Fundraiser income

I am trying to compose an answer to my ward youth leaders concerning fundraiser income. Several members have asked if they can donate to the fundraiser via direct fund-transfer apps, rather than the traditional methods of checks or cash. The leader would consolidate these funds in a personal account, and then make a bulk donation to the church. I have written the following points to answer this request.

* Our financial training tells us that only bishopric members may receive funds. Each donation/contribution must be accompanied by a donation slip, which identifies the donor and the fund to be credited with the deposit. The white copy goes to the ward files, and the yellow copy remains with the donor, so both parties can confirm the transaction in the future.
* Our procedures do not exist to make our lives difficult. They exist to protect us from the appearance of malfeasance. If an individual collects funds in his personal bank account, it is possible that any person could claim that he gave a cash donation to that individual, leaving no way for the collector to confirm or deny that he received the cash.
* We must be able to follow the paper trail.

Does that sound reasonable?

Personally, I'd point them to General Handbook 34.6.1

Only the bishop and his counselors may receive tithes and other offerings. Under no circumstances should their wives, other members of their families, clerks, or other ward members receive these contributions. The only exception is when Aaronic Priesthood holders are assigned to collect fast offerings.

I think an authoritative quote helps. Since the General Handbook is public, there's no issue in quoting it and they can see for themselves what the rules are.

I'd also suggest an alternative to the word "malfeasance". It's used correctly, but I believe the message is more effective if written in simpler language. I'd suggest "wrongdoing".

That's interesting, I've always assumed that the YW or YM Presidents in the past have been the ones collecting fundraiser donations, but perhaps I've just not noticed that it's always a Bishopric member (assuming fundraising donations are included in this category of tithes and other offerings). Of course now that the YM President is the Bishop himself, maybe "problem solved"...

If the youth are raising funds on their own as opposed to a "group fundraiser", then members could direct-transfer funds to the youth, since alternatively they'd be paying them in cash anyways. I guess the rub is when it's a group fundraiser, people are donating to the group and not to any individual, so that falls under the church policy of handling funds.