Donating to a missionary in another ward

It's very common for family members to contribute to the support of missionaries not in their home ward (nieces and nephews, grandchildren, etc). As the financial clerk of the missionary's home ward, I've just always received the donations directly from the supporting family member.

Today, we received a check from another ward (not a member, from the ward's checking account) with instructions to post it to "Elder Jones'" support. The donor wants to avoid having to get a year-end tax statement from multiple ward, so he donates to his ward, and then makes his own clerk cut a check to us.

I find this highly irregular, though I don't recall ever seeing a policy against it. I've been financial clerk for six-plus years, and this is a new one to me.

Anyone know if there's a policy against handling donations like this?

Thanks.
Scott Cannon
Mesa Arizona

scottcannon wrote:Today, we received a check from another ward (not a member, from the ward's checking account) with instructions to post it to "Elder Jones'" support. The donor wants to avoid having to get a year-end tax statement from multiple ward, so he donates to his ward, and then makes his own clerk cut a check to us.

I find this highly irregular, though I don't recall ever seeing a policy against it. I've been financial clerk for six-plus years, and this is a new one to me.

Anyone know if there's a policy against handling donations like this?

In the MLS Software Manual, it says (page A-11):

Improper disbursements. Stakes and wards should not print the following kinds of checks:
...
• Checks to missionaries who are on the equalized payment program. The only checks that may be written from the ward missionary fund are to help support older couples or Church service missionaries called from the ward, when their personal funds are insufficient to cover the cost of their missions. The stake president may also direct the ward to write a check from the ward missionary fund to the stake or to another ward in the stake.

The check you received isn't in either of the two allowed situations. But that would be an issue for the other ward to be concerned about. I don't see any policy against your ward receiving such funds.

In addition to what Alan mentioned, I would add that once donated, a donor is not supposed to be able to have any control over the funds. This doesn't appear to be case in your situation.

In addition to Alan's post the only way within Church policy and procedure for a ward to send a ward check is for the funds to have passed through the Other category or account. Funds from any other category would not be in accordance with Church policy or procedure. And as Alan said this is not your problem but the other ward's problem.

Processing the check does create a unique problem for you in that you do not have all the required paperwork. You could however fill in the Tithes and Other Offerings slip on behalf of the other ward and enter them as the donor. They would have to be entered into MLS as a non-member donor since they do not have a membership number.

This is unusual enough that I would contact Clerk Support for their expert advice.

scottcannon wrote:The donor wants to avoid having to get a year-end tax statement from multiple ward...

I don't see what the issue in getting multiple year-end tax-valid statements is all about.

We would love to hear what Clerk Support says for this situation if you do contact them.

jdlessley wrote:In addition to Alan's post the only way within Church policy and procedure for a ward to send a ward check is for the funds to have passed through the Other category or account.

I disagree. I can think of a few reasons that one ward would send another ward a check drawn from accounts other than "Other". And under the right circumstances, it's clearly acceptable to write a check from the Ward Missionary account to be deposited in another unit's Ward Missionary account.

RussellHltn wrote:I disagree. I can think of a few reasons that one ward would send another ward a check drawn from accounts other than "Other". And under the right circumstances, it's clearly acceptable to write a check from the Ward Missionary account to be deposited in another unit's Ward Missionary account.

You are correct there are three reasons - submitting surplus missionary funds to the stake; transferring missionary funding to another ward when the family of a currently serving missionary moves to a different ward or branch; and when there is a need to assist missionaries who provide their own support. And those reasons do not include the reason provided in this situation.

I was narrowly focusing on the situation of this thread and my response excluded those three since they did not apply. Thanks for catching that Russell.

jdlessley wrote:...transferring missionary funding to another ward when the family of a currently serving missionary moves to a different ward...

Actually, in this situation CHQ will make the adjustment for the two units involved from their end, once both unit leaders agree to it. The credits and/or debits to the ward missionary fund will show up in the CUFS when completed.

But let's not get too far afield here. I think we are in agreement this is a questionable donation procedure.

jdlessley wrote:In addition to Alan's post the only way within Church policy and procedure for a ward to send a ward check is for the funds to have passed through the Other category or account. Funds from any other category would not be in accordance with Church policy or procedure.

I know we're trying not to get too far afield, but of course there are plenty of good reasons to write a check from Budget to another unit as well. But even for the topic at hand, I don't see how the Other account enters into the discussion at all. Either you can handle the situation through the Ward Missionary account, or you can't -- moving it through Other doesn't help in the slightest.

jdlessley wrote:Processing the check does create a unique problem for you in that you do not have all the required paperwork. You could however fill in the Tithes and Other Offerings slip on behalf of the other ward and enter them as the donor. They would have to be entered into MLS as a non-member donor since they do not have a membership number.

