Running wards on the cheap

[MikeWaters]

I may be wrong, but I looked at the budget for my ward a ways back, and discovered that just our tithing, while still a resident with a 2nd job + Farrah's job (not too much money), would cover the entire ward discretionary budget.

I was kind of ticked about that for a couple of weeks.

Because when I compare the LDS experience of my youth (ward canoeing trips, etc) and my current LDS social experience, it is night and day. How many variations of the ward potluck can you have?

[Requiem]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I may be wrong, but I looked at the budget for my ward a ways back, and discovered that just our tithing, while still a resident with a 2nd job + Farrah's job (not too much money), would cover the entire ward discretionary budget.

I was kind of ticked about that for a couple of weeks.

Because when I compare the LDS experience of my youth (ward canoeing trips, etc) and my current LDS social experience, it is night and day. How many variations of the ward potluck can you have?

Great points - this can be a sensitive topic. Not all Stake Presidents and Bishops are created equal in terms of budgets. I know for example that Student Wards receive more funds per capita for activities than a home ward - all in the hope that the mingles, campouts and FHE's will encourage dating and marriage. Home ward budget funds are based on SM attendance and, if properly allocated, should leave plenty of discretion for the activities you mention.

[SteelBlue]

This reminds me of an experience I had when I was a YM president. I got a new counselor assigned to me who was older than my father. He was pretty arrogant when it came to money, always mentioning how much he made etc... One time I was commenting on the small budget we had for a particular activity and he said condescendingly "anyone who serves as YM president should automatically budget in 1500 dollars per year for the kids out of his own pocket." I guess his opinion only held true for presidents though because I never saw him spend a dime of his own money on the YM.

[hyrum]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I may be wrong, but I looked at the budget for my ward a ways back, and discovered that just our tithing, while still a resident with a 2nd job + Farrah's job (not too much money), would cover the entire ward discretionary budget.

I was kind of ticked about that for a couple of weeks.

Because when I compare the LDS experience of my youth (ward canoeing trips, etc) and my current LDS social experience, it is night and day. How many variations of the ward potluck can you have?

Once the finance committee of a church (non-Mormon) that I belonged to produced a detailed state of the congregation report, that included many financial facts and figures. One of which was the contributions from the households who were regular contributors divided by an estimate of our total income from published demographics for our area. They guesstimated a tithing rate of somewhere around 3% (if I recall correctly). This church was "break-even" at that point, it had a large mortgage from a recent building project a modest, but professional ministry and education staff, and the typical maintenance and utility bills. This is from a denomination that doesn't push the 10% tithing suggestion, in fact the pastor had suggested from the pulpit that a person's tithing ought to include both giving for church and charitable organizations. Anyway they did list some very nice things they could do if the number were to increase to another 1 or 2%. Then they listed some "dream" things that could be done for some higher numbers, which didn't even go up to 10%.

So... this leads me to ask ... Where does the money go if the LDS Church pushes the 10% tithing expectation? There is not even a professional staff to pay. Of course I expect there are a lot who are not able to comply or choose not to.

PS Another church does the finances in a very open, honest and trusting way. They plan their activities and costs and publish the planned budget with items prioritized by committees from the congregation. That is published and the final budget is set each year based on everyone's anonymous pledge of support for the year (known to just your family and the Almighty). Then they track and report the income vs pledges on an aggregate basis in a corner of the weekly bulletin.

[MikeWaters]

The LDS church uses it to finance operations overseas. American Mormons subsidize efforts in other countries.

As to transparency of budgets, I think it depends on the ward. Some wards do it openly. In others it is a mystery.

In my ward it is a mystery. When I was exec. secretrary there was never a single meeting about the budget, and no auxiliary was told how much money they had. They were told, however, when they ran out of money.

[creekster]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

The LDS church uses it to finance operations overseas. American Mormons subsidize efforts in other countries.

As to transparency of budgets, I think it depends on the ward. Some wards do it openly. In others it is a mystery.

In my ward it is a mystery. When I was exec. secretrary there was never a single meeting about the budget, and no auxiliary was told how much money they had. They were told, however, when they ran out of money.

I recall we disucssed this once before. When I was Exec Secty we had an annual ward council devoted to the budget, each organization submitted an annual plan for activities and budget for this plan and differences/discrepancies were dealt with over the course of the year.

[BigFatMeanie]

Originally Posted by creekster

I recall we disucssed this once before. When I was Exec Secty we had an annual ward council devoted to the budget, each organization submitted an annual plan for activities and budget for this plan and differences/discrepancies were dealt with over the course of the year.

This was how it was done in my ward. It usually went something like this:

YW - $2000
RS - $2000
Primary - $1000
YM - $1000
Sunday School - $100
HP - $100
EQ - $100

I always wondered why the auxiliaries run by women dominated the budget.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by BigFatMeanie

This was how it was done in my ward. It usually went something like this:

YW - $2000
RS - $2000
Primary - $1000
YM - $1000
Sunday School - $100
HP - $100
EQ - $100

I always wondered why the auxiliaries run by women dominated the budget.

How does it work in your household?

I thought so. Do you really need to ask? If we withhold, they withhold.

[BigFatMeanie]

Originally Posted by Archaea

How does it work in your household?

I thought so. Do you really need to ask? If we withhold, they withhold.

Too true. I should have thought of that. I just didn't extend my personal experience to the ward-level. Damn camels!