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- [00:00]
A
Foreign.
- [00:06]
B
This is the Baymaw podcast with Marty Solomon. I'm his co host, Brent Billings. Today we are sharing a special brief message about year end giving, the financial needs of our ministry, and what we hope to do in the future.
- [00:18]
A
Yep. Tis the season, Brent. And yeah, I think we've been. Last few episodes we've chatted about just where we're at with the passing of Josh. And I remember when that happened, we were just ramping up with the plans we had made weeks, months before about year end giving. And it felt weird. Like, it felt. It just felt weird, felt squishy.
- [00:42]
B
Grief does not care about making us feel awkward about anything we're doing.
- [00:47]
A
Nope, it sure doesn't. And so we had some really intentional conversations about what does this do to our year end giving. And in a lot of ways, we dialed back some of. Well, definitely some of the tone we dialed back, maybe even some of the messaging that we would have planned on, but there were other plans that we had made. And it also felt weird to not like, if we don't steward our financial needs, well, that wouldn't honor Josh well at all. Like, Josh was in a place where he was really. He was really helping us meet some of our goals for campus ministry and what the Baymot podcast means for college students. He was doing some really cool stuff. I know, Brent, you got in. We had to get into some of his online spaces to share the news with his students. And you were a little shocked at how much Josh was doing.
- [01:32]
B
Yeah. Like, hearing from his students about how he had been ministering to them even in the midst of some of his greatest struggle. He's like, ah, I can't do these regular meetings. It's like, well, of course not. Like, you're in the hospital, you're going through, like, of course not. And then he turns around, he's like, but I still want to make sure I'm staying connected with all of you. So he sets up, like, individual calls with all of these students.
- [01:57]
A
I'm like, what?
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B
I was like, that sounds a hundred times more taxing. But he just cared about his students so much. And I mean, I was in those spaces. Like, I was sort of aware of the kinds of things he was doing, but I just, I wasn't paying super close attention to everything. And then going in and digging in after the fact. And I'm like, oh, man. He was just radically intentional with his students way more than I realized.
- [02:24]
A
Yeah, he was doing a great job with them. He pastored them so well with such care. And he had come to us like months ago before he got sick again and was like, I need help. Like, we're getting more and more students and if we can add some more campus ministers to this department, to this team, I could really use it. So that's the plan. Those were some of the things we'd actually just got done with hiring season a couple months prior. We've been looking for help. We think we've actually found some help prior to him right as he was starting to get sick again. So all that stuff continues and those needs continue and those students are still there. So it felt weird to not do the giving thing. So we wanted to acknowledge, like, if this feels weird, we're with you. Like you said, grief doesn't care about. It'll make you feel awkward ten times to Sunday. So, I mean, that's part of where we're at. And at the same time, it also is a part of how it feels like honoring where we are and where he was at and keeping that ministry healthy and going. So with that, I'm going to give kind of the planned, kind of state of the financial or the financial state of the ministry. There we go. That's what I meant to say. Nice.
- [03:35]
B
Yes.
- [03:37]
A
So we'll put it this way now, Brent, as we record this, it is December 18th. Our director of finance was on vacation, decided to do that before, like, year end was upon us at the very end of the calendar year. So I got a chance to get some numbers a couple days ago. So these are numbers. They're listening to this probably the day after Christmas, the day is following Christmas. Hopefully anybody that's listening in real time. And these are numbers from December 16th. So a lot has changed since Brent and I have recorded this little mini episode. But it gives you an idea of where we're at. We are trending right now for our annual budget and year end giving. Pretty much just dead on target of what is normal for us. Here's the fun little ditty for those people that like numbers. Generally speaking, we have discovered that we need to be. We need our annual budget coming out of December to be at least 55% funded. That's our number. Like, if we're 55% funded for the annual budget coming out of December, we're in good shape for our fiscal year as far as just trends. And we are trending right towards that number. We need to hit that number in between December 16th and how many days are in December, Brent? 30 days has September, April, June and November. All the rest have 31. So in between December 16th and December 31st, we need roughly about $420,000 to come in. That sounds like a lot of money. It is a lot of money, but that is also normal. Last year we had 393 come in. In that same time period, things have been growing and increasing. So we're just trending right along where we ought to be. So that's part of what we're hoping comes and gives you a state that kind of gives you an idea of the difference that your gift makes, which I'll touch on here in just a moment. What does that budget mean? What does it contain? There are three big things we're trying to do this year. Three big things, three priorities. If we can fund our budget adequately and in a healthy way, there's three things we need to do. The first thing we need to do is we changed the way that we were taking care of and supporting our staff this last budget year, this last fiscal year. We had been operating a particular way for years and years. Impact's been around since 1995. Doing ministry actually has a different organization, but the Ministry of Impact. Some of the people that work for IMPACT have been around for quite some time, and they just did ministry a particular kind of way. And we've been doing it that way for a long time. And things have started to change for us. And we started hiring people. We have a graphic artist. What's her media Arts coordinator. Is that her title?
