REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE for the 2015 Provincial Chapter

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1 REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE for the 2015 Provincial Chapter Province Treasurer, presented by Susan Kapusta Part four (text for video): Finance April 13, 2015 Greetings and happy spring! I m pleased to present the State of the Province report, and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the American Province Treasurer for the past seven years. Thank you for taking the time to view this video or read the text. In the 2009 State of the Province Report 6 years ago the American Province had just experienced a 30% drop in the value of our investment portfolio. Helen McDonald thanked the province for rising to the occasion by cutting spending to help preserve principal. Today, thanks to our continued careful spending and the improved economy our investments are back to $130 million, from a low point of $86 million in In this report I will 1. review the recommendations of the 2009 Provincial Chapter relating to Province finances 2. review our current reality and 3. highlight our key concerns 1. PROVINCIAL CHAPTER RECOMMENDATIONS One 2009 chapter recommendation was that the American Province continue to fund the support of ministries at least to the then current level of about 40% of the operating budget. Over the past 5 years, from fiscal year 2010 through 2014 the percentage of operating expense allocated to ministries has ranged from 44% to 48%, thereby meeting the recommendation of the chapter. Another chapter recommendation was that we allocate 25% of the proceeds from the sale of properties to the Society s Unity for Mission Fund. From 2010 until 2014 the province has sold 9 houses. The total given to the Unity for Mission Fund during that time was $372,054. This amount is in addition to the province assessment for the Unity for Mission fund of $100,000 each year during the same time period. In 2014 we sold 3 houses and in the sale of those houses there was a combined loss of $119,000 so we did not make a contribution in that year. Currently, the Unity for Mission Fund gift has been suspended and replaced by the American Province share in funding the Society Strategic Plan, which includes the support of sisters in the African Province and Society goals in all three provinces. The Chapter also recommended: a study of province support of ministries; setting priorities for funding ministries; developing criteria for allocating funds to ministries in accordance to province priorities; and preparing a comprehensive report for funding ministries. This recommendation was subsumed by the Provincial and Society-wide planning processes and that work is ongoing. 1

2 In addition, the Chapter requested research on setting up a Retirement Trust. I did research on the pros and cons of such a trust and sent it to the Province for review and feedback. The result of the consultation was that such a trust was not advisable at that time (2010). Finally, the Chapter asked that trends in our financial situation be further explained and included in the annual finance report to the province. This was done and continues to be included in the annual finance report. 2. CURRENT REALITY Let us now consider the realities of the province that affect our finances today in Care of sisters We have our own healthcare facility at New Sharon, a large retirement community in Rye and we collaborate with 4 other congregations in a retirement facility at Marian Woods. Income The Province has 3 main sources of income: (1) gift income (includes Mission Advancement and Dalton Center efforts); (2) Sisters compensation; (3) investment income. Slide 1 Major Sources of Income $12,000, MAJOR SOURCES OF INCOME OVER FIVE YEARS 2010 to 2014 $10,000, $8,000, $6,000, $4,000, $2,000, $ Gi) Income $2,108,963 $1,966,214 $1,436,296 $1,981,830 $1,536,408 Sisters' Compensa>on $1,742,867 $1,624,662 $1,696,312 $1,516,989 $1,429,192 Investment Income $6,623,112 $7,266,409 $7,222,592 $7,391,974 $7,147,591 2

3 o You will notice that the province continues to rely heavily on investment income to balance the budget. In this slide you will see in the blue part of the columns that approximately $7M of our investment income is needed to fund our expenses each year. Keep in mind that investment income on this chart represents the amount of money that was needed to cover expenses not the total investment income in the portfolio. o Our financial picture has improved due to the economy, because we have received large sources of income from financial independence, some large bequests and the sale of properties. This allowed some of our operating surplus to be directed to the Retirement Fund to help mitigate the effect of spending the interest each year. o As you know from the news, the market has its ups and downs. We are fortunate to have an expert and dedicated Investment Advisory Committee to monitor our investments and to optimize their growth. Expenses Slide 2 Major Sources of Expense $12,000, MAJOR EXPENSES OVER FIVE YEARS 2010 to 2014 $10,000, $8,000, $6,000, $4,000, $2,000, $ Province Administra>on $1,771,967 $1,858,526 $1,928,108 $1,941,372 $1,870,274 Support of Ministries $2,456,027 $2,567,218 $2,267,605 $2,571,407 $2,300,571 Ac>ve Sisters' Expenses $1,175,201 $1,025,269 $949,643 $1,031,179 $864,255 Re>red Sisters' Expenses $6,005,628 $6,265,986 $6,332,113 $6,144,115 $6,145,356 3

4 o This slide shows the trend in major expenses 2010 to 2014 and you can see that spending has remained fairly steady. o At the same time, despite our efforts to simplify and reduce or maintain spending, our retirement costs on a per capita basis continue to rise. Slide 3 Per Capita Retired Cost $70,000 $60,000 $50,000 $40,000 $30,000 $20,000 $10,000 $ o As part of Society wide planning we have committed to setting aside labeled funds when they are needed for use in the African province. Transfers of the actual funds will be made as needed. o Society-wide Planning showed that the American Province will have sufficient funds for future Sister support, formation, administration and ministry support to the current amount as well as funding the Society Plan. Our new Society Finance Director, Clare Lorenzatti, along with the Province Treasurers, will continually monitor the annual financial reports versus the projections. 4

