St. Jude, Chattanooga

ST. JUDE
CATHOLIC CHURCH
Chattanooga, Tennessee
E
ver since our first Mass was celebrated in 1958,
St. Jude has grown as a faith community in part
because we have lived our mission to “commit our
talents and resources to provide for
the spiritual and physical needs of our
parish and the greater Chattanooga
community.” Today we have over
1000 parish families and over 400
students who call St. Jude “home”.
Prior to July 2011, we found
ourselves in debt to the tune of
$1.5 million, based on the ‘perfect
storm’ of several elements in the
prior five years. In August 2011, we started our Journey
Together Campaign to eliminate that debt and correct those
elements. By April 2013, we had paid off the $1.5 million
debt and began our Maintenance/Emergency Fund which
now totals $362,000. We also instituted tuition for our
school and it is set this school year at $3,100 per student.
Even with these successes, we have an average yearly
deficit each of the past 5 years of approximately $150,000,
though it has lessened each year.
The Home Campaign provides us with a tremendous
opportunity to eliminate this deficit and install new
carpeting in our Church while also supporting important
ministries and objectives of our Catholic Church in East
Tennessee. Eliminating our debt along with current
initiatives to improve our financial standing will enable
St. Jude to focus more of our financial resources on the
ministries of our parish. Please see the back of this brochure
for more detailed information about St. Jude’s financial
standing and our plan for the future.
(over)
LEVEL 1 Goal: $1,400,000
St. Jude Parish Needs: $700,000
Pope Francis Charitable Trust Fund: $140,000
Catholic Education Trust Fund: $84,000
Priest Retirement: $112,000
Our New Cathedral: $252,000
Note: A portion of the diocesan funds, approximately
8% of our Level 1 goal, is set aside as contingency
for unfulfilled pledges and expenses associated with
administering the campaign.
LEVEL 2 Goal: $2,100,000
St. Jude will receive $1,225,000 for our
needs and $875,000 will go toward
diocesan initiatives.
Fundraising Share Breakdown:
•Funds raised up to our Level 1 Goal will be shared,
50% to St. Jude and 50% to the diocese.
•Funds raised above our Level 1 Goal and up to our
Level 2 Goal will be shared, 75% to St. Jude and
25% to the diocese.
•Funds raised above our Level 2 Goal will all belong
to St. Jude.
home
where we worship, teach & serve
A Campaign for the
Catholic Church in East Tennessee
What is the total parish debt currently?
The total debt at St. Jude as of June 30, 2015 is $745,203. The debt has come into existence over the last 5 years.
Even though we paid off the major debt through the Journey Together Campaign, we have accumulated
this debt as we have tried to balance the budget, spend only on necessities,
keep parish facilities in good working order, and charge tuition for school
without losing students. Since the time we instituted tuition, the tuition and
student fee have increased each year by a combined total of $500 or more. We
have also maintained our number of students in our elementary school and
preschool at approximately 400.
If we reach our baseline goal of the Home
Campaign, will this pay off our parish debt in full?
If we reach the baseline for the Home Campaign and
if our parishioners do not lessen their regular giving,
we should be very close to the elimination of the
debt. Each year we have gotten closer to a balanced
budget and hope to achieve that very soon. Though
the average deficit for each of the past 5 years is
$150,000, last year’s was $91,000, actually $6,000 less
than originally projected.
Who or what will benefit most from paying off the debt?
Parish ministries suffer the most from indebtedness. We are very frugal and,
if you look at our parish expenses, you will see that there are no unnecessary
expenditures. We run a very tight budget, but one has to pay the electric bill, salaries and benefits,
the insurance and all the necessary ‘household’ kinds of expenses.
What measures will the parish take to ensure that we will not fall back into debt?
We will continue to be frugal in our budgeting and expenditures. One of the measures to eliminate debt is the
increase in tuition. We have been increasing tuition in a graduated fashion of approximately $500 per year.
It is our intention to continue to do so until it reaches an appropriate level similar to Our Lady of Perpetual
Help School, our fellow elementary school serving Catholic children also here in Chattanooga. We intend and
hope to do this without losing any students because of the cost of tuition.