Processing Donations in Shared Clerks' Office

One of the buildings in our stake has a large single clerks' office which is shared by three different units, each with its own computer. The question has arisen as to whether it is permissible for more than one unit to process Sunday donations in that office at the same time. One of the clerks has some concerns about maintaining confidentiality, but I can find no prohibition against this practice in the Handbook or in the online training. Is there any documentable Church policy on this matter?

See Handbook 1: Stake Presidents and Bishops, 14.5. The second sentence in the first paragraph addresses the confidentiallity of the tithes and offerings. It is not practical to expect or maintain confidentiality of contributions with anyone other than those authorized to handle such contributions present in the room while donations are processed.

My thoughts are that it is possible to maintain confidentiality even in a shared room. However, names and amounts shouldn't be spoken out loud in the process while others can hear, and I'd think each ward should have their own corner or section of the room.

I was in a stake with 11 wards, all sharing the same clerks' office (6 computers, plus the stake computer). It's not so much the location and proximity that matters, but the privacy. In some situations it was very helpful to have multiple wards in the same room – they could answer each others' questions.

One of the issues we have in a shared clerks office is other people coming and going while you are entering and counting donations. It can get very confusing and is also impossible to say the donor and amount without others hearing. I read this (See Handbook 1: Stake Presidents and Bishops, 14.5. The second sentence in the first paragraph addresses the confidentiallity of the tithes and offerings. It is not practical to expect or maintain confidentiality of contributions with anyone other than those authorized to handle such contributions present in the room while donations are processed.) that other wards counselors and financial clerks are "not authorized to handle contributions in another ward." With online donations, it would be respectful of the other wards to wait the few minutes it takes to complete the donations.

This sounds like a communication problem rather than a policy problem. One ward doesn't care about the interruptions, the other does. I'm of the opinion that nobody enters the office other than clerks and bishoprics while finances are being done. I'd even lock the door and put a note on it. it only takes 10-15 minutes anyway.

mycousinbob wrote:One of the issues we have in a shared clerks office is other people coming and going while you are entering and counting donations. It can get very confusing and is also impossible to say the donor and amount without others hearing. I read this (See Handbook 1: Stake Presidents and Bishops, 14.5. The second sentence in the first paragraph addresses the confidentiallity of the tithes and offerings. It is not practical to expect or maintain confidentiality of contributions with anyone other than those authorized to handle such contributions present in the room while donations are processed.) that other wards counselors and financial clerks are "not authorized to handle contributions in another ward." With online donations, it would be respectful of the other wards to wait the few minutes it takes to complete the donations.

Do you need to say the donor name and the amount? That seems odd to me. When I was involved, the process went something like this:

1. Bishopric member sits next to clerk, who's at the computer

• Bishopric member opens the envelope, reviews slip, counts cash (if any), and passes everything to clerk

• Clerk reviews slip, counts cash, and puts it to the side

• Once all donations are opened and reviewed, they are entered one by one into the computer, counting the cash once more per donation. Once the donation is in, the cash is sorted

• Once all donations are entered, the cash is counted and the checks are reviewed one last time against the batch donation lists before everything gets sealed in the bag.

A might excessive, perhaps, but I'd worked for a number of years in a retail bank where processing ATM deposits was a regular occurrence. In any case, the only time when the donor's name was spoken was when the slip didn't match up to what was received, and the donor got a phone call.

The donor name does not show during the final check verification. Only the check number and check amount. We never speak the donor names when processing tithing (not because we share a clerk's office, but simply because it isn't needed). We sit side-by-side so if we need to confer, we both look at the documentation together and just discuss what's needed.

We have 3 separate clerk's offices in a 3-ward building - sometimes I wish we shared a larger office because it is common to pass information between clerks and a shared office would make that more convenient (I hate passing notes under the locked door, and some are confidential which must be dealt with in person).