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Investing together in RLC's future

As we celebrate 60 years of life together at RLC, we reflect on all that we do together as a Resurrection people: worship, learn, support one another, and serve. Financial giving is a practice we also live out together, sustaining this special place to belong. Your giving matters to RLC in 2025 and beyond.

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A joint approach to giving

Each year, RLC asks for pledges to ensure proper budgeting and resources for the upcoming fiscal year. This year, in addition to your annual giving pledge, please prayerfully consider a contribution to support the new three-year capital campaign.

Annual giving

Your annual giving pledge supports the day-to-day financial needs of the congregation - the nuts and bolts of what creates a welcoming and inclusive place. The 2024 operating budget is $806,000; contributions from RLC members support expense categories such as:

  • Worship and music experience
  • Youth and adult programs
  • Serving our community
  • Staff salaries and benefits
  • Mortgage payments
  • Building maintenace and utilities

Capital campaign

Mortgage payments remain RLC's single largest expense, dampening the ability to invest more deeply in RLC programs. The goal of our capital campaign is to reduce or eliminate the mortgage principal. This allows RLC to lower monthly payments, thereby creating room for investments in programs that foster connection and fellowship among RLC members.

Any donations beyond $750K would extend our ability to secure even greater financial stability and investment.

Pledge progress

Capital campaign $667,006 39 households pledged
Annual budget $374,960 42 households pledged

By raising just $750K to pay down the mortgage principal, RLC would save $83,000 per year.

FAQ

How were people chosen to participate in the feasibility study?
Interview and survey invitations were sent to an intentionally diverse, representative sample of the entire congregation.
How much information about my giving history was shared with the consultants or committee members?
Neither the consultants nor the Capital Campaign Committee had access to any individual or household giving history. Our congregation treasurer and staff financial assistant provided blinded data to ensure that the study included households representing a variety of giving levels.
Why did we do this study now?
Resurrection ran two capital campaigns in the 2010's to fund our current facility. A third campaign was always planned, but staff transition and the pandemic precluded consideration of another campaign for several years. Last December and January the operating budget being developed for 2024 showed a sizable deficit. Raising funds to pay down the mortgage was an idea met with enthusiasm at a Sunday morning information session and at the congregation meeting, since reducing the mortgage saves interest expense each year for the next 14 years. The idea gathered steam with a committee forming to develop a plan and recommend a feasibility study to the Congregation Council in April.
How much did the feasibility study cost and how did we pay for it, since we already have a deficit budget?
The feasibility study cost $22,500. A congregation member made a generous initial gift to the campaign and designated part of the gift to fund the campaign.
How did the committee choose Norton Philanthropic Counsel?
The committee issued a request for proposals to three firms, including one RLC worked with on a previous campaign. Based on their written proposals, phone interviews and references, Norton Philanthropic was the clear choice.
How much funding did the feasibility study uncover?
The feasibility study determined the congregation could successfully reduce the mortgage by at least half.
What is the proposed timeline for the Capital Campaign?
The Council, in collaboration with the Capital Campaign Committee, plans to launch the campaign in October 2024 and wrap up in December 2027.
Based on these findings, will RLC be pursuing a Capital Campaign?
Yes, based on the cross-section of the congregation interviewed/surveyed and the positive and enthusiastic responses, the Congregation Council decided pursing a campaign would be in the best interest of the RLC community.