- [06:35]
B
Shekoa? I believe so, yeah.
- [06:38]
A
We've got Amber.
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B
Her name is definitely Shekoa.
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A
Yeah, absolutely.
- [06:41]
B
I believe the title is Meteor Arts Coordinator.
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A
So we have these specialized helpers that we've went out and hired, and we pay them what they ought to be paid. We pay them a competitive, you know. Right. For what they. And. And what that brought to mind, what that brought to our awareness is there's a lot of people have been working for. For Baymon Impact for quite some time that don't get paid like they've been getting paid peanuts, because that's how you did it back then. And that never really changed for them. And that started to feel a little weird as the organization continued to grow and try to. Like, we have dreams, like we want to move forward, but it felt wrong to move forward without fixing some of the stuff that we were bringing with us. So last year we set out to fix that. We didn't quite have enough money last year to do the whole thing. So we did 2/3, like we did 2/3 of the fix. We rolled out a 66% fix. And our goal this year, this fiscal year, is to finish that fix, to get some of those things, some new compensation structures, some new formulas, some new pay scale adjustments made so that people are paid for the work that they do, no matter who they are, whether they're men or women or they get paid for the job they do, no matter who they are and what they do. So that's one thing we're trying to do this year, and another thing we're trying to do this year is we're trying to get me some help because I've been doing kind of this dual pronged job. One of it is I'm a teacher and I'm a creator and I'm the Bama podcast executive producer and I'm a vision caster and I'm a fundraiser. Those are things that I love. I'm also like a CEO. I kind of help run this. I don't kind of. I am responsible for running this organization. I'm not the type of guy that you necessarily want in a three hour meeting about an employee handbook. That's not where I shine.
- [08:34]
B
Does anybody really shine?
- [08:35]
A
Yes. And the answer to that is yes. There are people out there and we have been wanting to find the point here is not asking for everybody to send in their resumes because we have the candidates that we're looking for for that, but we need to be able to, to pay them to do that job. Once I can get some of those, some of that help for me in that role, it frees me up to spend time in this space in ways that are healthier for the whole organization. So that's the second thing is we need to hire some executive help. And the third thing is that Baymon needs some of the help. We were just talking about whether it's increased campus ministry with what Josh was doing, or whether it's help that you need. Brent, with production, we have needs to just keep making sure that what Baymont needs to produce the content we're producing is good content and that we're able to produce it in a healthy way. Like we don't want to burn out people that work for Baymon. That'd be pretty antithetical to everything we stand for. So whether or not we're going to be able to do those things depends on whether or not we're able to fund next year's budget. Well, so that's kind of the, what, anything I'm kind of leaving out there at this point. Brent, anything you would ask about that.
- [09:41]
B
I would just add that I have gotten some editing help, some production help in the last year. So yeah, it just falls right into your. Like, we've pushed partially into our goals and we're just, we have more immediate goals and then we also have even bigger future plans as well. And that's all just dependent on what happens.
- [10:02]
A
Yeah, there's like the goals that we have and then the needs that we have and we have to meet the needs while we press for the goals. And what that means is we end up kind of piecing together some of those needs. And so yeah, you found some help that we can, we can 1099 for those people that know tax lingo. We can get some contract help to help you do that. But we'd like to get like more settled on staff with us type help. It's just healthier that way for all of us and better. So those are some of the things that we're doing. But you're right, we piece together what we need to, to meet the needs and meet the demands. So we want to keep moving forward on that. So how do we do that? And this is kind of the, we'll wrap it up with this. But we fund our budget with two real. Let's put our typical donor in two different categories. First of all, there is the donor that gives every single month. And they give all the time. And they month to month to month, 12 months a year, they give a particular amount. And some of these donors even give special year end gifts like they'll give every single month. And then they'll, you know, they'll write an extra little check in December, which is amazing. But there are these givers that give every single month $20 a month, $15 a month, $70 a month, whatever it is. And those givers are like they're the engine, they're the financial engine that just keeps. They're incredibly valuable. The size of the gift is maybe a little smaller, but the consistency of the gift over time is what makes, and the reliability of that gift coming in month after month is what makes all the difference in the world. So if that's you, I say this all the time, but if you're the person that gives $15 a month and you think this gift is not making that big of a difference, like you're just wrong. It makes a huge difference because there's so many people giving $20 a month or $50 a month, or $100 a month and they really keep the guts of this thing. The main critical mass of our budget, they keep that thing moving but our budget is never balanced with that kind of a giver. So there's all kinds of other folks, and they own businesses or they see cash flow and income just differently, and they're thinking in terms of tax years. It can be anything from business owners to farmers to people that just see seasonal income in different ways. And so they often will give in December. And this is that time of the year. And so, man, some 60 to 80% of nonprofit giving, including ours, comes in between Thanksgiving and December 31st across this country. This is a big time of year where people give very, very large gifts, and it makes a huge difference. And so for all of you that are giving, that have given in the past, know that it's not just greatly appreciated. It makes a significant difference for us. It's what balances our budget. Because come June 2026, we'll be at the end of our fiscal year and we will be trying to pick up the pieces and see where we're at. Are we a little ahead? Are we a little behind? Are we right on track? And whatever the answer is to that question will change. Who's on our team? Not people losing their job, but are there more people on our team? Are there new jobs that have been added? And so that's, that's just the nature of December, the nature of the tax year. And if you happen to be listening to this and you were a week or two late and it's January 17th, it's okay, you can still give. It's just a part of the next tax year. So hooray. We would love that as well. So if you're somebody who can't make a year end gift, but you are somebody that's like, I could add this into my 2026 giving budget. That's awesome. We'd love to, to have you on board at $10 a month, at $50 a month, at whatever it is that you'd like to be able to come in on, because it makes a big difference. There are so many people listen to our podcast. When you put it all together, mathematically, it's significant, but it's only significant because it's a little bit. A little bit. A little bit. A little bit. The Talmud will often talk about drops of rain that become rivers, and that's really how it works financially for us. It's little drops that become mighty streams. So may it be. So, Brent, I don't know if you have any other thoughts you want to add to that, but that's our year end financial blurb.
