- - And the Lord direct your heart in the love of God as you continue to faithfully serve Him - -

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         TO:  Interested Onliners                                                                                                                 FROM: Jim Bramer, Retired CPA-Auditor
                                                                                                                                                                        
   
         RE: J I Ms  J R N L  for the month of April 2005                                                                             FILE:  0204-05/jrnl        

Web-based or Online Ministry Finance applications: (4)

        Web-based, or Online,  Ministry Finance Applications are best explained when you go to  0904  and digest what I have shared about ASPs, etc.  Suffice is to say,  I trust that your Ministry is making appropriate and full use of the Internet resources as you care for your financial matters.  Please go to  0109  and learn about how such tasks might be assigned.  I trust you find helpful the "Application Grid" below by type of Ministry:

			APPLICATION  GRID:
xx			The Application below is apparently not available
	xx		The Application below is apparently available
			Be sure and click on the links below for more information
		Generic to all Ministries		Churches	Schools	Scrip	MAgencies	Camps
	xx		Fund Accounting - 0041	xx	xx	xx	xx	xx
	xx		Actual to Budget by Depart Acctg Groups (DAGs)	xx	xx	xx	xx	xx
	xx		Budget via BuxBox Method Expense Control - 0002	xx	xx	xx	xx	xx
xx			DAGer view Budget report/tranx detail info only	xx	xx	xx	xx	xx
	xx		ePayroll - with Clergy aspects -.Paycycle	xx	xx		xx	xx
	xx		eBill Payment - 0926	xx	xx	xx	xx	xx
xx			Internal eAuditor and Board Treasurer access/view	xx	xx	xx	xx	xx
xx			External eAuditor access/view and
			has means to do tasks during the year-	xx	xx	xx	xx	xx
			like viewing transactions and do confirmations
		:	Unique to:
		Churches 5109-
xx			Counters and eDonation record keeping- 5888	xx
	xx		eDonaMail - see 0078	xx
		Schools
xx			eSchar (School Acct Rec) application-7888-		xx
	xx		School and Outsourcer both have equal access
			to current info -- see 7888 above for details		xx
xx			Parents/Students have Online access to eSchar info		xx
xx			They pay via CrCard or Elec Funds Transfers (EFTs)		xx
		Scrip Store 0188
xx			Merchandise Inventory Management			xx
xx			Do Buyer Residual Accounting-like Fund Acctg			xx
xx			Buyer view amount of Residual Balance			xx
xx			Buyer find available inventory to buy Online			xx
xx			Make purchase or place order			xx
xx			Pay via Credit Card or EFT			xx
xx			Arrange for delivery or pickup			xx
		Mission Agencies 8888
	xx		eDonaMail - see 0078				xx
xx			Staffer have unique access to eDonaMail file portion				xx
xx			Send "thank you ltrs with receipts" plus prayer ltrs				xx
xx			For their own support or for a Mission Project				xx
		Camps/Conferences, etc.
xx			Schools/Churches make and pay for eReservations					xx
xx			Individual Camper make and pay for eReservations					xx

 Ministry Fund Accounting -  or "Thou  Shalt and We Shalt"  money Issues: (3)

            A Ministry is responsible for "WE SHALT" monies, or the Board of Leadership decides how to use General Purpose Fund (GPFund) financial resources.  Also see other  "Board Discretionary, or Board Designated"  items below.
            But acceptance of "OBLIGATORY" monies means that the Ministry must administer "THOU SHALT" funds. Ministry Fund Accounting is the science of handling such "OBLIGATORY" monies, or a Ministry must responsibly handle abnormal operating funds.
            Such issues have been around for a long time. See the "Obligatory" special purpose money found in II Chronicles 34:9-11; or note the paraphrased portions below of "II Kings Chapter 12":

        The Temple was still in disrepair, so the King said to the Priests: "Why haven't you done anything about fixing the Temple? Do not use any more of those receipts for the usual operating needs, but from now on use it to get the Temple in good condition."
        So the Priests set up a special "Repair Fund" by making a hole in the side of a large chest and they set it on the right hand side of the alter at the Temple entrance. The doorkeepers put the people's contribution into this chest and this money was used just to repair the Temple.

    We have concluded that the best Fund Accounting term for such responsibilities is "Special Purpose Funds --SPFunds." Note below some of the SPFund terms we have encountered during our span of some 40 years in dealing with such matters.

  Dedicated Funds; Spoken For; Strings attached; In/Out, or Nout (short for in/out accounts --- get it???); Restricted; SetASide; Designated; Trust Funds; TOFROM; Directed Gifts; Encumbered; NonAvail; Ear Marked; Protected Funds; Impounds; Committed; and Escrow.

