Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish
Pastor’s Financial Report: Fiscal Year 2023–2024
Dear Parishioners,
Regarding the fiscal year ending August 31, 2024, I offer this update with sincere thanks for your faithful stewardship. Your generosity sustains our parish’s spiritual mission, maintains our facilities, and supports our parish school and religious education programs. The Mystery of the Incarnation that we celebrate each year at Christmas is certainly reflected when the parish takes up this accounting since the divine and the human, Jesus' Gospel and what is necessary to operate in our world, come together.
This report indicates that in Fiscal Year September 1, 2023 to August 31, 2024, before factoring in restricted monies (such as Capital Improvement, Catholic Education, Renew and Rebuild) the Church had a surplus of $62,204.37, due in large part to a bequest of $250,000, and IHM School had a deficit of only $70,848.47 (after Second Collection was applied), down significantly from prior years that were offset by government reimbursements no longer available to us. The rise in the Education Expense line for this fiscal year is due to the school coming out of the pandemic restrictions with greater activities and more students enrolled.
The following is the context to help understand the bottom lines of Fiscal Year 2023-24:
Parish Giving, Investment Income, and Bequests
Since the last financial report during Lent of 2024, we have seen a notable increase in the weekly and monthly offertory, averaging approximately $1,470 more per week. This is a very encouraging trend and a testament to your renewed commitment to our parish’s ongoing needs. It is also timely, as we may commence an Increased Offertory Giving Campaign this fall 2025 to further stabilize our finances and achieve financial sustainability.
The Parish Council has repeatedly requested a concrete number of what IHM parish should receive in our main collection each week to meet expenses and to get out of operational deficits or reliance on bequests for operational expenditures. I have found arriving at a number challenging as our weekly and monthly support is complemented by the important Christmas and Easter collections, and we also receive contributions that are not reflected in the weekly collection reports, but are reported to the archdiocese. Such contributions included, but are not limited to parishioners who give their yearly donation in an annual or biannual amount, parishioner School Families who offer their obligations all at once. Currently, as of accounting numbers through May 2025, we project an income of $1,820,225 for Fiscal Year 2024-25, and expenses of $1,840,192 (down from the expenses you see in this report for FY 2023-24) with a deficit of approximately $20,000. For our proposed budget 2025-26, we are forecasting church operational expenses of $1,838,181.
If I had to put a number on the average weekly collection to financially sustain the church expenses moving forward, I would say $25,500. Support of a Catholic's parish is seen as integral to living our faith. For those who sacrificially and regularly or annually contribute, thank you! For those who give infrequently and not according to means, may I encourage you to look into WeShare or other ways (the envelopes) to see to this important contribution to the life of our parish that complements your presence at weekly Mass. For those who do not give at all but could, or perhaps because a family feels they pay their fees to Religious Education or to the CYO and that is sufficient, may I encourage you to support the overall parish mission on a regular basis, or perhaps through targeted giving to the Capital Improvement collection or Catholic Education collection.
Additionally, I invite you to consider IHM Parish and School in your estate planning. In recent years, generous bequests, including one over $250,000, have allowed us to meet both ongoing needs and address unexpected issues. Planned giving leaves a legacy that secures the future of our parish for generations and funds can be restricted for specific use, such as Capital Improvements.
For those parishioners who are comparing these reported numbers for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 with this report and the last one from Lent 2024, you will notice a difference in the amount reported in "Other Income" under the Church Income and Expense Comparisons (from $38,848.13 to $36,269.15). Our accountant reassigned investment income of $2,578.98 to better reflect the nature of this income.
Parish operational expenses saw some key changes:
Office expenses decreased significantly after a migration to a VOIP phone system, now serving the rectory, church, and school. This was a long-term cost-saving initiative.
Church expenses increased modestly due to the purchase of a full nativity set. However, a number of figures were memorialized by individual donors, which has meaningfully offset the cost.
Our fundraising events in the Fall of 2023 included two concerts. While these brought joy and community spirit, they also required financial support from the parish, especially due to the costs inherent in producing such artistic and religious culture. Only one concert was presented in December 2024.
Supporting Our Children in Faith: Religious Education & School
Our Religious Education program, under the Coordination of Mrs. Laura Covais, though smaller in enrollment compared to previous years, remains central to our parish mission. The program continues to operate at a deficit, an expense that represents an investment in the next generation of Catholics and one we seek to balance with tuition and fees. A major component of this cost is the employment of off-duty Scarsdale police officers, ensuring the safety of children and families crossing from the South Lot to the school building, particularly during winter months. This expense is essential and non-negotiable.
Our sports programs are strong and the hope of CYO athletic programs are meant to connect people more deeply to the Church, Christ and others. Moving forward, all parishioner participants this 2025-26 school year must be enrolled in either IHM School or another Catholic School, our Religious Education Program, or in a recognized homeschool program. The exception for some non-Catholic non-parishioners to participate remains, at the discretion of our Coordinator. These changes reflect our desire to form well-rounded young people—athletically, intellectually, and spiritually, and to support families who are part of the parish.
