Revised 1 Oct 2007
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| EOP Manual
Revised 1 Oct 2007 |
The Deanery Council of the Anglican Deanery of Thunder Bay authorized the Electronic Offering Program in February 1998 and the first deposit took place in February 1999. The Thunder Bay Deanery Council and the Bishop of Algoma contributed seed money for the start-up of the EOP. From then until 2007, the Thunder Bay Deanery Council appointed the EOP Advisory Committee, which developed the policy for the EOP and oversaw its operation. In 2007 the Executive Committee of the Diocese of Algoma assumed responsibility for the operation of the EOP.
This Manual is published under the authority of the Diocesan Treasurer. From time to time it is up-dated. One copy is sent to each Parish/Ministry Contact at the time of registration and when it is revised.
As of Nov 26, 2007, the Program Administrator is the Assistant Treasurer for the Diocese of Algoma and works out of the Synod Office.
The email address is office@electronicofferingprogram.com.
All registrations/amendments must be made in writing and signed. They can be sent by e-mail, fax or surface mail; however, voided cheques must be sent by surface mail as mistakes have been made when numbers did not come out clearly on faxes. The parish/ministry should keep on file correspondence sent to the Program Administrator in case information needs to be verified.
If you have been unable to contact the Program Administrator, then contact the Diocesan Treasurer.
When a parish/ministry joins the EOP, a plan should be developed to promote it so that full use is made of the EOP as a tool for the parish/ministry’s financial management program. Appoint someone in your parish/ministry to push the program. This person should be the Parish/Ministry Contact (see below), but does not necessarily have to be.
Here are some ideas of things your parish/ministry can do to promote the EOP:
¨ Put up posters;
¨ Promote it during announcements;
¨ Write a paragraph from time to time for the parish/ministry newsletter;
¨ Mail the Donor Amendment Form - Merged (see below) to EOP donors each spring;
¨ Mail Donor Registration Brochure to every member on your mailing list every year or two;
¨ Push the EOP in the spring prior to the summer exodus and talk about maintaining your givings over the summer;
¨ Push the EOP in the fall prior to the snowbirds leaving, and talk about maintaining your givings over the winter; and
¨ Encourage people to visit the EOP web site.
¨ Convenience; and
¨ Able to support a parish/ministry if you are not present at it.
For the Parish/Ministry
¨ Regular donations, even when people are not attending worship;
¨ Easier to budget;
¨ EOP more than pays for itself through increased donations;
¨ Cost of EOP equivalent to cheques or lower;
¨ Convenience, less work in counting and depositing money; and
¨ Useful in fundraising through the mail.
The Electronic Offering Program more than pays for itself in that if a donor contributes in a month that he or she would otherwise miss (holidays), this donation is more than the yearly program fee (12 x $1.20 = $14.40). In 2006, the average monthly donation was $111.33.
The cost of the EOP is comparable with donating by cheque for a monthly donor. If a donor is contributing more that once a month using cheques, the EOP is cheaper.
The Monthly Program Fee is $1.20
For a monthly donor, the cheque cost is:
Printing
cheque ($25.53 for 150)
$0.17
Transaction fee
$0.60
Offering envelops ($5 for box/12)
$0.40
Total paid by
parishioner
$1.17
Bank
Fee to deposit cheque, paid by parish
$0.16
====
Total
Cost of cheque transfer
$1.33
Bank
Fee to deposit $100
$0.18
Offering envelops ($5 for box/12)
$0.40
$0.58.
Promotional
materials are available from the Program Administrator:
¨ Master for Donor Registration Brochure;
¨ Poster;
¨ Tokens;
¨ Sign for Tokens;
¨ Donor Amendment Form - Merged;
¨ Sample letter for a parish mailing; and
¨ Power point presentation.
Except for the Donor Amendment Forms - Merged, tokens and power point presentation, these promotional materials are in the Parish/Ministry Kit that is sent to a parish or ministry when it inquires about the EOP. The Donor Amendment Forms - Merged, tokens and power point presentation can be requested from the Program Administrator. The power point presentation can be used with an overhead projector or a video projector.
The web site is set-up for promotion. All of the printed materials are available on it as well as statistics.
Finances are a part of stewardship. The promotion of the EOP needs to be seen in the wider context of a stewardship education program.
Resources for stewardship education are posted on the EOP web site. If you have education material or links to other web sites that could be posted on the EOP web site and shared with other parishes, please send them to the Program Administrator.
Parishes that request information are sent a Parish/Ministry Kit. Only one donor is needed for a parish to join the EOP. To join the EOP, complete the Parish/Ministry Registration Form; see below ‘Parish/Ministry Registration Form and Record’.
Church Ministries are organizations that are separate from parishes (ex. Church Camp). People can donate to Church Ministries directly if they are enrolled in the EOP or through parishes using the “Special” line on the Donor Registration/Amendment Form. The parish issues the income tax receipt and transfers the money to the Church Ministry. The donor should confirm with the parish that money will be transferred to the church ministry prior to making the donation.
When a Church Ministry is enrolled with the EOP, people can donate directly to it. The Church Ministry:
In order for a Church Ministry to be enrolled with the EOP, it needs to have ten donors (new as of April 2003). This does not apply to church ministries enrolled with the EOP prior to April 2003. For further information about enrolling, contact the Program Administrator.
On the Parish/Ministry Registration Form, the Parish/Ministry Contact is named. It is essential that the information on this Form is accurate so that the Program Administrator can contact the right person and because the reports sent to this person are confidential. The Program Administrator is authorized to give confidential information only to the Parish/Ministry Contact.
This Form is submitted to the Program Administrator when the Parish/Ministry joins the EOP. It is in the Parish/Ministry Kit and on the EOP web site. A voided cheque or deposit slip with bank account information is included when the Parish/Ministry initially registers and when their bank account changes. This is for Direct Deposit and Pre-Authorized Fees.
The Parish/Ministry Registration Form also ought to be sent to the Program Administrator when the information on the Form changes (Parish/Ministry Contact, e-mail address, phone number).
The Parish/Ministry Record is a Parish/Ministry Registration Form with the information merged into it. It is mailed to each Parish/Ministry with the Annual Report in January with a request to verify and return it by February 15 so that the EOP will be advised of any changes after the Annual Vestry/General Meeting. As Incumbents and wardens change, they need to confirm that they have familiarized themselves with the policies and procedures of the EOP.
The Parish/Ministry Contact ensures Donor Registration/Amendment Forms are made available to parishioners and potential donors.
A donor completes the Donor Registration/Amendment Form that is in the Donor Registration Brochure or on the EOP web site and attaches a voided cheque. It can then be put on the offering plate or given to the church office and is then mailed to the Program Administrator. The donor may mail it directly to the Program Administrator.
New donors and changes with existing donors will be shown on the Monthly Donor Report that is sent to the Parish/Ministry Contact. The Parish/Ministry Contact should check it to verify changes.
Masters for the Donor Registration Brochure and Form are in the Parish/Ministry Kit. Parishes/ministries photocopy their own Brochures.
This Brochure contains useful stewardship teaching that is also posted on the EOP web site.
Periodically an updated Donor Registration Brochure and/or Form will be sent to the Parish/Ministry Contact. Destroy outdated Brochures. A revised date is printed on the Brochure and Form for you to check your current master against copies.
The Program Administrator can merge the donor’s information from the EOP Database onto the Donor Registration/Amendment Form.
The Envelope Secretary can send out this Form when a quarterly statement is sent out or in a parish mailing with a cover letter inviting donors to increase their donation. If people do not return the Donor Amendment Form immediately, they may save it and return it when they would like to increase their offering.
For those not on the EOP, a Donor Registration Brochure can be inserted in a mailing. A sample letter is included in the Parish/Ministry Kit.
A set of Donor Amendment Forms - Merged will be mailed to the Parish/Ministry Contact annually. At any time the Parish/Ministry Contact can request the Program Administrator to send a set of Donor Amendment Forms - Merged for their parish.
An amendment, suspension or cancellation must be made in writing. Use the Donor Registration/Amendment Form and put it on the offering plate or give it to the church office. The Parish/Ministry Contact then forwards it to the Program Administrator. Amendments can be sent by surface mail, fax or e-mail.
