Finance report 25/26
General Giving: Over 300 people gave this year, including more than 200 regular givers. Thank you for your continued generosity!
Special Giving: £24,506 was given to the Diadem Building Project, £2,738 and £722 to the Musselburgh and South Community Pastor Funds, and £3,732 to other causes.
Gift Aid: As a registered Scottish charity, we can reclaim 25% in tax on eligible donations from UK taxpayers—at no extra cost to you. If you're eligible, please consider completing a Gift Aid declaration.
Grants: We received £100,000 towards purchasing the Diadem, and £10,000 to support Community Pastor roles in Musselburgh and South.
Other Income: Primarily from the Authentic Weekend Away and Magnitude.
Staffing: We’re grateful for our dedicated team of 7 full-time and 10 part-time staff, including: Lead Pastor, Executive Pastor, 7 Community Pastors, 3 in Kids Ministry, 1 in Youth, 1 in Worship, and 3 support roles.
Diadem: Covers the purchase of the building, associated fees, and running costs for July.
Gifts Out: We gave £71,594 to Go Global, £3,250 to Edinburgh City Mission, £840 to Christian Heritage Edinburgh, and £1,497 in direct support to individuals.
Venue Rental: Weekly rental of spaces for our Community Gatherings and other church activities.
Ministries & Gatherings: Covers expenses for Kids, Youth, Authentic (students & young adults), Worship, Tech, and more.
Other: £49,951 spent on core overheads—such as professional services, software, IT, insurance, and equipment transport.
Community giving
and costs
City on a Hill is one church in many communities — but we operate as one family with one shared budget. This means that all donations across our 7 Communities are pooled into a central fund, and all ministry and operational costs are paid from that shared resource.
Some costs—like venue hire or Community Pastor salaries—are specific to each Community. Most, however (e.g. central staff, ministries, and operations), are shared across the church.
We’ve made simple estimates to illustrate this, using factors like Community size or giving. As Communities grow, our hope is that each one becomes a net contributor, helping us take greater steps together.
The level of giving in a Community can be affected by its size, demographics and how long-established it is.
This graph shows donations, Gift Aid, and grants received during the year to all funds other than the general fund.
Diadem Building Project: £129,148 was raised during the year, bringing the total to £241,234 including the previous year. £184,776 was spent on the mortgage deposit, professional fees, and 10% outward giving to Go Global projects in Asia. The remaining balance of £42,822 is shown in the “Reserves” graph.
Musselburgh & South Pastors: £14,342 was raised during the year, bringing the total raised to £33,377 including the previous year. £25,130 was spent on Bruno and Dani’s salaries since December, along with 10% given to Go Global projects in Asia. The remaining balance of £6,343 is reflected in the “Reserves” graph.
Other special: A total of £5,130 was given specifically for Edinburgh City Mission, Go Global, and local community outreach, with £4,961 disbursed during the year.
Income: A total of £666,992 came into the general fund this year. Notable spikes in September, October, April, and May were the result of large one-off donations and catch-up Gift Aid claims. Excluding these anomalies, giving showed a slight upward trend across the year.
Expenditure: £693,918 was spent from the general fund over the year. While a few months show spikes due to significant one-off or annual costs, monthly expenditure overall remained relatively steady.
Reserves are funds set aside for specific purposes, including unforeseen emergencies. Over the past year, the general reserve decreased from £94,433 to £67,507, reflecting a deficit of £26,926 in the general fund. The Diadem fund began the year with £98,450 and, following the building purchase and associated costs, ended with a balance of £42,822.
The Community Pastor funds reduced from £17,130 to £6,343 as they were used to pay Bruno and Dani’s salaries. This remaining balance will support those salaries for a few more months before the responsibility transfers to the general fund.
A condition of our mortgage is to maintain a reserve of £100,000. At present, this requirement is being met by holding surplus Diadem Building Project donations for potential emergency repairs. As general reserves grow over time, we expect to release those funds for other non-emergency improvements.
We’ve budgeted income for the year at £772,484, with a noticeable spike in the first two months due to Diadem Housewarming donations. Giving is projected to increase by 5% every three months, in line with expected church growth and increased regular giving.
Budgeted expenditure stands at £772,068. With the added overheads of the Diadem, our monthly costs are now over £60,000. To maintain a balanced budget, spending for Communities, ministries, and other areas has been kept tight. If giving grows as planned, we hope to introduce salary increases later in the year—something we’ve been unable to do for the past two years.