Immaculate Heart of Mary School is an important dimension of how our parish responds to the mission of Jesus Christ to teach all nations and to bring people into the divine life through the sacraments. In August 2023, the parish transferred the funds from the monthly Second Collection for Catholic Education, which had been accruing from 2020 through 2023, to help the school reduce its deficit that fiscal year. This year, $45,000 of the received donations, approximately 80% of the total collected for Catholic Education, was transferred to reduce the school’s shortfall to under $71,000. This current fiscal year 2024-25, the deficit should be even less and the projection for 2025-26 is a modest surplus. Thank you to the parish for your strong monthly support of Catholic Education from September to June. The remaining 20% was directed to assist the Religious Education shortfall in 2023–2024.
From the start of my pastorate, and especially while the school was working to rebuild enrollment and stabilize finances, I directed that the church would assume 100% of all campus-wide maintenance costs, under the supervision of Parish Property Management. The school covers the daily cleaning costs of the school building that is also utilized by the Religious Education Program and the sports program. Crystal Blue is our vendor that sees to this cleaning. With school enrollment now projected to exceed 300 students in the upcoming 2025–2026 year, thanks to the hard work of our principal, Mrs. Tracy Keelin, and her dedicated staff, teachers, and aides, the time has now come to realign our shared responsibilities in the budget. Beginning this fall, the school will assume 40% of maintenance expenses, and the church will cover the remaining 60%. This shared approach will help keep our campus running sustainably and see it reflected in the budget and accounting.
Renew and Rebuild: Projects Completed and Projects to Come
Thanks to your generosity to the Renew and Rebuild capital campaign, we completed repairs to the rectory masonry, chapel, and roof of the choir tower. This summer the rest of the carpet in the sanctuary is to be replaced and the organ will receive its first deep cleaning in 25 years. Afterwards, the remaining funds will be quite modest, and a number of deferred maintenance items will need attention in the years ahead.
I entrust to our incoming pastor, Father Stephen Ries, the support of those involved in maintenance on staff and dedicated parishioners, the Finance Council, the Renew and Rebuild Committee and the Parish Council to determine how to proceed with such potential long-term capital improvements as I see them.
These include:
School and Church Exterior
Address water infiltration on the north side of the school, from stairwell to stairwell and from the third-floor down including all windows there. Addressing the mortar works around the third floor of the school outside of the aforementioned area.
Revisit roof slate repairs on the church where they are missing or broken, and repair of the chapel roof that is leaking.
Address the water infiltration in the choir staircase around the windows.
Church Interior
Restore two confessionals to working condition that have a 1/3 space for the priest, a movable screen/wall for face-to-face or anonymous confessions, and 2/3 space for the penitent to either kneel or sit; sound proofing of the confessions and climate control.
Reupholster or replace church kneelers for comfort and durability; address any broken pews.
Get proper kneelers for the backs of the chapel chairs.
Complete the interior church painting, originally included in the Renew and Rebuild plan.
Upgrade church lighting.
Possible installation of handicap accessible bathrooms on the main level.
Chapel and Rectory
Repaint the chapel after resolving roof leaks.
Repair window seals and masonry on the Parish House, particularly around the main floor parlor/sitting room, where water continues to seep in.
Evaluate the church boiler, with an eye toward modern and efficient heating alternatives.
Lower Church & Accessibility
Modernize the lower church: new paint, updated cafeteria tables, updated lighting, and possible future flooring upgrades.
Install a lift or platform system to allow handicap accessibility from an outside ramp to the lower church.
Grounds and Drainage
Improve drainage on the side of the church near the school so we no longer rely on a temporary pump during rainstorms.
Reinstate a central drain in the main parking lot to prevent water pooling and icy conditions in winter.
Resurface both parking lots, or maintain with new asphalt and necessary patching.
Looking Ahead and Offering Support
These projects are not luxuries—they are necessary steps to preserve our beautiful parish campus and ensure it remains welcoming and functional for years to come. I warmly invite you to consider adopting or partially supporting one of these initiatives through directed giving or reserved donations. Please reach out to Father Ries if you are open to discussing how you can help bring one of these projects to completion.
In Gratitude
It has been a privilege to serve you as pastor over these nearly five years. I extend heartfelt thanks to:Fr. Thumma
IHM Trustees: Theresa Nicholson and John Perna
Our IHM Principal, Mrs. Keelin
Our Religious Education Coordinator, Mrs. Covais
Our accountant, Fred Jilleba and Jilleba & Associates
Our Business Manager, Liz Reyes, and bookkeeper, Nataly Tissoni
The Renew and Rebuild Committee
The Parish Council
The Maintenance Committee
And to you, our dedicated and generous parishioners, for your wisdom, time, and generosity in a number of specific and generous projects.
Without your collaboration, guidance, and encouragement, I could not have administered our parish. Thank you for your support over these past five years!
Faithfully in Christ,
Monsignor Luke Sweeney
Pastor