Contributions ,how the Society CONTROLS the funds of a congragation

by raymond frantz 22 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  Splash

  What has not been mentioned is the Kingdom Hall Assistance Arrangement (KHAA) which is a yearly amount sent to the Soc to insure the Kingdom Halls.

  This means the insurance comes from the Soc and not an insurance company.

  Reading the details, the payouts are paltry - £5,000 for the loss of a limb etc. Anyone incapacitated would have to sue the cong in order to get a decent liveable amount.

  Would you want to clean or work on a hall knowing that any accident would leave you high and dry?

  That's if the Soc pays out at all, as per Juan Viejo2's comment, I've heard stories in the UK where they simply refuse to pay out.

  I don't know if now the deeds have been transferred to the Society as well, if that means they get to decide if a KHall should be fixed under the insurance policy, for example in the case of a fire.

  It's all very suspect.

  Splash.
• 

  wha happened?

  Bottom line is that the Society did not want to give the KH their money back. Sounds like a scam to me...

  Because it is.
• 

  wha happened?

  and it's all applied with a thick layer of guilt.
• 

  Phizzy

  The sad thing is that the average JW trusts that all is above board and honest, those that eventually wake up seem to have had nagging doubts about this, but not bothered to investigate until long after leaving, me included.

  The whole WT thing is simply a money making scam by heartless bastards.

  If only Jesus would return ! I think he would use something a bit harder than a knotted rope on the WT money changers (grubbers)
• 

  mrquik

  I think Jesus would waste no time in throwing these heartless, greedy, hypocritical & bloodguilty bastards in with the Scribes & Pharisees.
• 

  Finkelstein

  Of course the other deceitful part is the at the Congregational level they, never announce the amount of funds each branch has.

  For example JWS here in Canada would be floored if they were to know that their branch for Canada has 60+ million sitting in its accounts
• 

  blondie

  The December issue of "Kingdom Ministry" for Australia carries this announcement:

  "As a reminder to the brothers handling the congregation accounts, donations placed in the boxes for the Worldwide Work are to be remitted monthly and should not be used for payment on a Kingdom Hall property loan or for any other congregation expense."

  This appeared several times in the US KM. My husband was the accounts servant and had to keep reminding the elders they could not use the worldwide work money to pay off the mortgage or pay the light bills.
• 

  Quendi

  I read a thread like this and feel my blood boiling—and I left this organization more than two years ago. Phizzy is right to say “the average JW trusts that all is above board and honest.” I certainly did when I was a Witness. After all, I knew about the scams, money grubbing, money laundering and risky investments that “worldly” religions engaged in, thanks in part to discussion about them in the pages of The Watchtower and Awake! All of that was roundly condemned in the literature and while the WTS never said directly that it didn’t practice these things, it strongly implied that its hands were clean and all its operations were transparent.

  I wonder what would happen if, at the annual board meeting each congregation is supposed to hold, some publisher stood up and demanded a full accounting and examination of collection and disbursement of congregation funds. What would happen if this inquiry went further and someone also demanded to know what role the Society itself had in congregation operations or the secret accounts set up to allow the Society free and unhindered use of the congregation’s own money. Like as not, given the mental state of the average Witness, nothing would be said. But it would be interesting to have the discussion.

  Quendi
• 

  St George of England

  The SKHF was renamed to Kingdom Hall Construction Worldwide (KHCW) and a letter sent to the congregations instructing the donation box be likewise renamed.

  We evidently thought the change was not worth getting a new brass plate engraved!

  George
• 

  St George of England

  From the CC site:

  Principal funding sourcesThe primary funding activity is the manufacture and distribution of Bible-based religious literature on behalf of IBSA, the cost of which is passed on. The charity also relies to a large extent on voluntary donations to support its work, and has a consistent income base through Gift Aid. As mentioned above, the charity has also started working more closely with a similar charity overseas, and has received substantial grants from this charity, which has committed itself to provide further funding, as both charities work towards fulfilling their common objectives and aims. In addition, the charity has an active treasury management department to handle investments it has been bequeathed or converted.

  Investment policy and objectivesThe Memorandum and Articles, give power to invest funds in any lawful manner having full regard to the suitability of the investments, the need for diversification, and to be a socially responsible investor having due consideration to the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses. The objective is to preserve capital and achieve a real return of 4% plus inflation. The portfolio had a negative performance on August 31, 2010 of -4.24%. Given the requirement to be prudent in our investment approach, achieving a target real return above UK inflation of 4% would have increased risk to the Portfolio. To reduce risk the Portfolio was diversified by currency and asset class. The Trustees continue to see the wisdom in holding to the current strategy favouring portfolio diversification both by asset class and currency exposure, having adequate liquidity and investment quality.

  It would be interesting to get an accountant to read through the accounts, along withose of IBSA.

  George