Monthly Meeting Minutes
Minneapolis Friends Meeting
May 12, 2024
Stephen S., Presiding Clerk – Jeannette R., Recording Clerk

1. Approval of Agenda—Clerk

The Clerk shared the proposed agenda. The agenda was approved.

2. Approval of Minutes of April 14, 2024 – Clerk

The draft minutes for the April 2024 Monthly Meeting were circulated in advance of meeting for business.

The April 2024 minutes were approved.

3. Ministry and Counsel Report – State of Society Report

All those in the meeting who provided input into the content of this year’s State of Society Report and helped with the writing were thanked. It has been sent onto Northern Yearly Meeting.

The report was left out loud. The report is posted on the Meeting’s web site.

Like Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, we sometimes wish we could be relieved of the cup Life gives us. Hopefully more often we identify with the writer of the 23rd Psalm, who wrote with gratitude, “My cup runneth over.”

Friends approved the report as presented.

4. Approval of the 2024’25 Revised Proposed Budget

In preparation for consideration of the revised budget, three members of the Stewardship and Finance committee provided reports.

Analysis of giving to the meeting in the past 10 years.
A member presented information on giving to the meeting. He conducted an analysis of donations from last 10 years. He looked at number of donors, size of gifts, and total income. A “donor” represents a household.

Total giving: In 2014, the meeting received just over $100,000 in donations. In the past 10 years, donations peaked at $108,911 in 2017. Donations dropped to $88,776 in 2023. Effectively donations are down around 10%.

Number of donors: In 2014, there were 83 donors. In 2023, there were 61 donors. This represents a 23% drop in the total number of donors.

Levels of giving: The number of donations above $3000 per year has stayed pretty steady. The meeting is experiencing a decrease in gifts under $1000 a year. Donations in this level have dropped by 50%.

Conclusions:
We are losing small donors. From the data, more membership would help. Members give more. People who come in for a brief time tend not to give.

Presentation of the revised proposed budget
The revised proposed budget was presented. The latest iteration of the proposed budget has been reviewed by past and present clerks of the Finance and Stewardship Committee.

The approach to this revised budget prioritized expenses that the meeting has no choice about paying. This includes maintenance of a building, staff compensation, and the commitment the meeting has made to having a children and families coordinator

It was noted that this budget still presents a risk of drawing down on reserves. But we hope to raise $110,000 this year.

Increasing income to the meeting
A member shared the budget development process. She reflected that it seems drastic to fund so little of our programmatic work. Past budgets reflected an unfilled Directory of Ministry position. In addition, actual expenses during COVID were down. This meant that our actual expenditures for years were lower than budgeted and the income we brought in met the meeting needs. Because of this situation, Stewardship and Finance has not focused much on increasing income for the meeting.

What’s next

First, Stewardship and Finance will work to increase contributions through outreach and regular communication. It will make the financial situation of the meeting more transparent and increase communication about the financial needs of the meeting.

Secondly, a threshing session will be held to prioritize what goes back into expenditure. The intent is to create an order that budget lines will be added back in as income allows. We will be working with the presiding clerk to set up these discussions.

Stewardship and Finance work with Peace and Social Concerns Committee to recommend a process for determining contributions to organizations.

Finally, Stewardship and Finance will look at actual expenditures with committee clerks to evaluate spending patterns over the past ten years and determine realistic requests for this budget year.

A member reported that the Stewardship and Finance committee feels comfortable with a reserve of $100,000. There is a risk that the meeting will go below that level, if income does not meet this year’s budget.

Proposed minute

The clerk proposed the following minute for the meeting consideration.

In keeping with need for fiscal responsibility in the stewardship of our resources, and in the expectation that through ongoing discernment together, the Light will help us discern the tasks we are called to finance, Meeting approves the following the following recommendations from the Stewardship and Finance Committee.

1. Meeting will seek to maintain a prudent reserve in our general fund of approximately $100,000 to cover about one year of non-discretionary expenses.

2. Meeting further approves the revised 2024-25 MFM budget as proposed by the Stewardship and Finance Committee which estimates contributions of $100,000 based on past giving, non-discretionary expenses of $132,335, and significantly reduces the amounts proposed for program expenses and contributions to Quaker and other organizations in previous budget proposals.

