Jim Ducker, Conference Treasurer

The Annual Conference will vote on the 2026 proposed budget found on pages 14-24 of the conference workbook. The Conference Council on Finance and Administration (CCFA) is recommending an apportioned budget of approximately $2.44 million this is a significant decrease of $575,000 from the 2025 budget. After including estimated income from investment earnings, our 2026 budget shortfall is projected to be $241,000. This represents significant progress from our 2025 projected budget deficit of $708,000. However, it's important to note that the budget deficit in 2025 is expected to be significantly lower due to the gift from the Board of Pensions that occurred after the 2025 budget was approved. This gift will pay for all conference and camp staff direct billings for medical, pension, and disability insurance in 2025, resulting in approximately $300,000 in apportioned budget savings. Additionally, the Board of Pensions also agreed to pay all conference medical direct bill costs for 2026, which is reflected in the 2026 budget.

CCFA is also recommending an apportionment rate of 13%.

Budget Highlights

In regard to budget changes and/or reductions, the number of district superintendents will decrease from four to three FTEs (Full Time Equivalents) as of July 1, 2026. This will reduce this portion of the budget by $75,000 in 2026 and $150,000 per year beyond 2026. Note: At the time of this report, a final determination on the details of this reduction has not been made but will include less than full time District Superintendent positions.

The extending mission impact budget was reduced by $76,000. This reduction is partially attributed to a decrease in General Church apportionments. In addition, there is a decreased the apportionment allocation to Spirit Lake Ministry Center and Solar Oven Partners from $20,000 each to $0 in 2026. Conference apportionments continue to support these ministries by way of the administrative support that is provided through the conference office including processing donations, bill paying, payroll, human resources, and communication support. The budget reduction is possible due to the reserve balances each of these ministries has at the conference from past years’ apportionment allocations and donations. Additionally, these ministries are virtually self-sustaining thanks to individual and church donations

2026 Dakotas Conference Apportioned Budget by Ministry area

Direct allocation to camping ministries will go from $123,000 to $111,000, or a net decrease of $12,000. This total does not include the salary support for the central camping office (e.g., Executive Director of Camp & Retreat Ministries and other support staff). This salary support is included in our Support Services section of our apportioned budget.

A portion of the Conference Treasurer’s salary (35%) will be reallocated to the Board of Pensions, reflecting the approximate time spent by the Treasurer on Board of Pensions related activities. Furthermore, we also reallocated 20% of the Conference Benefits and Human Resources Officer (CBHRO) to the Conference (from the Board of Pensions) which reflects the amount to time the CBHRO spends on Conference human resources related activities. The ‘net effect’ is a reallocation of approximately $25,000 to the Board of Pensions budget from the Conference apportioned budget.

Non-Apportioned Budget Detail

Although most of our total Conference expenditures are covered with apportionments received from local churches, a significant portion of the conference operating budget (approximately $1.2 million) is covered with non-apportioned dollars that help support various ministries. These non-apportioned dollars include funding from: 1) grants (e.g., Lilly), 2) fundraising campaigns (e.g., Thrive), 3) the sale of Conference property (e.g., Urban Church and Campus Ministries), 4) Board of Pensions gifts, and 5) other miscellaneous sources of income (e.g., registration income, rental income, and individual/church contributions). Note: This does not include income (or expenses) derived from our three Dakotas Annual Conference camps or our Conference Missionaries (Spirit Lake Ministries and Solar Oven Partners).

Conference Reserves

The Conference continues to maintain reserves available for use through this transitional period. These reserves include approximately $2.374 million in our general CCFA Savings Reserve Fund (partially originating from apportionments collected from disaffiliating churches). We also have approximately $1.18 million remaining in our Transitional Reserve Fund that was allocated by the Board of Pensions. The Transitional Reserve Fund was partially replenished by the Board of Pensions in 2024 in the amount of $300,000. Since these funds were originally allocated to assist the Conference office with meeting budgetary challenges, part of these funds may be used in 2025 to help cover the Conference budget deficit.