I see no problem on this end. It seems to me that you would have all the paperwork you need. The donor would not be a non-member donor, but rather "Another Unit". The check has the unit number (a required field for "another unit" donors). There's no need to have a correct address, since the "donation" is not made by an individual and so there's no requirement to send a year-end statement.

jdlessley wrote:I don't see what the issue in getting multiple year-end tax-valid statements is all about.

I can actually understand this why the donor might be concerned. The donor has to deal with another ward to get a tax statement in January. That means he has to hope the address information on his donation to that ward is correct, that the financial clerk (whom he doesn't even know) is reliable and will send the statement promptly, and that the donations have been processed correctly so the statement is correct (or the donor will have to deal with this strange ward to make corrections). Then he has one more tax statement to deal with and add up when filing taxes.

It's understandable that someone might want to avoid those hassles, although it is not in accordance with Church policy, and to avoid a few potential minor issues, he's making multiple clerks go out of their way.

Alan_Brown wrote:I can actually understand this why the donor might be concerned. The donor has to deal with another ward to get a tax statement in January. That means he has to hope the address information on his donation to that ward is correct, that the financial clerk (whom he doesn't even know) is reliable and will send the statement promptly, and that the donations have been processed correctly so the statement is correct (or the donor will have to deal with this strange ward to make corrections). Then he has one more tax statement to deal with and add up when filing taxes.

Isn't it the case that missionary support donations are not tax deductible?

danpass wrote:Isn't it the case that missionary support donations are not tax deductible?

No, donations to the ward missionary fund are most definitely tax deductible. That's why the Church goes to such lengths to make sure that missionary donations are never refunded, and that donors have no control over how the funds are used once they are donated. Great care is taken to make sure that they are indeed donations, and not payments for missionary support.

Alan_Brown wrote:That's why the Church goes to such lengths to make sure that missionary donations are never refunded, and that donors have no control over how the funds are used once they are donated.

I had thought so, too, but I was surprised to see that donations into sub-categories of the Ward Missionary fund were recently introduced into MLS, apparently allowing members to donate to specific missionaries (as well as slowing down the tithing input considerably, as a simple donation to "Ward Missionary" now requires a click, a sub-category selection, an entry, and another click or enter instead of just tab-entry-tab).

HPaulsen wrote:I had thought so, too, but I was surprised to see that donations into sub-categories of the Ward Missionary fund were recently introduced into MLS, apparently allowing members to donate to specific missionaries (as well as slowing down the tithing input considerably, as a simple donation to "Ward Missionary" now requires a click, a sub-category selection, an entry, and another click or enter instead of just tab-entry-tab).

I guess you just recently noticed this, but the ability to have subcategories of the Ward Missionary fund has been in MLS from the beginning, and was also in FIS before that. This is nothing new -- it's been happening for a good 20 years.

And yes, it does take a bit more time during data entry, but most wards don't have all that many missionaries, so the total extra time is 10-30 seconds per donation and you may get 10-20 donations in a month. I think an extra 5-10 minutes a month is reasonable. It does help the bishop to work with the missionary families on the commitments they may have made for donations to the ward missionary fund.

Alan_Brown wrote:I guess you just recently noticed this, but the ability to have subcategories of the Ward Missionary fund has been in MLS from the beginning, and was also in FIS before that. This is nothing new -- it's been happening for a good 20 years.

Interesting. It seems strange that I remember so vividly a non-existent change: when filling out donations where people donated $10 to every category, I could just tab down the whole way (except for Other). Then for the past several weeks I've been doing the same thing out of habit but have to go back to correct myself. But looking back at an older version of MLS (2.9.3) with test data, I see a donation category tree that is years out-of-date. I suppose that the donation category information is a separate module of MLS that is updated during send/receives (and of course not updated during the dummy-send-and-receives when using test data).

And yes, it does take a bit more time during data entry, but most wards don't have all that many missionaries, so the total extra time is 10-30 seconds per donation and you may get 10-20 donations in a month. I think an extra 5-10 minutes a month is reasonable. It does help the bishop to work with the missionary families on the commitments they may have made for donations to the ward missionary fund.

I apologize if it sounded like I was complaining. I suppose I was - the (non-existent?) change has been an irritation for me. But more to the point, I am perplexed as to why the Ward Missionary fund would have sub-categories if donations to individual missionaries are not accepted. If I wanted to "work with the missionary families for the commitments they may have made", I would check their donor statement....

HPaulsen wrote:Interesting. It seems strange that I remember so vividly a non-existent change: when filling out donations where people donated $10 to every category, I could just tab down the whole way (except for Other). Then for the past several weeks I've been doing the same thing out of habit but have to go back to correct myself.