5 2. KEY CONCERNS We have a healthy investment portfolio. At the same time we rely heavily on our investments as a major source of income. 63% of our total operating budget is supported by our investments. As we continue to look for ways to reduce costs, a concern is finding new ways to do this even as the cost of retirement in the country continues to rise. We have our own retirement houses that are home to many of us. The fact that they are unlicensed makes it harder for us to reduce costs. These facilities are not eligible for added government programs because they are unlicensed facilities. We want to make significant gifts to our ministries to help sustain them into the future. We struggle with how to do this and cover our escalating retirement costs and also maintain our financial commitment to the whole society through the Society Strategic Plan. So that is how we see the financial state of the province in terms of 1. implementation of chapter recommendations 2. our current reality, and 3. key concerns. In closing, I d like to thank all the individuals, too numerous to mention, who collaborate to help the Society carry out its mission while maintaining fiscal responsibility. Feel free to call me at any time with any further questions or comments. 5

6 REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE PROVINCE for the 2015 Provincial Chapter Province Leadership Team, presented by Margaret Doyle Part four (text for video): Mission Advancement April 13, 2015 I d like to pick up on Sue s report where she says that gift income is one of our 3 major sources of revenue. Before I begin, though I just want to say that the slides in this presentation are of events we have to raise money and of the ministries that benefit from these efforts. We as a province have been working to raise funds for many years. In 1979 Jean O Meara created the first development office as such in Dalton Center on Waverley Place. She began a focused effort to raise funds for three specific needs: our ministries in Chile and Africa, Formation and Studies, and Retirement. The following year she moved the office to Drexel Hill. In 1983 Ruth Capuzzi followed Jean as development director and with the help of Dolores McCormack and Neetzie Siegfried expanded the office to include keeping in touch with the alums of our closed schools and publishing a newsletter. First we had SHCJ News, then Voices and now Actions and a presence on social media. Sandy Lovascio followed Ruth as development director. She added the annual Mass of Appreciation and later the Awards Dinner. The name of the development advisory board was changed to the Mission Advancement Advisory Board, and 2010 opened as a year of celebration of Cornelia s 200 th birthday with a Mass at St. James Church in Philadelphia and a reception at the University of Pennsylvania. These development efforts were always about something more than raising money. They were and still are the way we tell the story of the Society s mission and how it is alive in the world today. They are our way of thanking our friends and strengthening our relationships with them and of making new friends. They are our way of inviting those who know us to see that we our ministries and our sisters are worthy of their generosity. As Henri Nouwen reminded us fund raising is a spiritual ministry. In 2013 our Province planning reports identified specific needs that require funding. Sandra mentioned two of them in her section of the State of the Province report: support of ministries and handing on our spirit. Sue just spoke about a third the cost of our retirement needs. The 2014 Society financial plan calls for our province s generosity in the form of an annual contribution toward the future of our youngest province. And, as Sue just said, we have labeled funds to be called for as they are needed for new projects. As you know from the presentations Mary Ann, Sandy and I made at New Sharon and Rye or shared with you by dvd, we have a renewed impetus to raise funds. 6

7 Why is that? First, as I mention earlier, province and Society planning surfaced specific needs that require funds. Then early in 2013 we were invited to apply for a program designed specifically to help women religious further their mission. Lay people, specifically trustees of the Conrad Hilton and GHR foundations, were so committed to seeing the work of women religious continue that they funded a program at the Lilly School of Philanthropy and invited us to apply. You know that we did apply, that we were accepted and that Mary Ann, Sandy and I attended an initial workshop in July At the end of this program we were invited to write a proposal asking for funding that would enable us to do what we saw was needed to tell the Society s story more broadly and to ask for financial support for our mission. On the strength of that proposal we were awarded $150,000 over 3 years. The purpose of the grant? We saw that we needed to engage all of us and our colleagues in telling the story of the Society today. We also knew that we needed the assistance of additional resource persons as we developed and implemented a plan to raise funds to ensure that our mission would continue funds that would enable us to support our ministries, care for our retired sisters, hand on our spirit and support our African province. In other words, to advance the Society s mission. So, as you also know from our Mission Advancement presentations, we changed the name of our development office to the Office of Mission Advancement. We contracted with a Philadelphia firm Schultz and Williams to conduct an audit of our current development and communications operations and, based on the recommendations, made a number of changes. We hired Kathy Watson who had conducted the audit to help us develop our case for support and shared a draft with province members and with our Mission Advancement Advisory Board. Thanks to all of the suggestions we received we now have a case statement that we can use in talking with current donors who, we believe, will support us. And, thanks to volunteers among you, we have a committee of sisters ready to add notes to cards and letters to benefactors and a group of sisters who can be called on to go on visits. I d like to add here a word of encouragement to those of you who saw our presentation on a dvd to let Sandy know if you are able to help in either of these ways. So what is the state of the province regarding our Mission Advancement effort? We have an enthusiastic, hard working and committed Mission Advancement office staff. We have good support among province members for this effort. We have 55 major donors whom we can visit and ask for larger gifts than they now give and we have other benefactors whom we can ask to increase their support. 7

8 We have institutional ministries that can be vehicles for telling the Society s story today. We want to offer the development directors of all of our ministries the opportunity to hear some of the helpful information we learned during our workshop. At the same time we recognize the fear among some members of our province that asking for funds for the province will take away from gifts to individual ministries. So, how are we dealing with all of this? We have begun planning for visits to our major donors. We plan to expand our Mission Advancement Advisory Board to include friends from other parts of the country. The Lilly School s faculty is preparing a webinar about giving patterns among various age and ethnic groups, and we ll be inviting our ministries to participate at no charge. We will be providing ongoing education about fundraising for our own sisters and for the Mission Advancement Advisory Board. And we are working to build up the realization that there are enough financial resources for all of us there s an abundance of resources and people give to many worthy causes. Thank you for listening to this part of the State of the Province report. We re looking forward to hearing your comments and questions on the conference call that s scheduled for April 23 rd. 8

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