3. Meeting recognizes that the proposed budget estimates a deficit of $32,335 leaving an end of year balance in the general fund of $92,665 that is below the recommended $100,000 reserve in this fund. Meeting further acknowledges that the number of contributors has declined significantly although donations have remained fairly steady.

4. Meeting asks the Presiding Clerk with the Stewardship and Finance Committee to convene one or more threshing sessions in the coming year to discern how best to use our individual and community gifts and resources in a fiscally responsible way in service of our testimonies and vision for the future of the Meeting.

The meeting approved the minute as proposed.

The meeting took a pause to center again after making a decision on an issue that has been difficult.

5. Trustees and Designated Funds Report

The Trustees’ role is to manage the Minneapolis Friends Meeting’s legal and financial obligations. The Trustees review and sign legal contracts on behalf of the Meeting, ensure that use of the meetinghouse aligns with established guidelines, monitor changes in public COVID recommendations, manage the sections of Lakewood Cemetery owned by the Meeting, and oversee several designated funds that are separate from the annual budget. Trustee funds are provided by allocations from the annual budget, donations and memorials, building use fees, and rent.
There was a review of each Trustee fund and their current balances.
A number of questions were raised about other trustee fund expenditures from the past year. These questions were answered, and clarifications were made.

A member raised the question whether the trustees have made any decisions or plans for the funding of the solar panels. It was reported that the trustees have been signing contracts but is only aware of expenditures through the annual budget.

The meeting heard from Cedar Creek this week and it looks like the Meeting will get $12,300 from a grant. There is still an application for the Green Streets program under consideration.

There was a recommendation that the Trustees review the maintenance schedule. There will be a joint meeting between Stewardship and Finance, Trustees and Property Committees. It was requested that the results of that meeting be presented to the meeting as a whole.

The meeting accepted the report as amended.

A friend expressed concern about the possible impending replacement of the lift.

6. Friends Committee on National Legislation Priorities

FCNL is the Quaker lobby works to influence Congress on Peace and Social concerns. Its work is conducted by a staff of 60 employees, 140 advocacy teams from around the country, and an advocacy core of young people supported by stipends. FCNL is involved in truth and healing efforts related to Native American Boarding Schools.

This year, FCNL engaged Friends to develop the priorities for the 119th congress. This is done on a regular basis. There were a good number of responses from meeting members and attenders reviewed by Jim and Doug Herron in response to the question, “Where should we instruct FCNL to focus?” Fifty-seven responses were noted with plenty of duplication.

Based on the survey results, the five priorities Meeting is recommending to FCNL for the 119th Congress are —
– Climate Change
– Migration
– Economic Concerns within the United States
– Situation in Israel/Palestine – looking for a lasting peace solution and immediate aid
– Concern about Native American Issues – particularly honoring of treaties

The clerk expressed thanks for the engagement of Minneapolis Friends Meeting members and also for having a national organization that represents our concerns.

7. Invitation to International Friends Church Celebration

Friends are invited to a celebrate the 12th Anniversary of the International Friends Church. While Minneapolis Friends Meeting, supported the founding of this Friends Church, they are affiliated with Friends United Meeting and not under our care.

On Sunday June 16, the church will host a 10 a.m. breakfast, 11 a.m. worship, and 12:30 p.m. meal. The Clerk indicated that there is a signup sheet. Friends are encouraged to attend.

8. Announcements and Communications

There is a need for additional people to help out with the hybrid system.

The meeting has received a letter from Adelphi Meeting accepting a transfer of a Minneapolis Meeting members into their membership. They let us know he was appointed as an assistant clerk. They shared his participation in the meeting and gave thanks for his contributions of humor, music and deep concerns.

The Meeting have received lots of letters of appreciation from organizations to which we have contributed.

The Minnesota Friends School is having financial difficulty and is looking for donations.

On May 11, the meeting had a soup potluck with a representative from the AFSC. They are looking for a contact person in the meeting.

The Meeting for Business ended with a period of silent worship