Budget for Sep 1 - Dec 31, 2009
Owing to the downturn in the economy, Trinity Communications substantially reorganized its operations in July and August of 2009.1 As a result, the corporation cleared its books at the end of August and developed the following budget for the remainder of the year.
For convenience, figures are rounded.
Budget for September 1 - December 31, 2009
| Expense Item | Amount |
| Staff - news and commentary:2 | $43,000 |
| Staff - all other resources: | $9,000 |
| Customer service: | $12,000 |
| Ad Management: | $1,000 |
| Bookkeeping: | $2,000 |
| Credit card transaction fees: | $6,000 |
| Hosting: | $7,000 |
| Equipment & supplies: | $1,000 |
| Postage & miscellaneous: | $1,000 |
| Rent & utilities:3 | $0 |
| 2009 4th quarter redesign:4 | $25,000 |
| TOTAL EXPENSE:5 | $107,000 |
| Income Source | Amount |
| Advertising: | $4,000 |
| Amazon Sales: | $1,000 |
| OneCause Contributions: | $1,000 |
| Catholic Credit Card Contributions: | $1,000 |
| Annual Pledges: | $6,000 |
| Monthly Pledges: | $12,000 |
| Single Donations:6 | $82,000 |
| TOTAL INCOME: | $107,000 |
Notes
- Long-time supporters may recall that Trinity Communications used to be subsidized by a for-profit corporation called Trinity Consulting. Such subsidies are no longer possible. The reorganization reflects this change. Therefore, the new budget must stand on its own.
- The budget for the remainder of 2009 does not include provision for a salary for the founder and president, Jeff Mirus. Dr. Mirus is now devoting full time to the non-profit Catholic work of Trinity Communications. It will be necessary to make some provision for this change beginning with the 2010 budget.
- Trinity Communications does not incur costs for rent and utilities because it shares space with Trinity Consulting and utilizes home offices.
- Approximately 20% of the above budget—or $25,000—is devoted to the one-time redesign of CatholicCulture.org demanded by the reorganization of the operations of Trinity Communications. These design changes will be implemented in early October.
- Users familiar with the budgets of other major Catholic internet apostolates, as made known through their fund-raising campaigns, will notice that the Trinity Communications budget is remarkably small in proportion to the services provided.
- One-time donations are by far Trinity Communications' largest source of income. All other income areas are now projected according to their actual yields. The Single Donations category, by contrast, represents what we must raise to make ends meet.