I don't have access to an older version of MLS right now, but I think you are right about there being a change to MLS in what fields you can tab to as you enter donations. As I said before, there has been no change in the fact that there are subcategories, but now (at least in with the test data) you can't tab to the Missionary field to simply enter an amount; rather you are required to go into the popup menu to enter the category or subcategory. If that's correct, then that would be a bit disconcerting to clerks who have developed certain habits as they efficiently enter donations into MLS (I'm at the stake level now, so we do far fewer, and much smaller deposits than do the wards).

HPaulsen wrote:But looking back at an older version of MLS (2.9.3) with test data, I see a donation category tree that is years out-of-date. I suppose that the donation category information is a separate module of MLS that is updated during send/receives (and of course not updated during the dummy-send-and-receives when using test data).

The high-level donation categories have not changed in years, so updates during send/receive really aren't an issue for the Ward Missionary account. Any subcategories are created and maintained locally. So I don't think this has anything to do with any changes that might have been downloaded during send/receive.

HPaulsen wrote:I apologize if it sounded like I was complaining. I suppose I was - the (non-existent?) change has been an irritation for me. But more to the point, I am perplexed as to why the Ward Missionary fund would have sub-categories if donations to individual missionaries are not accepted. If I wanted to "work with the missionary families for the commitments they may have made", I would check their donor statement....

While it's true that there are no "donations to individual missionaries," it is still helpful to track donations and expenses on behalf of individual missionaries.

By using subcategories you can get a much better report than a donor statement would provide. An Income and Expense summary (or detail) report will show:

• Both donations and expenses in each subcategory
• Donations from a variety of individuals (perhaps grandparents, or other ward members are contributing on behalf of a particular missionary)
• The balance, which shows at a glance if there is a surplus or deficit.

Just to amplify on what Alan is saying, if you have a mix of "pre-pay" and "monthly pay" missionaries, the subcategories are the only way to maintain your sanity. If you only look at the bottom line, the "pre-pay" will cause the account to have a comfortable balance and may be hiding some families falling behind. You may not discover the problem until months later. With the subcategories, you'll see the problem immediately and can inform the bishop.

You can also guard against the stake or the auditor wanting to sweep "excess" funds.

danpass wrote:Isn't it the case that missionary support donations are not tax deductible?

Most financial clerks I know are pretty responsible! Members move all the time and call their old ward to get a receipt. I personally don't like convoluted solutions, so doing anything out of the ordinary shouldn't be seen as a special advantage for a member. IT's these types of requests that lead to problems. It's nice that the members want to help relatives in other wards, but part of that help should mean sending the check directly to the other ward. Shouldn't they have a relative in that other ward anyway?

We have a member with family members who made donations to his daughter's mission. He didn't realize until after his daughter returned that his relatives contributed over $2000 and now he wants a refund of that money. This is a sensitive situation but I'm not aware of provisions to refund the money and our finance clerk is supposed to call Salt Lake on the issue.

gwert wrote:We have a member with family members who made donations to his daughter's mission. He didn't realize until after his daughter returned that his relatives contributed over $2000 and now he wants a refund of that money. This is a sensitive situation but I'm not aware of provisions to refund the money and our finance clerk is supposed to call Salt Lake on the issue.

This is a sensitive issue, yes, but not a hard issue to take care of. From the Wiki article on Ward Missionary Funds:

It is important for donors to understand that any missionary funds they supply are purely donations. As with any other donations, once the money is given to the Church, it is not refundable under any circumstances. Donors may also not direct what happens with any donated funds. If the mission ends prematurely for any reason, any donations made to that point, even if they may amount to the full 18-24 months of support for the missionary, may not be returned to the donors.

Once the funds were donated, they became the property of the Church to do with as it pleases, and are not to be directed or refunded. Hope this helps!

gwert wrote:We have a member with family members who made donations to his daughter's mission. He didn't realize until after his daughter returned that his relatives contributed over $2000 and now he wants a refund of that money. This is a sensitive situation but I'm not aware of provisions to refund the money and our finance clerk is supposed to call Salt Lake on the issue.

There are no provisions at the local level to refund the money. This will be something the bishop and stake president will probably get involved in as they counsel with the member using guidance they will receive from the finance department.

gwert wrote:It's nice that the members want to help relatives in other wards, but part of that help should mean sending the check directly to the other ward. Shouldn't they have a relative in that other ward anyway?

Sometimes. Not always.

As our children have served missions, other family members have wanted to help. We sent them a few donation envelopes so they could mail their contributions directly to the bishop, as they should.

