Monthly UMC Finance Reports Now Published

GCFA is committed to keeping the United Methodist connection informed on the connectional finances of the Church. Each month we provide updates on apportionment giving. Our most recent updates show giving through July: 

• By Fund
• By Annual Conference

Some key highlights from these reports this month are: 

• Apportionment collections are trending ahead of where they were at the same time in 2020.  However, in 2020 the pandemic severely impacted apportionment collections from April through July.  This means we are not predicting at this point whether overall collections in 2021 will surpass those in 2020.    
• Collections by each apportioned fund are trending in such way to indicate many annual conferences are paying apportionments based upon the allocations proposed to General Conference in the ADCA instead of the official allocations that are based on the 2017-2020 approved budget. Overall collections are 2.5% higher than 2020. The Episcopal Fund (EF)shows a 9% increase while the Interdenominational Cooperation Fund (ICF) is declining by 15%.  The proposed allocations provided for an increase to the Episcopal Fund while all other funds had decreasing allocations, with the most significant being for the ICF. 

In addition to these monthly reports, other reports that are provided annually include the audit reports and the schedule of net assets of each general agency. These reports will be uploaded within the next month and will be an update to the existing reports. As a preview of the updated Net Assets Schedules, it should be noted that most agencies will show an increase in their net assets in 2020.  Several factors impacting these increases include: 

• Each agency has begun to budget for anticipated lower apportionments that are being proposed by GCFA to the General Conference. Budget changes include increased shared services and reductions of duplicative activities. 

• Anticipated lower collections due to the impact General Conference decisions may have on disaffiliation of local churches. Agencies are being mindful and preparing for many scenarios.  
• Lower travel and meeting costs in 2020 due to pandemic related restrictions on travel and budget planning.    

In summary, the agencies have prepared themselves for the lower apportionments being proposed, but the delay in General Conference has delayed these funding reductions.