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Program Budget Presentations
In the Congregational Treasurers and Bookkeepers Financial and Accounting Guide found in the ELCA
Office of the Treasurer Web site (www.elca.org/treasurer) there is a summary of various budget types
and brief description of a potential budget process. This article will go into more detail about the
popular budget presentation format often called “program budgeting.”
All budgets are prepared in a manner that considers the programs of the congregation. The primary
difference in a program budget is in the presentation to both programmatic users and the general
congregation. A program budget displays the budget in such a way that it becomes readily apparent to
all where the resources of the congregation are devoted in its efforts to carry out the mission of the
church. So, where do you start?
Strategic Plans
Mission begins with hearing the word of God calling the congregation into action. You must have a plan,
and a clear way to express that plan to members of the congregation. Otherwise, you are wandering in
the wilderness. It is only after strategic planning that a programmatic budget becomes useful in not only
managing the plan but expressing that plan though a budget. That budget becomes a financial
expression of your congregation’s response to God’s plans for your community.
Cost Centers
One of the biggest hurdles in programmatic budget development is confusing what you do (the
program) with how you accomplish it (type of expense). In business terms, various cost centers should
be established within your accounting system that correspond to where costs are accumulated. These
cost centers are your programs. Often there are various sub-cost centers, also called “activites,” within
each program that further break down various natural groupings of expenses within that program.
Activities can be further broken down into sub-activities. Using the music program of your congregation
as an example of this may be shown as follows: