Algoma Anglican Article, December 2003
Prepared by Rev’d E.
Swayze
Chair, Electronic Offering Program Advisory Committee
Since the Electronic Offering Program’s inception in 1999, it has developed into a service that is cost effective and reliable. Good service is provided to parishes and church ministries. It is self-funding and steps have been taken to ensure the security of the data and to prevent fraud.
To use the Electronic Offering Program (EOP) a parish must register, designating the Contact person and contact information. The Program Administrator is authorized to only disclose information to the Parish/Ministry Contact. When the contact information changes, Parish Officials must send a new form. When a parish registers, the Parish Contact is sent a Parish/Ministry Registration Kit that has the Manual and promotional material.
A donor fills out a Donor Registration/Amendment Form and sends it to the Parish Contact or directly to the Program Administrator. The Program Administrator withdraws the funds on the 15th of the month and deposits it 5 business days later. This delay verifies that the transfer was successful. The Program Administrator e-mails or mails a Monthly Donor Report to the Parish/Ministry Contact showing the amounts of the donations.
The software allows people to donate to the Parish Operating Fund, Property Fund, Special, PWRDF, and to Church Ministries: Anglican Mission Service Committee, Camp Gitchigomee, Camp Manitou and the Mission to Seafarers. The Church Ministries issue their own income tax receipts.
The cost of the EOP is charged to a parish on the basis of a one time Donor Set up Fee of $5.00, and a Monthly Program Fee of $1.20 per donor. Fees are set in December. The Monthly Program Fee is comparable to the cost of transferring money using a cheque (cheque printing costs, offering envelopes and bank transaction fee). In addition the bank charges a fee to a parish for each cheque deposited. The costs of the EOP are mostly fixed and the more donors that participate, the lower the Monthly Program Fee.
The EOPis fairly reliable. In 2003, out of 2073 transactions 3 errors were made.
Service is important Parish Contacts may send inquires by surface mail, fax, e-mail or voice mail and the Program Administrator responds within a week. The software is set up so that if a Parish Contact requests information on previous donations, it can be readily provided. Once a year and upon request, Parish Contacts are provided with merged Donor Amendment Forms. These Forms have the donor’s information on them, and they can be given to the Donor so that the Donor has a means to increase their donation.
The Chair of the Electronic Offering Program Advisory Committee is available to respond to problems that the Program Administrator is unable to deal with, and the Advisory Committee has been instrumental in the evolution of policy and procedures. It consists of the Chair, the Rev’d Ed Swayze, the Vice-Chair, Mr. Chris Bailey, the Ven. Andrew Hoskin, Mrs. Gloria McKay, Mr. Ernie Tilbury, and Roy Larson, the Program Administrator. The parishes of St. Stephen’s, St. Michael’s, St. Thomas’, St. John’s and St. Paul’s are represented on the Committee, and Chris is an accountant, Gloria is a book-keeper and Treasurer at St. John’s and Ernie is the Envelop Secretary at St. Paul’s.
The Monthly Donor Report sent to the Parish Contact enables him or her to verify the accuracy of the deposit and generate income tax statements. If the donation shown on a parishioner’s quarterly statement is wrong, the donor will report it. The EOP Treasurer does a quarterly review of the EOP’s financial records.
Transparency is another check on the EOP. The EOP Manual is mailed in the Parish Ministry Kit, and when changes in policy are made. It is posted on the web site, electonicofferingprogram.com.
In October 2003, 240 donors donated $27,490 to 18 congregations across the Diocese of Algoma, the Anglican Missions Service Committee, Camp Gitchigomee, Camp Manitou, Mission to Seafarers, and Primates World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF).
The Electronic Offering Program is an effective tool to help parishes and church ministries manage their donations. People are encouraged to use it.
If you would like more information about the Electronic Offering Program, visit the web page at electonicofferingprogram.com , or contact the Program Administrator c/o St. Stephen’s Anglican Church (807) 683-6051 answering machine/fax.