Accounting our Blessings

Behind any successful organization or business is a powerhouse accounting staff. We rarely talk about them or give them public accolades, but without their work Central Detroit Christian CDC grinds to a halt. We are accounting our blessings because we truly have an excellent accounting staff.

Sarah, our CPA, breathes a huge sigh of relief at the completion of our finncial audit for the 2023 year. It was a new accounting firm (as it is recommended that you switch up every 5 years or so to keep everyone on their toes) and she/we were a little nervous. CDC is rather complex in its finances so its hard for a newcomer to comprehend it all. Whew! A clean audit. No findings. Followed all general accounting principles. Great job. Accountants don’t get excited too much, but this was a hoop and hallelujah time! A clean audit is what our corporate and foundation funders want to see/need to see to continue supporting us financially. Beleive it or not, some of those partners ask what line 32 means on page 11. Every i must be dotted and every t crossed. Thank you Britney, Helen and Sarah for your great work. We appreciate you.

Almost simultaneous with the clean audit for 2023 books came our ECFA audit. ECFA stands for the Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability, and their standards are even more stringent than general accounting principles. We passed with flying colors again. This is important for all of our Christian/Faith based donors who want to make sure we are accountable and being good stewards of God’s money–the very thing we are eager to do.

Finally. we scored a “10” with Charity Navigator. Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates hundreds of thousands of charitalbe organizations based in the United States, operating as a 501(c)(3) organization. It provides insights into a nonprofit’s financial stability, adherence to best practices for both accountability and transparency, and results reporting. It is the largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities in the United States. Oh, by the way, 10 is the highest score you can get.

We are so thankful for an accounting staff that operates with such a high level of integrity and honesty. We are grateful to God for sending us such outstanding accountants. And you can rest assured that when you donate to CDC, that money is being managed well.

Mission Accomplished
When you put your mind to it and have the right people helping you, buildings come down. These 2 houses, just down the block from CDC headquarters have been sitting there for at least 4 years as an eyesore and a safety hazard. Recently we even had a coyote living in one of them. Yes, a coyote!

Thanks to our District 5 Manager, Josh, and the Dangerous Buildings staff at the City, we finally got these buildings torn down. We are grateful for the team work that occurred for the betterment of our community!

Summer Dreams

BEHOLD, now is the accepted time! We are gearing up for our busiest time of the year – SUMMER! That’s when a lot of people slow down and relax. Some even take a vacation. Not us! You have heard us in previous years rattle off our numbers and plans with great excitement: 200 children in our summer day camp program, 230 teens in our employment program, 20 middle schoolers going to Camp Michawana, 30 teens going to Young Life Camp, 11 different volunteer groups coming to serve with us, dozens of work projects lined up to complete in our community, and the list goes on and on.

God willing, all listed above will come to fruition. We ask for your prayers for the children and teens who will be with us—almost 500 strong for 30-40 hours a week (when you include the pre school kids) for 7 weeks. What an awesome opportunity! We also ask for your prayers for the summer staff who will be pouring into the lives of young people during that time. Pray that they will not grow weary even when they are physically exhausted. We ask for your prayers that there would be breakthroughs on every level for our kids—spiritual, emotional, mental, and that there would be a newness and wholeness in individual lives. And, we ask for your prayers for our families as we see parents more than usual. Pray for their mental health and for a spiritual awakening in their lives. Oh wouldn’t that be great to see households come to Christ!

Besides your prayers though, we need your finances to make these programs come to fruition. A grant from City Connect covers most of the employment training costs (thank you God), so that our financial need for the remaining programming is about $68,000. We ask you to prayerfully consider what you can give to help a child or teen participate in our programs and experience life – perhaps even a new life in Christ!

We hope you will partner with us in our SUMMER DREAMS CAMPAIGN to show nearly 500 kids a day what it means to be loved by God and by others. We can’t do it without you! Please prayerfully consider what God wants you to do. Click on the DONATE button below that directs you to our website and click the Summer Dreams option for giving. Thank you in advance for your generosity.