Paying Expenses of Ward Members

Policy and Principles

Provide Temporary Assistance for Essential Needs (Handbook 22.4.2)
The goal of Church assistance is to temporarily meet basic needs while members strive to become self-reliant. Fast-offering assistance is generally used to pay for essential items, such as food and clothing. However, it may also be used to pay for housing or utilities. It may also be used to pay for personal services such as counseling, medical care, or vocational training.

Church assistance is meant to sustain life—not to maintain lifestyle. Members may need support and empathy as they work to reduce or eliminate expenses to better provide for their own needs.

Bishops should exercise good judgment and seek spiritual direction when considering the amount and duration of the assistance given. They should be compassionate and generous while not creating dependence.

Guidelines for the bishop in using fast offerings to administer assistance are outlined below:

1. Personally approve all fast-offering expenditures.
2. When possible, the bishop provides members with commodities or services instead of giving them money or paying their bills. Members can then use their own money to pay other obligations. Where bishops’ storehouses are not available, fast offerings may be used to buy essential commodities. (Handbook 22.6.3.4) (Also see “Principles and Guidelines for Rendering Assistance” in 22.6.3, General Handbook).
3. When possible, make payments to providers of goods and services rather than to the person being assisted or to other individuals. (Handbook 22.6.4.5)
4. Do not loan fast offerings to members. Members are not required to repay welfare assistance they receive from the Church. Encourage members to contribute to the fast-offering fund when they are again able to do so. (Handbook 22.6.4.5)
5. Do not use fast offerings to pay members’ consumer debt or obligations incurred in business failures or speculative ventures. (Handbook 22.6.4.5)
6. Ensure that any fast-offering assistance to the bishop or his immediate family members is first approved in writing by the stake president (see 22.5.2, General Handbook) and complies with the following instructions. (Handbook 22.6.4.5)
7. When giving fast-offering assistance via check, electronic fund transfer (EFT), or a payment approval form), ensure that:
   
   • Two authorized approvers always sign the check or form or approve the EFT.
   • The persons approving the payment are not related to either the payee or the person being assisted.
   • Neither the payee nor the person being assisted signs the check or form or approves the EFT. (Handbook 22.6.4.5)

Watch

LCR Procedures

Each person or entity receiving fast-offering payments (direct or indirect) must be listed in LCR so that the expense can be connected to the recipient.

To add a fast-offering recipient to LCR:

• Go to the Finance menu and click on the Expenses tab.
• In the Category field choose a Fast Offerings category
• Click the drop-down to the right to choose a recipient and click on Add Recipient
• Choose either the Member or Nonmember option.
• If adding a Member, type the member’s number in the Membership Record Number field, then click Save Recipient.
• If adding a Nonmember, type the information in the available fields, then click Add Recipient.

When a membership record arrives after creating a nonmember recipient merge the nonmember record with the member record:

Merge

Under the Member column in the Participant List look for the Merge button when the participant is identified as a Nonmember. Nonmembers are also identified with a CUBS number (CUBS-xxxxxxx) in the MRN column. To merge this type of participant record with another record, including a valid MRN record, click the Merge button. The Merge Participant window opens. From the Merging into drop down menu, select the participant to be merged.

Compare the two participant records and if satisfied, click the checkbox in the bottom left to confirm the merge and then click the Merge Participants button.

MLS Procedures

Each recipient of fast-offering payments (direct or indirect) must be entered in MLS so that the expense can be connected to the recipient.

To add a fast-offering recipient to MLS:

1. From the Finances menu under Fast Offering, go to Add/Update Recipients.
2. Click Add.
3. You will be asked “Is the new fast offering recipient a member of your unit?” If the recipient is a member of your ward, click Yes, even if you do not yet have the membership record.
4. A list of ward members displays. Click the name of the recipient. If you don’t have the records for the recipient yet, click Individual not found and enter the recipient’s name and any address information.
5. Click Add, and you can now issue checks with that person as the recipient.

When a recipient’s membership record arrives:

1. Return to Add/Update Recipients.
2. From the list of ward members, click on the member’s name.
3. To associate the recipient record with the membership record, click Select after changing Member Type to Member of Unit
4. Select that member from the list of recipients displayed.