     When a Ministry has money on deposit,  "OBLIGATORY" aspects include monies owed to debtors or outsiders; such as: Unremitted withheld and accrued payroll taxes, Unpaid bills to vendors, prepaid revenue and unpaid installment Equipment and Facility loans. 
             "OBLIGATORY" elements regarding SPFunds have three common elements:
                  1>  Donor Restrictions (we prefer the term "preferences') for Ministry Board approved Ministry purposes, etc.
                  2>  Board Designated that includes such things as:   Prior Year GPFund Gain/Losses;  Assessments to
                                the GPFund  for named SetASide Purposes.
                  3>  Plus Ministry Self Funded Activities  like:  Church Vacation Bible School; Sunday School
                                activities; Youth activities; AWANA:  Sports activities etc.  Often a portion of
                                these Self Funded Activities is supported by the GPFund     
       The content of  Two Sides of the Same Coin   might also be of interest.         

Financial "Vital Signs" at a Ministry: (5a)

      The primary objective of the Ministry Fund Accounting system is to timely provide decision makers with at least the following seven "Vital Signs."

1> How much money is on deposit
2> Who owes us money and how late are they
3> What "strings are attached" to this money; or our money pertains to which part of our Ministry
4> Are we current with our bills and like obligations
5> What is the scope of donor restricted money
6> What is the amount of Board discretionary money; often setaside by the Board for a specific purpose.
7> Are we living within our General, or Operating, Fund budget constraints

      This can best be done via an Operational Accounting Set of Books that is designed for this purpose --- and it does NOT necessarily include all of the Ministry's non cash fiscal resources like Land, Building and Equipment -- see content of 0127 .   Please note the use of the terms PHOTO and VIDEO in this  0086  link content and in this issue of  JIMs JRNL..
       Our view is that Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for Ministries has monthly and year end aspects -- see content of  0004  for more details.   We also deal with what we call "GAAP Overkill"  at churches in our 0919  Editorial. 

Replication Ministries: (6a)

        The "Replication Ministries"  term is perhaps new to you.  These are ministries whose primary purpose is to serve other ministries and most of their Income comes from the ministries they serve --- not the Christian public per se.  Examples include:

• Church and Associational Headquarters
• Evangelical or Inter-denominational Foreign Mission Assn (EFMA or IFMA);
• Christian Management Assn (CMA);
• Association of Christian Schools, Intnl (ACSI);
• Evangelical Counsel for Financial Accountability (ECFA).
• Camps - especially denominational.

        We believe that appropriate income via Wills-Estates, Trusts, Endowments and/or Christian Foundations should fund the operations of such "Replicating Ministries."  This way such resources are replicated (or "multiplied") to more than a single ministry. 
        Another type of "Replicating Ministries" are those where investment capital is acquired and then re-invested in another ministry.  Examples include Credit Unions,  like ECCU and other groups,  who gather funds and turn around and invest it into ministry facilities, or capital assets.  Click here for more details.

Click below for Potentially Helpful Online Links for JIMs JRNL Readers: (1)

           ECFA's 2005 1st quarter News Letter --- http--www.ecfamembers.org-pdf-Newsletters-FOCUS_1Q_2005.pdf
           Incoming Check Scanning and Admin info --- http://www.crown.org/mat/Check_Processing_Letter.pdf
           Free DonaMail software ---    http://www.freedonationsoftware.org/
           Funding Gift Annuities with Real Estate ---   http://www.giftlaw.com/article.jsp?WebID=GL2003-0459&D=200504
           Donor Management 2001 resource ---  http://www.npower.org/tools/npower_donor_mangement_consumer_guide.pdf
           Personal Finance  --- 12 Reasons Budgeting Can Improve Your Life
           Budget Worksheets etc  ---  Personal Budgeting Worksheets & Money Management

This Month's Chosen "Ministry Finance" Truism: (2)

        Below is one of my Ministry Finance precepts/beliefs/principles, or  "rules of thumb".  Please go to  0069  for our complete TRUISMS list.

      Ministry financial systems MUST include the necessary internal controls that come about when people are a check and balance to one another.  An entire financial transaction is NOT done by one person only. See 0039  for more info on this topic
 

Prayerful Thots:

     Lord,  at our home we recently watched a Gaither musical video where the emphasis was a certain beautiful portion of the USA -- how awesome!  We love You --  You are the source of such beauty.  Please help us to effectively serve you, oh Lord of our life.  In Thy Precious Name, Amen!