If a donor’s bank information changes, a new voided cheque must be sent by surface mail.
If a withdrawal is rejected because a donor's bank account is closed, the Program Administrator will make the donor 'Inactive', see below 'Suspension of Donation', and send an e-mail to the Parish/Ministry Contact advising him or her of the situation.
From time to time a donor may suspend his or her donation. Suspensions will be accepted for up to six months with no additional charge. After six months the Set-up Fee will be applied as if the donor is a new donor. (Effective April 02)
A token may be placed in the offering plate as a symbol of the offering made through the EOP. The token that the EOP provides is a small wooden cross.
The Parish/Ministry Contact requests tokens from the Program Administrator. The Parish/Ministry Registration Form or Record has a space to indicate how many tokens are required. An e-mail to request tokens is welcome.
The parish should obtain a small basket to make the tokens available to the donors. The sign in the Parish/Ministry Kit can be put in the basket.
The EOP ought to eliminate the need to issue a box of offering envelopes. From time to time people would like to make extra donations. The parish can print up loose undated envelopes and issue some to donors. These envelopes also are useful for visitors.
1. The Program Administrator transmits the information to the bank to make the withdrawals on the 15th of the month, (or the first banking day following if the 15th is a weekend or holiday).
2. The Program Administrator transmits the information to the bank to direct deposit donations to each parish/ministry’s bank account. The information is transmitted to the bank, five banking days following the withdrawal. (5 banking days + weekend + holiday Monday means it will be deposited on the 23rd at the latest) It may take the bank a day or two to process the deposit.
3. Once the direct deposit has been made, the Monthly Program Fees Report and Monthly Donor Report are sent to each Parish/Ministry Contact by e-mail or fax as indicated on the Parish/Ministry Registration Form. The Monthly Donor Report lists the donors, how much has been donated and the amount deposited.
The 15th of the month was chosen so that the parish/ministry treasurer would receive the donations in time to write cheques to the Diocese for the 1st of the month.
When a parish/ministry registers with the EOP a voided cheque is enclosed. The EOP remits funds to this bank account by Direct Deposit.
The reports (Monthly Donor, Monthly Program Fees, etc.) are sent by e-mail as an attachment and they are in the rich text format (rtf). All word processing programs can read this format (Word, WordPad, WordPerfect). Save the report to a disk or hard drive. Open your word processing software and from it open the .rtf file.
Withdrawals are dishonoured for insufficient funds, change of banking information or death of a donor.
In the event of a dishonoured withdrawal, the Program Administrator notifies the Parish/Ministry Contact so that the Contact can inquire whether it a temporary problem or the donor is withdrawing from the EOP. See above “Suspension of Donation”.
If a notice that a withdrawal from a donor was dishonoured after the Direct Deposit was made, the Parish/Ministry would have been credited with the donation in error. The Program Administrator sends a memo to the Parish/Ministry Contact advising him or her of the error and that an adjustment will be made in the following month’s Direct Deposit and in the Monthly Donor Report.
A dishonoured withdrawal creates some work for the Program Administrator and confusion for the Parish/Ministry Contact. The cost of added work and bank fees is passed onto the parishes through the Monthly Program Fee. It is in the interest of parishes to communicate effectively with the Program Administrator to keep the EOP costs to a minimum.
The Parish/Ministry Contact should advise donors to send the Program Administrator a voided cheque with the new account information if there are any changes with their bank account information (transit #, account #). The amalgamation of bank branches has caused some transactions not to go through because the transit number changed.
If a donor dies, the Parish/Ministry Contact should advise the Program Administrator, so that the EOP would not be billed for a dishonoured withdrawal.
Essentially the cost of running the EOP is fixed. The bank charges the EOP each month for two Electronic Fund Transfers and the Bank Account Fee. Much of Program Administrator time is fixed, the variables are answering inquires, processing new donors and amendments, and dealing with dishonoured withdrawals.
The costs are shown in the EOP budget. In December the Diocesan Treasurer sets the budget and fees for the coming year. (Effective Jan 02). The budget and fee calculation are in the EOP Annual Report that is sent to the Parish/Ministry Contact and People's Warden in January and is available by contacting the Program Administrator.
