Proposed CBF Global Budget

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR OCTOBER 1, 2023-SEPTEMBER 30, 2024

Revenue

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s budget is based on unrestricted and restricted revenue. Unrestricted revenue is contributed by congregations and individuals without any designation. Restricted revenue funds ministries or mission endeavors based on grants or funding agreements. Some of those restricted funds are received and spent in the same year, others come in one year and are spent in future years if the grant is received for a multi-year period.

The revenue projections that serve as the foundation for the 2023-2024 budget include several important factors:

• The projected increase for CBF Ministries and Mission reflects anticipated modest growth in contributions from congregations, as well as cautious estimates for success in fundraising strategies focused on individual donors.
• The revenue total for the Offering for Global Missions reflects the actual cost of sustaining the presence of CBF’s field personnel around the world. That number has increased this year because of the commissioning of new field personnel and anticipated policy changes impacting the compensation structure and housing benefit for field personnel.
• The projected revenue for Other Donor-Directed Gifts/Grants has increased because, in this budget, all revenue related to collaborative agreements with CBF state and regional organizations is in this line. CBF Global now has agreements with Great Rivers Fellowship, CBF Florida and the Caribbean Islands, and Tennessee CBF whereby all revenue for their ministries is received by CBF Global and all expenditures are paid by CBF Global under the direction of the staff and governance of those state and regional organizations. Because this revenue is restricted, we do not include it within our unrestricted revenue but rather in the Other Donor-Directed Gifts/Grants line. We also have several proposals being considered by grant makers that account for the remaining increase. In those cases, there would be no associated spending if the grants are not received.
• The Previously Funded line reflects funds received in previous years for use in this coming year. Examples of this in our budget this year are Thriving in Ministry, Thriving Congregations, and Financial Wellness, among others.

Expenses

Nearly all increases in expenditures in this year’s budget are in areas funded by restricted revenue (not unrestricted revenue). The only increases in spending associated with unrestricted revenue are increases budgeted for health insurance, funds for compensation bonuses and fixed costs.

Beyond that, here are a few notes:

• The budget for Thriving in Ministry has increased because the funding previously received for that initiative will be spent this year toward the actual ministries and the compensation for CBF’s newly hired Director of the Clergy Support Ecosystem. Part of this role is to oversee Thriving in Ministry Initiatives along with initiatives such as CBF Fellows and Peer Learning Groups.
• Spending in Thriving Congregations shows a reduction from the previous year because CBF is now paying the greatest share of the salary for the Director of Thriving Congregations, in accordance with terms of the grant proposal. Therefore, less of that salary is accounted for in that line item and more is accounted for in the Ministries Personnel and Support line.
• The Resources budget line shows an increase in this year’s budget because of increased spending on resources coming from restricted funds.
• The increase in spending associated with states and regions reflects the new partnership with Great Rivers Fellowship.
• There is a noticeable increase in the Global Mission budget for both Programs and Impact and Member Care and Wellness. The increased spending in Programs and Impact is drawn from designated funds given in support of the new Latin America and Caribbean strategy in CBF Global Missions and the additional funds to strengthen our Member Care and Wellness initiatives to support our field personnel are being drawn from designated funds given for that purpose.
• The Together for Hope budget reflects a new partnership between CBF and Together for Hope. Together for Hope is taking the next steps in functioning as an independent 501(c)(3), which means it needs to receive directly and expend its revenue. CBF will continue to handle payroll for Together for Hope based on an invoice arrangement, and the funds that remain in our budget for it are our investment in personnel costs.
• The General Office line of the administrative budget includes a new lease arrangement that in the future will save CBF $170,000 a year in costs associated with rent. The overall administrative budget is not decreased that much this year due to transitional costs and other short-term increases due to other software transitions.