- [14:23]
B
I like to write a handful of thank you notes every week. And I don't come anywhere close to being able to write a note to every single giver because there are so many people. But I am constantly blessed by the stories that those gifts tell. Even when there's no. Like, please include a note. Throw a little, like, what does Bama mean to you? What does Canvas Ministry mean to you? Like, throw that note in there. We love to read those, first of all, but even when there's no note, it's like, did somebody give $500 or did they give, like $500.93? Or, you know, the math is totally wrong, but there's a little checkbox where you can cover the processing fees. So, like, oh, what kind of person makes the decision to do that versus not when I get a note in my list, and it's like, oh, they were giving $15 a month. Now they're giving $25 a month. It's like, oh, that's a decision somebody made. Like, an intentional. Like, they're still giving this recurring gift. It's still not a huge number, but they're like, this is meaningful. And I have a little bit more capacity month to month. And I'm going to all of those stories. Like, I just try to understand, like, there's a human behind this, making this decision, joining us on this journey, believing in our mission. And I just. I can't say thank you enough because I know how much it means in every one of those cases, regardless of the number.
- [15:52]
A
Well said. Can't even add to that. I think that's pretty good.
- [15:55]
B
And we'll probably, you know, give an update on this when we get to the session 10 intro. So if you're. If you're coming to this a little later. I don't even know if we'll necessarily keep this particular episode in the feed forever because this is kind of a little more timely. We're doing this as close to real time as possible with our recording, which is unusual for us, but we want to keep you aware of what we're doing and what our plans are, what our dreams are, and we're standing on the shoulders of the people who support our ministry. So we are just trying to steward that as well as we can. Bringing it back around to Josh for a moment. Like, the ministry that he built, we want to continue that work. Like, he's put a lot of effort into that, an incredible amount of effort considering he was dealing with cancer in the midst of it. And so we're just trying to steward that ministry, those students, all of those things we're working to continue the things that God is already up to. And we are using your gifts to understand where does God want us to go? How much should we be pushing into this? That's just one of the ways that God speaks to us and helps us understand what we should do. So thank you for being in communication with us. Thank you for being in prayer with us. Thank you for guiding us in our ministry.
- [17:13]
A
Absolutely. And we'll have all the goodies in the show notes, which will include a link. There's always a link there, enables you to give, but maybe for this episode, we'll even have a special link and it takes you to Impact Campus Ministries is what Bay Mao is a part of. And it enables you to give and make it easy for you. So that should be there if you need it. And yeah, we just appreciate so many people that help us do what we do. And we're going to try to do things in a way that if you ever look at it or see it or experience it or see the things that you don't typically see, no matter what it might be that you bump into our ministry, I always pray and hope it would be something that makes you smile and makes you go, yes, that is a great Kingdom investment.
- [17:54]
B
Okay, well, you can find those links in the show notes in your podcast app or@bamawdiscipleship.com believe this will be episode.
- [18:02]
A
We're gonna.
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B
We're gonna do special numbering episode 489B. That way if we decide to take it out, we don't mess up the numbers. Where's episode 490?
- [18:11]
A
I like that.
- [18:12]
B
Yeah, we, you know, we like to keep things in order around here. Marty and I, we have those sorts of personalities.
- [18:18]
A
I like that.
- [18:20]
B
But everything we do is made possible by you guys. So thank you for listening today. Thank you for joining us in that. Thank you for joining us on the Baymo Podcast. This is our final word for 2025. We will talk to you again in 20.
- [18:38]
A
20.