Upon recommendation of our Finance Committee, the Home Council has recently made a couple of changes regarding the Mission’s finances. I thought that you might like to hear about them.
The first pertains to missionary allowances. The Council reviews target allowance every year. They consider a few different factors, the most important of which is the opinion of our missionaries themselves. A survey of missionary opinions revealed that current allowance levels seem about right. That combined with low inflation in the U.S. and a strong dollar overseas led to the decision to leave target allowances unchanged at this time. The Council will revisit this issue in another year, unless circumstances change dramatically in the interim.
The other decision relates to the Mission’s Estate Fund. It is minor in scope, in many ways. But it has the potential to affect missionary allowance payments.
Many of you know that we have been able to pay full allowances for the past three years, due in no small part to many generous gifts to our Estate Fund. I have been reporting every month how much we have used from the Estate Fund, to help pay for missionary benefits – medical insurance, housing, and so on. We have used our General Fund to supplement “take home” missionary allowances, for workers who do not enjoy full designated support themselves. I have been reporting these transfers from our General Fund, too.
We have used our Estate Fund for other things, as well – including some items that are really general operating expenses, and should logically fall to the General Fund. This has made our General Fund balance artificially high while depleting our Estate Fund – leaving less for special overseas projects, and less for the support of missionary benefits.
The Finance Committee has recommended that we permit the General Fund to carry most general operating expenses, while allowing the Estate Fund to continue supporting missionary benefits. This will increase the load on the General Fund, possibly affecting “take home” allowance payments, and decrease the load on the Estate Fund.
It is important to remember that all gifts, whether General Fund, Estate Fund, or other designations, are gifts from God to be used in this missionary effort. The Council’s decisions reflect our desire to use these funds as appropriately as possible. We recognize that God’s methods of provision may change from time to time. We strive to be good stewards in administering his gifts.
In September donations to missionary support funds paid for 34.8 percent of all support expenses; $47,266 was used from the General Fund to supplement missionary allowances and $64,052 was used from the Estate Fund to supplement benefit expenses for the month. Thank you for your on-going support!