Online Ward Missionary contributions to specific Missionarie

[russellhltn]

Do counselors have rights to see finances?

Even if not, there's always a possibility he'd see a print-out left lying around.

[drepouille]

Good question. Counselors can review and approve expenses, and can probably initiate EFTs and checks, but I don't know how much else they can see on LCRF.

[scgallafent]

Counselors can see donation information. If a counselor wanted to look and see who donated to the ward missionary fund, they could.

I occasionally had situations where someone wanted to know who had donated so that they could contact them. I always offered to contact them on behalf of the family to express their appreciation.

[SitaM]

who does the ward missionary fund go to ?

[russellhltn]

who does the ward missionary fund go to ?

In most cases it goes to the equalized mission fund which in turn pays for food, rent and other expenses of the full-time missionaries.

[justinpinkham]

I have a missionary out, and missionary grandparents that wish to donate also although the funds aren't always the same amount. I find this very frustrating that a family cannot see the "balance" of the missionary account. I know my clerk is more than willing to give me the amounts due, but with the challenges of Covid I don't see him very often. Constantly sending e-mail or txt messages every couple of weeks for a balance seems a bit ridiculous. This thread is over 5 years old I just felt that it needed new attention. Having worked as a ward clerk, financial clerk, and bishopric counselor this is something that is not looked at very often but would really benefit the typical family ward logistics (Enhancement Request). I don't need to see the donors just the outstanding balance for my missionary account. As a software analyst and QA tester, I would volunteer to beta test this feature if needed so long as I still have an active missionary.

[scgallafent]

I have a missionary out, and missionary grandparents that wish to donate also although the funds aren't always the same amount. I find this very frustrating that a family cannot see the "balance" of the missionary account. I know my clerk is more than willing to give me the amounts due, but with the challenges of Covid I don't see him very often. Constantly sending e-mail or txt messages every couple of weeks for a balance seems a bit ridiculous. This thread is over 5 years old I just felt that it needed new attention. Having worked as a ward clerk, financial clerk, and bishopric counselor this is something that is not looked at very often but would really benefit the typical family ward logistics (Enhancement Request). I don't need to see the donors just the outstanding balance for my missionary account. As a software analyst and QA tester, I would volunteer to beta test this feature if needed so long as I still have an active missionary.

An enhancement request made here isn't going to be seen by anyone in a position to decide whether this feature should be added. For the most part, this is a user-to-user support forum and Church product managers don't typically hang out here.

Some things to consider:

The missionary account isn't "your" missionary account; it is a sub-account of the ward missionary account which is used to manage equalized support payments for a missionary serving from the ward. Although you have committed to the bishop to make donations during the time your child is serving, those donations are applied at the discretion of the Church. You can ask for information about the balance of a missionary's account and the bishop or clerk can give you that information at their discretion, but it isn't your account.

The Church is careful to ensure that these accounts are handled correctly so that the tax status of the donations is not affected in the United States and other countries. Giving members the ability to directly monitor the balance of "their" account may be a concern. There may also be other concerns that the Finance and Legal departments have identified that would affect the feature you are asking for.

Sending email or text messages every couple of weeks is ridiculous. This isn't like a bank account where someone is going to get an overdraft charge if the account balance goes negative. Your son or daughter isn't going to be repossessed if the account is negative on the 10th day of the month. For most families who are contributing to support a child serving a mission, checking in with the clerk once a quarter is probably sufficient to adjust their donations in light of donations being made by other members. Ideally, the finance clerk is also paying attention to accounts and working with those who have committed to contribute to the account if the balance is getting unusually high or low.

During the last few months of a mission, it may be wise to check more frequently or even delay a final donation until after the missionary has returned home and the dust has settled. Outside of that time frame, every couple of weeks seems like overkill for an account whose balance might change, at most, a few times a month.

[russellhltn]

for an account whose balance might change, at most, a few times a month.

Specifically, the withdrawal is only once a month.

[ronlawrence66]

I spoke with Headquartes recently and they indicated that the church prorates (( ibelieve djust during the COVID issue) the required amount for the final month of the mission (I am in Canada) I was told the if the misssinary returned on the 2nd of the month, the bill would 2/30ths (or number of days in the month in question). Thus it is important not to overpay or pay to far in advance. As a ward clerk, I tryto keep each missionary family apprised of the balance status to make sure they do not over pay. My Bishop has asked me to do this on aregualr basis.

Having said that, I have at least one missionary that has comleted their mission and the funds have not yet been prorated, so it may be an after the fact thing.