Highland Park

Giving

By giving to Highland Park Pres, you are supporting our mission of helping people find and follow Jesus, and serving those who are most vulnerable in our city and world. Thank you for your generosity.

Special Giving

Giving to the General Operating Budget funds the mission and ministry of Highland Park Pres. Consider supporting the below initiatives with a gift above and beyond what you give to our General Operating Budget.

Resources

New tax laws mean you should think differently about your charitable giving. Our Tax Smart Giving Guide and CARES Act Guide will help you navigate giving in the way that is best for you.

There are four values that guide lay leaders and staff in the creation of each year’s budget:

  1. Mission: We value using funds strategically in order to advance our mission of leading all generations to find and follow Jesus, for the flourishing of our city and beyond.
  2. Stewardship: We value using funds wisely, striving to achieve maximum impact through the use of minimum resources.
  3. Transparency: We value communicating often and with candor about how we create our budget and how the money is utilized.
  4. Accountability: We value the accountability offered by audited financial statements conducted by a third party, as well as sound internal controls, lay-led committees, and review procedures.

Our budget philosophy is to carefully consider both internal and external factors when developing annual spending for the year.

  • Goals: The budget must line up with the goals of the church, which are focused on advancing our mission. Each year, we review and apply Session-directed priorities.
  • Economy: We evaluate the impact of the economic climate on our members as well as on the city and the nation.
  • Giving: The number of giving households and their giving trends from the past several years are also utilized to build the budget.
  • Stability: Leaders evaluate budget decisions and how they can create long-term stability for our church.
  • Relationships: Ministry is relational, and our church needs staff to help members carry out our mission. Highland Park Pres is currently within the industry standard for similar churches with our staffing numbers and budget.

Outreach Funds Distributed in FY 2021-22:

Disaster Relief$619,913
Compassion Fund$284,372
Missionaries$237,301
City Engagement$593,630
Global Engagement$293,822
$2,029,038

General Giving Information:

2019-202020-212021-222022-232023-24
Total Operating
Budget
$8,963,022$8,719,924$12,700,000$16,300,000$15,266,000
General Fund Giving
(Budget)
n/an/a$11,200,000$14,436,000$14,436,000
General Fund Giving
(Actual)
$9,660,462$9,492,860$12,377,000$14,711,000$5,971,000
(12/31/23)
Transform
Giving
$18,940,073$3,776,062$1,920,782$1,490,000$271,000
(12/31/23)