Why are we launching a campaign now?
When the expansion that created our current facility was planned, three campaigns were anticipated to pay for the building. The first, begun in 2010, raised $1.7million and the second, begun in 2014, raised $1.2 million. Staff transition and the pandemic precluded consideration of the third campaign for several years. When the 2024 budget, with a $75,000 deficit, was approved at the Congregation meeting in January, some congregation members began discussing the idea of a capital campaign as a way of creating a long-lasting improvement in the budget. The Congregation Council approved a committee to begin exploring this possibility shortly thereafter.
Why focus on reducing the mortgage?
Mortgage payments are our single largest expense, and mortgage interest alone was budgeted at over $75,000 for 2024. Reducing the mortgage, and therefore mortgage interest, reduces costs in the current year AND every year until 2038. Reducing the mortgage by half would eliminate the deficit we saw in the approved 2024 budget, due to reduced monthly payments, and enable us to consider new opportunities to build community, deepen relationships, and to learn and serve together.
How quickly does money raised by the capital campaign impact the mortgage and our budget? Are we refinancing the mortgage?
Due to current high interest rates, it would not be beneficial to refinance the mortgage. We will remain in constant contact with our lender, the Mission Investment Fund of the ELCA, to ensure campaign funds are applied in a way that maximizes benefit to RLC.
The last quarterly letter said we are doing better than expected. Do we still need to do a campaign?
It is true that we have been doing better than initially forecasted with both increased giving and reduced expenses in 2024. We do not know whether the improvements we saw in the first three quarters of the year will carry through to the remaining quarter. In addition, we need to create space in the budget for well-deserved raises for our pastors and staff, and inflation in health insurance, utilities and other expenses. It is also important to note that part of the reduction in expenses in 2024 has come from the capital campaign due to some generous leading gifts.
How much money do we hope to raise in the capital campaign?
We hope to raise $750,000 or more, reducing the mortgage by half. The more we raise, and the sooner those gifts are received, the greater the impact on what we can do together as a church. Eliminating the mortgage completely would create new possibilities for us as a congregation, that otherwise might have to wait until 2038.
If funds are raised beyond what is needed to balance the budget, and additional operating dollars are freed up, what is the Council's plan for those excess funds?
That is another place where YOU come in. The quick answer is the excess funds will alleviate much of the pressure the council and staff experience each year when it comes to planning and paying for ministry. It will mean fewer fundraisers for youth events, for example. But more importantly, it's time to refocus our top priorities for the next few years, and we need your help to do that. The council will be guiding us into a strategic planning process, inviting input from the whole congregation so we know the best way to invest all our resources for ministry — both money and people.

As I consider my gift, which is a higher priority – the capital campaign or the annual budget?
The annual budget is crucial to sustaining our current ministries – from worship to formation to service and more. It is the top priority, and we hope you will consider sustaining or if possible, increasing your current level of giving. If you are able to also make a gift to the capital campaign, in a lump sum or in gifts spread over up to 3 years, you will have a long-term impact on the fiscal strength and ultimately the vitality every ministry of Resurrection Lutheran Church.
I already have a recurring gift set up in Breeze. Do I need to complete a pledge card?
Yes! We do not want to make assumptions about your intent for the coming year. Life happens, things change – hopefully all for the better. But we would appreciate you prayerfully considering your commitment for 2025 and confirming your plans for giving with an updated pledge.
Where does the money in the annual budget go?
In the 2024 budget, over half the funds go to compensation and benefits for pastors and staff, over a third goes to building and maintenance expenses (including mortgage payments, which are our single largest expense), almost 8% is designated for service in the community outside our walls, and the rest covers all other direct expenses for ministry and operations. See the January 2024 congregation meeting packet for more detailed information.
When will the 2025 budget be approved?
Work has already begun on next year's budget and it will continue to be refined, including results of this campaign, through the end of the year. The budget will be presented for approval at a congregational meeting in January.
I wasn't aware we had a deficit budget previously. Going forward, how will the status of our financial condition be shared with us?
All givers of record receive a quarterly statement reflecting their year-to-date giving to ensure our records agree with yours. A letter from our treasurer, including updates on the congregation's financial condition, accompanies each of those statements. Please be sure to read those carefully. Updates will also be shared at congregation meetings in January and May/June. Any time you have questions or need more information about church finances, please don't hesitate to email finance@rlcindy.org.

Pledge to the campaign

We are investing together in RLC's future. In addition to your annual giving pledge, please prayerfully consider a contribution to support the new three-year capital campaign.

Email campaign@rlcindy.org with any questions.

Submit your pledge