Memorial Fund

[pfericksonosl]

Our church has practiced keeping track of how much money has been given in memory of each deceased person. Then we try to work with the family of the deceased to use their memorial money in a way that they agree with.

In the past we have used as a spreadsheet to keep track of just how much money is left for Dead Person X, Y, and Z. I'm wondering how we could do this within PowerChurch.

At the beginning of this year we restarted our Accounting Module. One of the Accounting Funds I created is the Memorial Fund. Within the Memorial Fund should we create a temporarily restricted account for each dead person in memory of whom people have contributed? Would that be a responsible way to track this money?

Thanks for your input!

[NeilZ]

Our church has practiced keeping track of how much money has been given in memory of each deceased person. Then we try to work with the family of the deceased to use their memorial money in a way that they agree with.

In the past we have used as a spreadsheet to keep track of just how much money is left for Dead Person X, Y, and Z. I'm wondering how we could do this within PowerChurch.

At the beginning of this year we restarted our Accounting Module. One of the Accounting Funds I created is the Memorial Fund. Within the Memorial Fund should we create a temporarily restricted account for each dead person in memory of whom people have contributed? Would that be a responsible way to track this money?

Thanks for your input!

It can be a way, but a lot depends on the amount of the bequest. I've heard of churches doing that winding up with literally hundreds of restricted accounts, some of which consist of only a few hundred dollars.

The current church I'm at takes all bequests, and unless specifically targetted at something, advises the family to allow the church to put it in a general Memorial Fund. The family gets a thank you letter, and note from the pastor acknowledging the bequest, and the church then can use the funds where it needs them most.

[wms7328]

We have a separate Memorial Fund where this type of money is recorded We notify the family of receipt of the funds and that they will be used for some special need of the church. We have a group that keeps a list of these needs and decides how to use the money.

We do not accept funds where the family requires it to be used for a specific expense. As I understand the IRS rules for tax exempt donations, the money must be controlled by the tax exempt organization receiving the funds and not controlled by the person making the donation.