Donations within the congregation

by Anony Mous 3 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Anony Mous

  Spurred by Godrulz question regarding tithing, here is the "voluntary donation" graph for one congregation (https://anonfiles.com/cdn/1310042378588.pdf). I know this is statistically not precise enough as the data set is small but it shows the trend of Worldwide Work donations.

  For those that have no insight into the different funds:

  Worldwide Work = Sent to the branch offices for various expenses (mostly given as a donation for Watchtower literature)

  Kingdom Hall Fund = Sent to the branch offices for building and repairing Kingdom Halls

  Local Congregation = Kept and used for the local expenses. Local expenses include a 'tithe' from the WTBTS for the Circuit Overseer Fund which pays for CO's gas and car lease (~$70/month, other expenses made by the CO are charged separately whenever the CO comes) and the Kingdom Hall Assistance fund (~$55/month) which is a type of insurance fund for emergency repairs (which also get charged back to the congregation afterwards). It is recommended that any leftovers be sent to the branch in a 'non-interest bearing fund' which apparently is set up as a savings account but is very hard to get stuff out (they won't allow large sums to be taken out without prior authorization).

  Special funds = Set up for large projects such as renovations, new builds and expansions for that congregation. We needed to raise about $250,000 so I guess we'll need an interest-bearing loan (2.5% interest per year) for a revolving 10 years + fee's if you can't pay the full amount for the month + fee's if you can't make the payment within the 10 years from the WTBTS. The WTBTS also disallowed use of our 'savings' account (>$10,000) with them for this project.

  I made a trend line only for the Worldwide Work, the rest of the funds are trending fairly flat. You could argue this is because our special funds or the economy but it felt it was already going in a downwards trend over the years (don't have the accurate data though) and the economy has been looking up recently.
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  Mad Sweeney

  So does the Borg still charge interest on KH loans? I have heard conflicting reports on that.
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  Anony Mous

  Yes they do still charge interest. Sadly, I do not have access to the documents but it is approximately 2.5% interest rate. The conflicting reports are because a) the Bible says not to and b) many don't know it and believe because of a they don't c) Some congregations may qualify for a break if they are considered poor enough and "the work" is considerably expanding in that area (such as foreign speaking and ASL). ASL especially because the equipment isn't cheap (we have an ASL congregation in my area - they have a lot of high-def, remote controlled camera's, TV's, projectors, playback and recording equipment, business internet line for broadcast).

  @sir82: For our project, in the RBC financial plans it was calculated as if we will be charged interest though. Maybe they're relying on faulty documentation or maybe the WTBTS has two weights and measures (a public and a private one) or maybe they're extending an existing line of credit. I have no access to that documentation though.
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  sir82

  Yes they do still charge interest. Sadly, I do not have access to the documents but it is approximately 2.5% interest rate.

  Actually, no they do not. Since 2008 or 2009 they stopped charging interest. Prior to that the rate was 3%.

  At least that is the way it is in the US. I have no idea about other countries.