Purpose Driven Budget

This blog entry might seem like it is coming a bit early, but it is something that you should be thinking about soon. Budget time is almost upon us. I know several churches match their fiscal year to a calendar year; some use a school year model, so whether you are in the budget crunch time, or will be in a few months. It is something that you need to focus on soon.

As a person who has been frustrated with budgets in the past there is a secret to it. Most of you submit a budget to a supervisor or a committee. The secret to getting an approved budget is simple and will surprise most of you if you are not already doing it. The truth of a budget is that the numbers really don’t mean anything. The words do and words with purpose do the most.

Think of it this way. Many of you have a budget for supplies. And I will bet dollars to doughnuts that it is called your supply(ies) budget, for many of you it is a sizable part of your budget. And I know that you all, as people who work with children, understand that those supplies are vital to your programs. But as you complete your budget place yourself in the shoes of the financial decision makers. There hear supplies and they see a list of old classroom supplies: glue, cotton balls, craft stick, crayon: and they immediately think “those thing don’t cost very much” we know the truth, those cost can add up..and quickly. But good luck convincing people of that.

Instead try something “like hands-on learning supplies”, or “interactive classroom supplies”. These simple descriptors add purpose to your budget. This subconsciously forces the money decision makers to ask value based questions: “Would we rather have a regular classroom or an interactive classroom?”

This rule can be applies to you entire budget. Follow it up with simple description sentences that are crafted to show how interactive classroom make a difference in the spiritual lives of children. When you try this: wade carefully. Try this simple technique and watch you budget approval percentage ratchet up year after year.