Finances

Newman Challenge Progress Update
This year, in addition to your Newman Challenge commitments, we are including all unrestricted offertory gifts in the Newman Challenge. During this uncertain time we are also prudently budgeting all our income for this fiscal year.
* Offertory gifts include basket collections at Mass, mailed gifts, and online gifts, not designated for a specific purpose
In November we saw favorable budget variances in both income and expense. Year-to-date variances were favorable as well, resulting in a net gain of $5,841. The gain was $48,515 better than the budgeted loss of $42,674 at this point in the fiscal year.
  • November total income was over budget by $8,882. On a year-to-date basis, total income was over by $37,275. Gifts totaling over $48,000 were received in August from the Columbus Foundation's "Big Give" fund raising event held in June.  These gifts from Newman Center supporters substantially boosted current year-to-date income, along with several generous gifts received from donors this fall.  However, income is less than last year at this time by $34,319.
  • Total expenses in November were slightly under budget and were under budget year-to-date by $11,239. Compared to last year, expenses are significantly less year-to-date by $27,067 due to programming and format changes this year due to Covid-19.
The unrestricted cash balance on Nov. 30 increased $30,232 from $459,481 to $489,713 due primarily to the operating gain of $33,307 for the month. The receipt in April of $145,000 in loan proceeds under the Paycheck Protection Program has significantly increased the cash balance. A substantial portion of the loan funds were necessary to support this year’s budget. Details of the Small Business Administration loan can be found below. To fund operations, approximately $120,000 per month is needed. Our goal is to maintain a cash reserve balance equal to three months’ expenses, approximately $360,000.
We are deeply grateful for all the ways our community supports the Newman Center - financial, in prayer and in service to Catholic campus ministry at The Ohio State University.
 
Newman Center Finance Committee fiscal year 2020-21:
Tim Dooley (chair), Fr. Ed Nowak (ex-officio), Casey Cross, Debbie D’Aurora, Anna Chapin, Matt Curoe, Colin Gosche, Cheryl Hoon (ex-officio), Fil Line, Bob Salmen, and Mark Wengerd.

​2019-2020 Spiritual & Fiscal Report

Partners in Ministry: Grant Funding

A huge thank you to The Catholic Foundation for supporting St. Thomas More Newman Center by awarding us two grants during this year’s accelerated responsive grant cycle! For 2020-21, the Newman Center will receive a $5,000 grant for Outreach that will be utilized for our Food for the Homeless ministries. Also, The Catholic Foundation has again awarded the Newman Center a grant for Religious Vocational Discernment, for $7,500. This will help support the Paulist Fathers in their efforts to raise awareness and teach skills needed for vocational discernment.
As we wrap up the 2019-20 grant cycle, we are grateful for the grants we received for Vocational Discernment and for our Public Address System.
We are so appreciative of The Catholic Foundation’s support for the mission and work of the Newman Center!
We are also thankful for a grant of over $27,000 from the Ohio Emergency Management Agency for facility security projects including replacing entryway glass with shatter resistant plexiglass, replacement of certain internal room doors to accommodate door barricade system, extension of electronic (fob) entry system, additional security cameras, extension of our building PA system, and more.

The Newman Center is also grateful to be the recipient of a $3,900 Catholic Relief Services Rice Bowl Local Funds grant to benefit our Food for the Homeless ministries!

Newman Center receives Paycheck Protection Program Loan

​We are pleased to share that the Newman Center applied for and has received a $145,000 loan through the Paycheck Protection Program provision of the CARES Act, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s negative financial impact on small businesses and non-profits. The loan will be fully forgiven to the extent the funds are used for payroll costs, utilities and other expenses. Complete details of the loan provisions can be found here: Paycheck Protection Program. We are confident that we will meet the requirements for forgiveness of the loan.
 
In the years since the 2008-2009 recession, the Finance Committee has consistently worked to build and maintain cash-on-hand reserves for large-scale expenses and critical needs, especially during times such as this.  While we have a modest sum of reserves, this loan will serve as a safety net so that even during this time of uncertainty, we may continue our work toward the replacement of our aging heating and cooling system, among other essential needs.
 
We are grateful for a community that is strong in their commitment and ongoing support of our ministry.