processing

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

All Hands on Deck! (4)
    More Minor accommodations
       –   T3010 annual filing deadline extended to
           December
       –   Insurance protocols for empty buildings not as
           strict
       –   Switch insurance premium schedule to PAR

       –   Be aware of any breaks offered by local providers
           (ie no data overages, extended timeframes to pay)

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Emergency Loan Program being explored
    Details and extent of possible funding is still being
     negotiated but we anticipate significant temporary
     funding help for congregations
    Allowing assessment payments to be pushed out into
     the fall is already a multi million cash crunch at the
     denomination level
    Similarly our Mission & Service granting continues
     while the supporting gifts may slow.

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Proposed Emergency Loan Program
    Region will review and recommend
    Community of Faith must
       –   have explored local financing options
              •   Local loan with or without national guarantee
              •   Explored regional church possibilities
       –   Accessed government funding support for any
           staff not laid off
       –   Demonstrate amount of monthly funding shortfall
           remaining to substantiate request.

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Contacts for action
    Loan guarantees by denomination
       –   emathiesen@united-church.ca
    Deferring monthly withdrawals of assessments
     assessments@united-church.ca
    Suspending church loan payments (if national)
       –   mpimpinella@united-church.ca
    Stewardship queries
       –   djagger@united-church.ca
    Any emergency loan possibility or lay-offs.
       –   Contact your region
EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

BALANCING ACT
                            Cash crunch vs Ministry

         PRESERVING CASH                           PEOPLE
             • Cashflow /liquidity           • Personal and societal anxiety is
             • Short term financial            high
               considerations                • Pastoral care needs never
             • Avoid locking in investment     higher
               losses                        • Trying to support paid staff and
             • Risk tolerance                  volunteers
                                             • Church voice more important
                                               than ever

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada

Questions and Closing

     God who is with us now and always,
     Support us and guide us in this time of uncertainty
     So we may feel brave and strong to offer kindness to
     others, in the spirit that these safe interactions are
     the true dwelling of the holy.
     In your name we pray.
Amen.

EHM ~ The United Church of Canada