The EOP Advisory Committee set the EOP’s bank account at a balance equivalent to six month’s expenses. With making a commitment to a fixed Monthly Program Fee, a reserve provides for a cushion in case there is a short fall in revenue or unforeseen expenses.
Parishes are assessed a Monthly Program Fee and a one time Set-up Fee on a per donor basis. The Monthly Program Fees Report is sent to the Parish/Ministry Contact once the Direct Deposit has been made. Parishes are assessed, not church ministries (ex. camps). The Diocesan Treasurer sets these fees in December each year.
As of April 1, 2004, the parish is assessed $8.00 to set-up each new donor. The Set-up Fee is assessed in the Monthly Program Fees Report.
The Monthly Program Fee for 2004 is $1.20. It is based on the budget and the projected number of donors for the coming year. The Monthly Program Fee is assessed in the Monthly Program Fees Report.
Parishes are assessed instead of having the money deducted from the donation because of the accounting of income tax receipts. Parishes can only issue income tax receipts on the basis of money received. If the EOP deducted a fee, parishes could not issue an income tax receipt for the full amount of the donation.
Pre-Authorized Fees are when the Monthly Program and Set-up Fees are withdrawn electronically from the parish bank account on the 15th of the month. All parishes signing on to the EOP after January 1, 2004 must use PAF.
Parishes enrolled prior to January 1, 2004 and remitting fees by cheque are encouraged to change to PAF, but are not required to. However, as of April 3, 2006 for a Parish that has been billed for Program Fees and is over sixty days outstanding, the Parish will be automatically changed to Pre-Authorized Fees (PAF) and the arrears will be collected by PAF.
PAF improves cash flow and reduces the Program Administrator’s time in dealing with parishes that owe money. Keeping the Program Administrator’s time to a minimum is in the interest of parishes as the saving is passed back to them by a lower Monthly Program Fee.
The Envelope Secretary or parish/ministry Treasurer is responsible for issuing the income tax receipt for the EOP donor.
The person issuing the receipts can set-up a “virtual” envelope number to keep track of the donor’s contributions. This “virtual” number may also be used for other donations that the donor makes to the parish/ministry such as memorial or special donations.
The Parish/Ministry Contact receives the Monthly Donor Report, which lists the donors, the date of donation and the amount of the donation. This report is sent following the Direct Deposit. The Parish/Ministry Contact is to forward the Monthly Donor Report to the Envelope Secretary. If the Parish/Ministry Contact does not receive this report, advise the Program Administrator.
The Program Administrator, upon a request from a Parish/Ministry Contact, can produce a Period Donor Report for the year to date or the whole year. This report will not be sent out unless requested.
If the Parish/Ministry Contact reviews the Donor Report and discovers a discrepancy, the Contact should write a memo to the Program Administrator and send a copy to the Diocesan Treasurer:
Funds donated to PWRDF are remitted to the parish since the parish issues the income tax receipt.
The EOP directly remits funds to these ministries. They issue the income tax receipts to the donors.
A parish or ministry may withdraw from the EOP. Notice must be given in writing and it must be two months in advance. The Program Administrator will notify in writing all of the donors contributing towards that parish/ministry that the parish/ministry has withdrawn from the EOP.
The EOP operates under the authority of the Executive Committee of the Diocese of Algoma. The Executive Committee has assigned the responsibility of overseeing the EOP to the Diocesan Treasurer.
If anyone would like to propose a change in policy for the EOP, contact the Program Administrator or Diocesan Treasurer
The Program Administrator and Diocesan Treasurer have access to the donor information. They have all passed a criminal record check. The donor information is confidential. It is disclosed only to the donor’s Parish/Ministry Contact and is not disclosed to anyone else.
For parishes and ministries on the Diocese of Algoma group policy, the EOP has been advised that insurance coverage is provided through it.
The Diocesan auditors will scrutinize the transactions of the EOP.
Each parish/ministry that participates in the EOP receives a copy of the Annual Report. It is to be in the mail by the 15th of January.
The Annual Report will have a report from the Chair of the EOP Advisory Committee, Financial Statement, Budget, and the Parish/Ministry Record (which is to be signed and returned by the 15th of February).