Collecting fundraising money

[Jpingree]

We are planning to do a silent auction for a fundraiser for our various camps this year. We'll have some services provided by the ward. We'll plan to collect funds via cash or check, but I have a few questions. Who would the check be made to? Would a platform like Venmo be acceptable? How do we get the funds into the ward?

I tried searching the handbook but didn't find anything conclusive.

Thank you!

[lajackson]

Who would the check be made to?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Would a platform like Venmo be acceptable?

Does your ward have a Venmo account?

How do we get the funds into the ward?

The member puts the cash or check into a gray envelope with a donation slip and hands it to a member of the bishopric. The donation is processed the same way any other contribution is processed using the normal deposit preparation procedures.

[Jpingree]

Thank you for your prompt reply.

No, our ward does not have a ward Venmo account. Just personal accounts.

[lajackson]

Thank you for your prompt reply.

No, our ward does not have a ward Venmo account. Just personal accounts.

Actually, I was just kidding about Venmo. Our Young Women President tried that one on our bishopric a few weeks ago before our annual camp fundraising social.

But everyone was cool about the donation envelope process. And following the normal donation procedures outlined in the General Handbook protects everyone. Some ward member is not holding a bunch of checks and cash so there can be no issue if any funds are lost. The two-person principle is honored as the bishopric and/or clerk prepare the deposit. There is a record of who donated. A very few members asked to donate anonymously and we told them just to leave their names off of the donation slip. We recorded the donations that way. Even the stake auditor who lives in our ward and attended the social was impressed.

The Handbook is your friend.

[BrianEdwards]

And following the normal donation procedures outlined in the General Handbook protects everyone

100% agree. You do not want to be the one-in-a-hundred exception where there's a misunderstanding, miscommunication, or mishandling of donations, and there's questions about whether Church leaders were involved. There's certainly going to be at least one person at the fundraiser who wants to participate and realizes they do not have cash/check with them, and asks about electronic payment like Venmo. It may seem uncomfortable to ask them to go to the nearest ATM and withdraw cash, but that's much less uncomfortable than having to deal with cases where Church policy wasn't followed and "something happened".

[Jpingree]

Cool, thank you both for your help!

[abshiregabrielle]

Thank you for your prompt reply.

No, our ward does not have a ward Venmo account. Just personal accounts.

Actually, I was just kidding about Venmo. Our Young Women President tried that one on our bishopric a few weeks ago before our annual camp fundraising social.

But everyone was cool about the donation envelope process. And following the normal donation procedures outlined in the General Handbook protects everyone. Some ward member is not holding a bunch of checks and cash so there can be no issue if any funds are lost. The two-person principle is honored as the bishopric and/or clerk prepare the deposit. There is a record of who donated. A very few members asked to donate anonymously and we told them just to leave their names off of the donation slip. We recorded the donations that way. Even the stake auditor who lives in our ward and attended the social was impressed.

The Handbook is your friend.

Absolutely, wholeheartedly. Hopefully, you won't be the one out of a hundred instances when questions regarding the role of Church authorities emerge as a result of a breakdown in communication or the improper administration of finances. If somebody wants to participate but doesn't have any cash or a check on hand, they can inquire about electronic payment methods like Venmo at the fundraiser. Asking someone to withdraw money from an ATM could be uncomfortable, but it's much better than dealing with "something happened" because Church regulation was ignored.

[gjbower]

This is an excellent discussion of the "manual" process where a check/money is provided with a donation slip. When the Clerk fills out the electronic donation slip in LCR there is an option for a "Budget" category that supports this seamlessly, but is there a way for the member to do this themselves using the electronic donation slip on line? In that case, the member's donation slip does not have a "budget" option so there does not seem to be an "online" option for members to make direct fundraising (e.g., camps, EFY, ect.) donations and must therefore utilize the "manual" process for all fundraising.

[eblood66]

This is an excellent discussion of the "manual" process where a check/money is provided with a donation slip. When the Clerk fills out the electronic donation slip in LCR there is an option for a "Budget" category that supports this seamlessly, but is there a way for the member to do this themselves using the electronic donation slip on line? In that case, the member's donation slip does not have a "budget" option so there does not seem to be an "online" option for members to make direct fundraising (e.g., camps, EFY, ect.) donations and must therefore utilize the "manual" process for all fundraising.

That is correct. Payments for camps (whether from fundraising or payments from the youth or families) must be made with check or cash to the ward (at least in the US and Canada). The Answers to General Questions section of the Donations help page (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/too ... -Questions) explicitly answers this question.