YSA vs SA funding

Question,

I am the ward clerk in a SA (Single-Adult) ward. We have a YSA and a SA ward in our stake.

I have done a lot of research when I noticed something that is unfair/uneven in the ward budgets given to singles wards.

I noticed that the way the church currently does budget allocation a YSA ward is given a lot more money than a SA ward (per person, per year). 44.4% more. This has to do with the four basic "categories" of budge allocations. The YSA gets allocation from sacrament attendance and the YSA category, while the SA ward only get's allocation from sacrament attendance.

Has the church noticed this and have they announced a plan to fix this?

It seems this has occurred since the church hasn't changed their budgeting procedures to keep up with the changes that have made in the creation of YSA and SA wards, made in the summer of 2013. Now that the SA ward is officially listed in the handbook as an option (before this, an SA ward had to get a "special" approval for its creation), it would seem fair and equal to include a 5th budget allocation now for singe-adults, aged 31-45.

Anyone know anything about this subject?

joshbingham wrote:Anyone know anything about this subject?

I can't speak to reasons why there is a difference or to any plans for a change. I can say that the current formula has been in place for many years and that it is not connected to the existence of YSA wards. The additional allocation per YSA is made whether or not there is a YSA unit. It goes to whatever unit the YSA is a member of. This has also been true for many years. So I'm not sure if allowing SA wards would be a reason to make a change in this policy.

But the stake president has control over how all parts of the budget allowance are distributed. If he feels that the YSA and SA ward should be funded more equally, he can instruct the stake financial clerk to set the budget allocation for the YSA category to 0% for all wards and then manually split the amount that comes into the stake and give it to each ward. I think the distribution can even be made using an MLS transfer now. But if not, then the stake can send a check to each ward quarterly. It's a little more work but it is quite possible to do.

eblood66 wrote:But the stake president has control over how all parts of the budget allowance are distributed.

Correct. He's also the one you need to convince to take this issue up the chain of command/line of authority. The policy people don't visit here.

Thanks all for your time in responding.

Yes, we've already sat down with the Stake Presidency. They were unaware of this issue as well. They have given permission for my Bishop to escalate the issue to SLC.

I just thought I would see if anyone else has had any direct experience with this issue.

I doubt the church will change anything about this, at least on a church wide level or even on an area wide level. As someone above mentioned, a stake president could make individual changes for his own stake if he wanted to.

The church gives extra money for groups that need special attention: children, teenagers, and young single adults. If the church can help these people build strong testimonies, it will help these people stay in the church and help the church have a bright future. Thus, the church is already saying its OK to distinguish various individuals for budgeting alotments, because some age groups need more attention than others. To me this seems fair.

It follows that investments in YSAs have greater potential good than investments in SAs. YSAs are younger and, therefore, if they marry they would have a greater window in which they can procreate and bring souls to the earth than SA's have. SA's generally still have this window but it is smaller. Plus, SA's have had more time to advance in their careers and, therefore, generally have more economic self-sufficiency. Yes everyone has the same eternal potential and its still important for the church to help minister to the SAs and help them get married, but its fair that they receive less attention and help ($$) than the younger ones receive.

I think the current policy is fine, and I myself am a SA.

I am a stake financial clerk, and in our stake, the stake president adjusts the budget allowance percentages by unit in order to compensate for this sort of inequality. As in so many other matters, local priesthood leadership is probably in the best position to assess local needs.