Policy and Principles
In addition to handing a donation envelope to a member of the bishopric on Sunday, members have other donation methods available to them. Following are several methods.
MAKING DONATIONS IN KIND
The Church normally discourages paying tithing and making other donations in kind. It is preferable for members to dispose of the property themselves and then pay tithing and make other donations in cash.
The Church accepts (1) stocks, bonds, and other securities that are marketable immediately and (2) some marketable real estate. Before accepting these contributions, local leaders should receive approval from Church headquarters or the assigned administrative office.
For more information, contact the Donations-in-Kind office at 1-800-453-3860 ext. 2-2554 or 801-240-2554.
MAKING DONATIONS AT CHURCH HEADQUARTERS
Donations may be made directly to Church headquarters. These donations are often made to maintain privacy or because donors want to ensure the security of large donations. Donations may be made by check, by wire, or as donations in kind.
Donations made directly to Church headquarters are held in the strictest confidence. They are processed directly by Church headquarters, and they do not show up on any ward records in MLS.
Statements for donations made at Church headquarters are mailed to members twice a year, in November (prior to tithing settlement) and in January (an official tax-valid statement).
Online Donations
Donating online is an alternative method for contributing to the Church, similar to giving donations to a bishop or branch president. Online donations allow access to printable donation statements and real-time donation history.
Steps:
- Navigate to ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
- Click My Account and Ward.
- Click Donations under the “My Ward” section.
- Enter your username and password.
- Follow on-screen instructions.
For more details, click Help in the left menu or go to the Help Center article for Online Donation.
Using Bill Pay to Make Donations
Donations may be made to a ward or branch through a bill payment service. Such services are generally provided by a financial institution and allow donors to initiate payments online without writing a check or paying postage. Often some additional documentation is required to specify the donation categories.
Although wards are not set up to process electronic donations, donors can use a bill payment service to send donations to a ward. Such donations result in a paper check being mailed to the bishop. Some bill payment services allow the donor to use a memo line to specify the donation categories (such as "$100 Tithing, $20 Fast Offering”). In such cases, the financial clerk fills out a donation slip on behalf of the donor as the donations are being counted.
To reduce the burden on clerks, some wards request that members fill out donation slips and submit them in advance. This also helps if the bill payment service does not provide a memo line, in which case the clerks have no way of knowing the proper categories unless the donor submits a donation slip.
Some members choose to use their bill payment service to send a payment to their home address but made out to the ward. Then the member fills out a donation slip and submits the check just as he or she would with a normal check. That way the member puts no extra burden on the clerks or bishop but still benefits from the automatic bill payment service and does not have to write out a check by hand.
In-Kind Donations, Including Tithing
“The Church normally discourages paying tithing and other donations in kind. It is preferable for members to dispose of the property themselves and then pay tithing and other donations in cash. However, in-kind donations may be accepted in certain cases and may be a common practice in some areas of the world.
“The Church accepts (1) stocks, bonds, and other securities that are marketable immediately and (2) some marketable real estate. Before accepting these contributions, local leaders should receive approval from Church headquarters or the assigned area office. If members want to contribute other items, the bishop seeks approval from the stake president. The stake president contacts Church headquarters or the area office for approval before authorizing the bishop to accept the items” (General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 34.4.8, ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
For donations of stocks, bonds, or other readily marketable securities, members should contact the Donations-in-Kind Office at Church headquarters. The number to call is 1-800-453-3860, ext. 2-2554, or 1-801-240-2554.
For real estate donations, members should contact the Real Estate Services Division at Church headquarters, which handles property donations. The number to call is 1-801-240-9231.
Informing the Local Unit
If all or a portion of the in-kind donation is designated for the local unit (the most common case would be a ward missionary donation), then the unit receives a communication from the Church informing them of the donation amount and categories. The transaction also appears on the Unit Financial Statement.
Donations in Kind to a Local Unit
In some situations, a member may want to donate something to the ward. The procedure for such donations is as follows:
- The bishop sends a letter to the Donations-in-Kind office stating:
- The date of the donation.
- That the item was helpful to the ward.
- A detailed description that should include the value of the item.
- The donor’s legal name, address, and possibly phone number in case the Church needs to contact the person.
- The Donations-in-Kind office generates a letter to the donor acknowledging the donation.
Making Donations at Church Headquarters
Donations may be made directly to Church headquarters. These donations are often made to maintain privacy or to ensure the security of large donations. Donations may be made by check, by wire, or as donations in kind.
Donations made directly to Church headquarters are held in the strictest confidence. They are processed directly by Church headquarters and do not appear on any ward records. If any of the funds are directed to the ward missionary or fast-offering categories, they will appear on the Unit Financial Statement. For all other categories, details regarding dollar amounts are not available. Statements are available to donors by accessing the Church’s website at donations.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.