1. Restricted contributions
are gifts or bequests upon which a donor has
imposed conditions for, or limitations of, use. The
recipient organization must decide whether it can
accept and administer a gift under the specified
restrictions.
Restrictions can be permanent, such as a gift into
an enduring endowment fund where the gift must
be invested but never spent. Or restrictions can be
temporary, meaning the organization can spend
the gift once it has satisfied the conditions specified
by the donor.
Only donors may place restrictions on contributions,
and only donors may remove previously imposed
restrictions. An organization can solicit restricted
gifts; however, it is prohibited from restricting a
donation any further or tighter than what a donor
specifies or from spending the donation in a way that
does not honor the donor’s stated intent.
Accepting restricted gifts imposes additional
responsibilities to account for and report on the
use of restricted contributions, which increases
administrative costs for the organization.
Unrestricted contributions
are general gifts or bequests to an organization that
support its mission, but do not constrain or limit the
organization as to how or when they are spent. They
require no special accounting or reporting processes,
and thus cost the least to administer.
For the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod,
unrestricted gifts are used only to fund planned
expenses authorized by the Board of Directors as
outlined in the annual operating budget.
General and Administrative
NUTRITION FACTS:
Property and insurance, external audit, Internal Audit, district audits,
Accounting, Human Resources, purchasing, legal, Information
Technology, copy center, mail room, building operations, telephone
system, cafeteria, travel and meeting
INGREDIENTS:
Total budget: 9%
Unrestricted contributions: 35%
Restricted contributions: 65%
Total contributions: $6,663,000
National and International Mission
NUTRITION FACTS:
Mercy Medical Teams, life and health ministry, deaconess
training, disaster assistance, Ministry to the Armed
Forces, recruiting and supporting missionaries, short-term
missionary teams, theological training, partner-church
support, human care, worship resources, agriculture
training, international schools and congregations, church
planting and evangelism, resource materials, LCMS Youth
Gathering, rural and urban ministry, campus ministry, black
and Hispanic ministry, church revitalization, school and
youth ministry, Recognized Service Organization support,
Specialized Pastoral Ministry, Servant Events, church-
worker support
INGREDIENTS:
Total budget: 56%
Unrestricted contributions: 6%
Restricted contributions: 94%
Total contributions: $40,183,000
13%
NATIONAL &
INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS
70%
NATIONAL &
INTERNATIONAL
MISSIONS
8%
GENERAL &
ADMINISTRATIVE
4%
SYNOD OFFICERS
& ADMINISTRATION
4%
ECCLESIASTICAL
SERVICES &
COMMISSIONS
5%
MISSION
ADVANCEMENT
1%
COMMUNICATIONS
3%
KFUO
5%
PASTORAL
EDUCATION
0%
UNIVERSITY
EDUCATION
13%
GENERAL &
ADMINISTRATION
17%
SYNOD OFFICERS
& ADMINISTRATION
9%
ECCLESIASTICAL
SERVICES &
COMMISSIONS
11%
MISSION ADVANCEMENT
14%
COMMUNICATIONS
1%
KFUO
5%
PASTORAL
EDUCATION
17%
UNIVERSITY
EDUCATION
University Education
NUTRITION FACTS:
Concordia University System (10 LCMS colleges and universities,
including reduction of the historic debt.)
INGREDIENTS:
Total budget: 4%
Unrestricted contributions 100%
Restricted contributions 0%
Total contributions: $3,151,000
Pastoral Education
NUTRITION FACTS:
Theology conference, seminary subsidies, scholarships,
pre- and post-seminary support, continuing education
INGREDIENTS:
Total budget: 5%
Unrestricted contributions: 28%
Restricted contributions: 72%
Total contributions: $3,455,000
Synod Officers and Administration
NUTRITION FACTS:
President, vice-presidents, Koinonia Project, President’s Leadership Summit,
secretary, Board of Directors, Board for International Mission, Board for National
Mission, Council of Presidents, chief administrative officer, chief financial officer,
chief mission officer, Concordia Historical Institute, Synod convention
INGREDIENTS:
Total budget: 7%
Unrestricted contributions: 60%
Restricted contributions: 40%
Total contributions: $5,239,000
KFUO
NUTRITION FACTS:
AM and online broadcasting
of Lutheran programming, live
streaming, podcasts
INGREDIENTS:
Total budget: 2%
Unrestricted contributions: 9%
Restricted contributions: 91%
Total contributions: $1,560,000
Communications
NUTRITION FACTS:
Public relations, branding, The Lutheran
Witness, Reporter, Lutherans Engage the
World, website, Reporter Online, social
media, multi-media, documentaries, video,
photography, Church Information Center,
graphic design, writing, editing, media
relations, crisis management, webinar
support
INGREDIENTS:
Total budget: 4%
Unrestricted contributions: 84%
Restricted contributions: 16%
Total contributions: $3,177,000
Ecclesiastical Services
and Commissions
NUTRITION FACTS:
Commission on Handbook, Commission
on Constitutional Matters, Commission on
Theology and Church Relations, rosters
and statistics, research, International
Lutheran Council, Global Seminary Initiative,
Wittenberg Project
INGREDIENTS:
Total budget: 6%
Unrestricted contributions: 41%
Restricted contributions: 59%
Total contributions: $4,038,000
Mission Advancement
NUTRITION FACTS:
Donor stewardship, giving opportunities,
donor updates, grant partnerships, donor
receipting, gift processing, donor visits,
missionary support, special initiatives, gift
reporting
INGREDIENTS:
Total budget: 7%
Unrestricted contributions: 41%
Restricted contributions: 59%
Total contributions: $5,116,000
THE
WHOLE PIE
$72,582,000
UNRESTRICTED
$18,432,000
RESTRICTED
$54,150,000
The operating budget of
The Lutheran Church——Missouri Synod for fiscal year 2014,
BY THE SLICE
All percentages are rounded to the nearest
whole percent. For example – 4.657% is
shown as 5%. 19.343% is shown as 19%
©LCMS 2014