Some of them did not want us to know how much they contributed, and we honored that. The clerks handled everything confidentially, and once a quarter they would let me know how much had been contributed to the missionary fund in total, and I would then know how much still needed to be contributed to meet the $400 monthly amount the ward would be charged. It worked well because there was family (me) to make sure there was not shortfall.

In a few cases, a missionary served with no family in the area who were members, but with other relatives who did the same thing. They mailed their contributions to the bishop, and he and his clerks kept track of it. They just didn't have anyone in the home ward as "family", so if the amount needed fell short, the bishop made a quiet announcement in elders quorum or high priests group that it would be nice if a few brethren would like to contribute a small amount to the ward missionary fund for a month or two.

As I recall, those announcements came infrequently, perhaps only two or three times a year.

lajackson wrote:Sometimes. Not always.

As our children have served missions, other family members have wanted to help. We sent them a few donation envelopes so they could mail their contributions directly to the bishop, as they should.

Some of them did not want us to know how much they contributed, and we honored that. The clerks handled everything confidentially, and once a quarter they would let me know how much had been contributed to the missionary fund in total, and I would then know how much still needed to be contributed to meet the $400 monthly amount the ward would be charged. It worked well because there was family (me) to make sure there was not shortfall.

In a few cases, a missionary served with no family in the area who were members, but with other relatives who did the same thing. They mailed their contributions to the bishop, and he and his clerks kept track of it. They just didn't have anyone in the home ward as "family", so if the amount needed fell short, the bishop made a quiet announcement in elders quorum or high priests group that it would be nice if a few brethren would like to contribute a small amount to the ward missionary fund for a month or two.

As I recall, those announcements came infrequently, perhaps only two or three times a year.

I understand the point of your exception, but it emphasizes my point, which is that the contributions should be made to the ward that the missionary left from, and not the home ward of the inactive or active donating member.

gwert wrote:I understand the point of your exception, but it emphasizes my point, which is that the contributions should be made to the ward that the missionary left from, and not the home ward of the inactive or active donating member.

There's nothing wrong with designating a ward of a "inactive or active donating member" to be the ward that handles the missionary finances. But there needs to be _a_ ward designated and all donations be sent to it.

gwert wrote:I understand the point of your exception, but it emphasizes my point, which is that the contributions should be made to the ward that the missionary left from, and not the home ward of the inactive or active donating member.

Maybe I misunderstood something. I really was not taking exception to anything.

One ward, somewhere, is paying for the missionary. That is the ward where the donations should go. And it is usually the ward from which the missionary departed.

Sometimes the paying ward changes during the mission, and the two bishops coordinate that transfer of responsibility with the Finance Department.

But, whichever ward is having their missionary account swept is the ward that should be receiving the donations.

I have a question about this topic. I am a new financial clerk and don't know how to fix this issue that came up in tithing settlement. I have a Grandfather that is supporting two different missionaries in two different wards. Ward One's donations are showing on Grandpa's donation record. Ward Two's donations are not showing on the donation record. These donations are not on-line. He actually mails checks to the two different Bishop's. What do I need to do for Grandpa's donations from Ward Two to show up on his donation record? If it need to be taken care of at Ward Two, how do I instruct them to code his donations like Ward One has done so that they all show up on one statement?

artbkl wrote:Ward One's donations are showing on Grandpa's donation record. Ward Two's donations are not showing on the donation record. These donations are not on-line. ... If it need to be taken care of at Ward Two, how do I instruct them to code his donations like Ward One has done so that they all show up on one statement?

Ward Two needs to add Grandpa's MRN to their donor record.

If Grandpa does not write his MRN number on the donation slip, the receiving ward will likely not know how to link his donation to him. New slips have a place for the MRN, but old slips did not. He should be able to simply send a note to the other ward's bishop, listing his name and his MRN # and they should be able to easily find all his donations and update the record so they show in his donation record. They should be able to update his the donor record in MLS and if they used the same one for all his donations a simple send/receive should fix everything in a day or two.

davesudweeks wrote:a simple send/receive should fix everything in a day or two.

Now, if it will make it into the annual tax statement in time is a different story.

russellhltn wrote:

davesudweeks wrote:a simple send/receive should fix everything in a day or two.

Now, if it will make it into the annual tax statement in time is a different story.

It might not make the "automatic" one in time, but if the donations from last year are corrected with the MRN # of the member, Grandpa's ward/branch clerk should be able to manually generate a new annual tax statement just for him that reflects the donations paid in the year they were paid.

Is there a way to collect a missionary donation in our ward for a missionary in another ward? Or does the donation always need to go to the ward the missionary resides in?

iccabod33 wrote:Is there a way to collect a missionary donation in our ward for a missionary in another ward? Or does the donation always need to go to the ward the missionary resides in?

The donation would need to go to the missionary's ward.

Thank you!