Our Treasurer is quick to remind folks that while donations and other income is accounted for by means of many funds, there’s only one checkbook which we use to pay a lion’s share of our obligations.  And a large majority of those obligations is a payroll that exceeds $1.3 million.

The big news: for the first time in memory (at least 25 years), we did not need to draw on our investments to help “make payroll” in the early months of the year. There are plenty of reasons this has happened, but the details are really not as important as the news that our income, both for church and school, has increased to help meet the needs of a growing ministry.

SCHOOL CHOICE SCHOLARSHIPS

All of our students at St. John’s School receive a scholarship from St. John’s Lutheran Church. Nearly 100% of those students also receive a scholarship through the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program (aka vouchers). While this increases dramatically our school-based income, we only receive a payment from the State of Indiana three times each school year: on or about October 31st, by March 31st and then again by the end of May.

Last school year our students received nearly $500,000 in Choice Scholarship.  In this school year that amount will increase by 50%, to more than $760,000! If we can reach our enrollment goals for the 2024/25 School Year that number should grow again to more than $880,000.  The bottom line: there is no longer a financial barrier for ANY student.

DONATIONS

Your donations remain critical! St. John’s still provides nearly $100,000 annually in direct scholarships, and the congregation still makes critical infrastructure improvements for both the church and school buildings. Our General Fund donations remained mostly “flat” year over year (2022 compared to 2023). However, project-based donations (such as to Project Welcome) have increased significantly.

THRIFT SHOP

The work of those who volunteer at our Thrift Shop cannot be understated.  Already this year the group provided $15,000 in funding in support of our ministries. They regularly provide $80,000 a year … and more for “special” projects.  (Be sure to stop by the shop on A Street sometime. Consider volunteering!)

INVESTMENTS

Our Investment Committee has continued to manage our portfolio of investments with significant gains coming in the first part of this calendar year. Of course these investments took a bit of a “hit” over the last two years, and the need to draw from those investments to fund ongoing operations has reduced the overall balance in our investment fund. However, a group of willing members making use of some fabulous advice from a financial advisor have continued to impact our ability to continue to support vital ministries at St. John’s Lutheran Church and School.