Patten

The Anglican Church of Canada’s flagship fundraiser, the Anglican Appeal, will be releasing 2006 figures later this year than usual, as part of the church’s overall audited financial statement.

“This year, the audited statements are going directly to General Synod,” said Monica Patten, chair of the national financial management and development committee, which oversees the financial operations of the church’s national office in Toronto.

The church’s triennial General Synod governing convention takes place in Winnipeg, June 19-25. The Appeal has, in past years, provided $500,000 to $800,000 of the national church’s $10-million budget and supported dioceses in northern Canada and mission work overseas. (Most of the national church’s revenue comes from diocesan contributions.) In 2005, the Appeal recorded $500,000 in donations, short of its $650,000 target.

In previous years, the Appeal released unaudited figures early in the calendar year. This year, “the audit committee is following best-sector practices and not releasing things until they are audited. Once we have the audited statement, it will go to the audit committee, then to General Synod,” said treasurer Peter Blachford.

Corporations and not-for-profit organizations must submit their financial statements to independent accounting firms for scrutiny and approval. Auditors were scheduled to begin work at the national office on March 12, said Mr. Blachford.