User Support Forum

jamessmith260996 wrote:How do I record money that we recieve for specific purposes?
we already have a budgeted amount for outreach (based on a monthly plege to give to that ministry) We want that budget line to reflect what was actually given - i put in the budget the amount if they are to fufill the pledge for the year but is there a way to track specific gifts? and now we just got an additional tithe specified for outreach - which wasn't included in the budget line - do i have to increase the budgeted amount everytime i get a specific donation?
It all goes into the general fund but I would like our budgeted amount to show what is still available
I will be giving quarterly reports to the heads of ministry and somehow I'll need to show those additional donations ....
i hope that makes some sence!
http://vancopayments.com/powerchurch/

If this is for outreach, as in reaching those outside the congregation, you don't want to change a budget every time someone donates towards it. This creates other issues. You can do two things:

1. Create a temp restricted income for this purpose, then when an expense for this ministry comes in, you release those funds to cover what was in the restricted income account, and then use general funds for the rest.
2. Create a liability account where you again expense the proper expense account, but use these funds up first.

The 1st is preferable as it is then reflected in the I&E report, while the 2nd does not.

Changing budgets due to specific donations is never a good idea. What such donations do, however, is free general funds for other uses that may be able to cover any shortfall in donations for the year, or can be allocated at the end of the year for local or foreign missions.

butting in with an additional question, would this also apply to say youth trips? throughout the year we have several trips the youth take, most are covered by fundraisers and paid for my students. Is it best to create a temp restricted income for each trip and also an expense for each trip? place the money that is raised for the respected trip into the appropriate temp then release when the expense is made? Currently we have expenses (deposits) before monies are raised.

whfpc wrote:butting in with an additional question, would this also apply to say youth trips? throughout the year we have several trips the youth take, most are covered by fundraisers and paid for my students. Is it best to create a temp restricted income for each trip and also an expense for each trip? place the money that is raised for the respected trip into the appropriate temp then release when the expense is made? Currently we have expenses (deposits) before monies are raised.

You want to track the costs of anything the church sponsors, especially if there is a situation where there is not enough raised to cover all the expenses.

So what do you do in this case? If the trips are consecutive, then you just need one Temp Restricted Account, I'd also use the Maintain Donor Restriction setup assistant to create the expense account at the same time. You really don't need to budget against the expense unless you want to.

If the trips are happening at the same time, then you would create a few different Temp Restrictions. However, this can get unwieldy, but its up to you.

As far as deposits being made before the fundraising income comes in, that's an issue that you'll need to talk with your board about. In effect, the operating fund is 'lending' the funds for the trip. How do you get the funds back? You can just chalk it up as the cost of 'doing mission', or you can pay out of unrestricted funds, then when the fundraisers start coming in, you can just go into Funds Accounting -> Create Transactions and click on the Release Restricted Funds, select the Restriction for the trip, then enter the amount paid for the deposit.

When posted, this transaction will move the funds from the Restricted to the Unrestricted Assets ... effectively paying back the normal operating fund for the 'loan'. This will show up on the i&E report as a release from restriction, so your board and congregation can see that funds are being replaced. Hopefully, at the end of the month or year, when you check to see what was expensed, it will equal what was released.

Now I'm not an accountant, but this is the most transparent way to show that the fundraising money is going to support the trip and nothing else.