Stewardship, expressed through your pledge, is a discipline in our life as Christians. It clarifies our priorities, and may even change them, for the better! Sharing your intended level of giving allows us to plan for meaningful worship, programs for all ages and stages of spiritual development, and support of the greater Richmond community.

Your pledge dollars allow us to recruit and sustain staff who steward our spaces, empower lay leaders, and provide guidance for the ways in which we are responding to God’s mission.

The Clergy is committed to presenting a balanced budget to the Vestry and the congregation. That budget is based on your pledges. There are many expenses in our budget that we cannot change (such as electricity) and that increase every year. When pledges do not increase with expenses, we cannot commit to events and partnerships that amplify the mission and ministries core to our communal identity.

Your gifts make this spiritual house a home. Your financial commitments ensure the buildings are open and operational for worship, programs, and community connections. Your gifts are also the source we draw upon to steward our physical campus.

The top line item in our budget is Worship, Formation, and Pastoral Care. In general, there are around seven main categories of expenses: Worship, Formation, and Pastoral Care; Buildings and Grounds; Personnel; Administrative/IT; Community Connections; Missions and Outreach; and Diocesan Pledge. More information is available in our Annual Report

The figures represented in these distributions include a division of staff salaries reflecting how time is allocated.

Worship & Formation: $900,483.78 (25.6%)
Worship and Formation are at the heart of what we do at St. James’s. Expenses include all salaries for those who contribute to these ministries, as well as resources for Sunday services, weddings, funerals, Music Ministry, and spiritual programs for all ages.

Staff Salaries: Rector, Associate Rector, Interim Associate Rector, Director of Children’s Ministry, Director of Youth Ministry, Director of Administration, Director of Hospitality, Director of Communications, Director of Music, Organist, Assistant Organist, Sextons

Buildings & Grounds: $894,606.60 (25.5%)
Funds our physical campus, which includes, among other things: electricity, trash/recycling, housekeeping, insurance, HVAC, plumbing, lights, security, and maintenance. This also includes salaries for the staff who maintain and repair our facilities.

Staff Salaries: Facilities Manager, Director of Operations, Sextons

Personnel: $491,656.73 (14%)
Funds our payroll expenses, miscellaneous reimbursements, workers’ compensation, and benefits for all full-time clergy and staff.

Admin: $484,132.04 (13.8%)
Funds computer equipment and supplies, office supplies, internet, and website. This also includes salaries for the staff with responsibilities surrounding finance, communications, and parish administration.

Staff Salaries: Director of Administration, Director of Operations, Financial Secretary, Rector, Director of Communications

Community Connection: $242,810.74 (6.9%)
Supports Wednesday Night Community Dinners, Fellowship, and annual events like WomanKind and Mardi Gras. This also includes salaries for the staff who make these events possible.

Staff Salaries: Rector, Director of Operations, Director of Administration, Director of Children’s Ministry, Director of Youth Ministry, Director of Hospitality, Director of Communications

Diocesan: $208,225.00 (5.90%)
As Episcopalians, we commit to pledging a portion of our expected giving (pledge and otherwise) to the Diocese to support Diocesan activities, such as Shrine Mont summer camps, and other formation offerings.

Missions & Outreach: $175,794.81 (5%)
Funds our work and presence with our partners in Richmond (Outreach) and in the World (Missions), as well as the salaries for the clergy and staff who help serve these communities.

Staff Salaries: Crisis Minister, Associate Rector, Director of Hospitality

Stewardship: $114,161.03 (3.30%)
Covers all administrative costs associated with stewardship and giving including printed materials, postage, and online giving. This also includes salaries for our clergy and staff who take part in fostering stewardship at St. James’s.

Staff Salaries: Director of Administration, Director of Operations, Director of Communications, Rector

Overwhelmingly, the answer is pledges! In general, there are four main sources:  Pledge Stewardship; Plate Offerings; Community Events/Partnerships; and Endowment. More information can be found in our Annual Report.

Annual Giving Pledges = $2,214,588
Sunday Morning Offering = $99,625
Community Events/Partnerships = $648,376
The St. James’s Endowment = $472,800

St. James’s Endowment Fund, Inc. (the “Endowment”) is a separate tax-exempt corporation with a simple mission: to invest and grow permanent funds that support and advance the good works of St. James's Episcopal Church for generations to come.

We are blessed with a healthy and thriving endowment built on the generous contributions of Doers like you over decades.

The current policy of the Endowment trustees is to distribute an annual grant to the Vestry for the church's unrestricted needs in the amount of 4% of the three-year rolling average value of the unrestricted fund (net of fees). In 2026, this grant accounted for approximately 14% of the annual budget.

As meaningful as this grant is, it only accounts for about 14% of our annual budget.

We are incredibly grateful for the many and generous ways in which pledges from parishioners have sustained us over the years. Overall, giving has been stagnant over the past five years, while our expenses have increased.

We are aware that different givers have different experiences, and we are grateful that some parishioners have materially increased pledges over this period. Overall giving to St. James’s, however, has not kept up with inflation.

The U.S. Consumer Price Index has increased by roughly 25% since July 2021. This means that our expenses like insurance, electricity, housekeeping, and others have been rising.