How much would you say the average JW donates in $$$ ?????

by run dont walk 41 Replies latest watchtower scandals

• 

  SwordOfJah

  Someone said $250 per publisher, I don't know what country that calculation came from, but that is far from reality.

  In our congregation in the USA, and keep in mind we are not an English speaking congregation, the average is as follows:

  Donations to the congregation (for operating costs, bills, etc...) = $8 per publisher

  Donations to the World Wide Work = $2.50 per publisher

  Donations to the Kingdom Hall Fund = $0.00 per publisher

  These are actual averages for 2004.

  I also served in third-world country that has over 100k publishers, and the branch would only average about $20 per congregation (after monterary conversion into dollars) per month. In order to cover costs, they would turn over bills, expenses, etc. to the Watchtower in Brooklyn.

  >edited to add that the above averages are based on "per month" donations. After rereading the original post, the question was asking for "per year" average.
• 

  JH

  I donated my time and car more than cash. I helped brothers and sisters in need, gave them lifts and visited them when they were sick or depressed. I went door to door to meet strangers who closed the door in my face.

  I never put much money in the contribution boxes, because they in NY are much better off financially than I am.
• 

  shotgun

  SOJ..those are low numbers...they must give alot of local needs talks about giving from the heart and doing all that you can in your cong.

  I looked after accounts in three different Congregations as an MS and on average donations to maintaining the hall usually slightly exceeded donations to the society at the end of the year only because of Tax write off donations in December.

  Many publishers gave nothing and older ones and Business owners made the difference by regularly dropping cheques in the contribution boxes.

  In the three congregations it ranged from 75 to 100 publishers with monthly donations of $400 to $600 for the WWW and around the same for KH maintenance...except December when it would double or triple.
• 

  RunningMan

  I should reiterate that the numbers I gave were annual. Some people may be quoting monthly numbers.

  Here is another number to stew on. According to the Society's Canadian Charitable Organization return, which is publicly available on line, the Canadian branch transferred $14 million to hq last year. That's around $130 per publisher.

  So, the publishers must contribute enough to cover local cong expenses, Canadian branch expenses, and still remit $130 per person to Brooklyn. I'm thinking $250 to $500 per publisher would be about right for Canada.

  Also, when I was accounts servant, I was always surprised about where the funds came from. There was an old couple (in their 80's) who always gave at least $1000 a year - sometimes much more. I don't ever recall issuing a tax receipt to the PO (of course, he may have sent his directly to the society).
• 

  blondie

  except December when it would double or triple.

  I wonder why?
• 

  Fe2O3Girl

  I don't think that extrapolating the figures from a US congregation will give an accurate figure for annual contributions to the WT.

  2003 world peak publishers was 6,429,351 of which 1,029,652 were in the USA. In the USA, the GDP per capita is £37,800. In the world as a whole, GDP per capita is £8,200. Do you really think that the roughly 5,400,000 JWs who are not in the USA are contributing at the same rate as the million JWs in the USA?
• 

  Will Power

  Gee, I don't know, how much is a life worth?
• 

  BluesBrother

  what is an average JW ?

  Remember that the majority of publishers are women and in many lands this means they are unlikely to be wagearners.. The growth in 3rd world countries and ex iron curtain lands also means that a lot would not be able to donate much .. The prevalent trend to babtize young people also means that a lot of publishers are not earning a wage..

  So multiplying a given figure by 6 million is hardly representative.. The WT used to publish an annual report, I believe in the Yearbook, but I have not seen one lately

  The real cost of being a dub would have to include expenses in meeting attendance, the overtime income lost at weekends, and most of all the TIME. When every thing you do is sort of related to the cause, the cost is incalculable. How many talented people are cleaning windows for a living, waiting "On the day of Jehovah"?? ...the waste of human lives makes me

  Nowadays I make a modest contribution to this board via Paypal, it replaces the money that I used to put in the K H Box
• 

  NewYork44M

  I was the account servant for ten years. I could generally expect two or three families donating on a regular basis; but no more than $100 per month. The rest of the congregation donated very little. No major contributors in our congregation. I remember one experience when the first CD library came out. The order came in and the lit servant passed out probably 15 copies.. Some people did not even have a computer but requested a copy. When it was time to count the money there were two pennies in the contribution box.

  The society probably understands that their contributions depends not on the masses but on a very few within each congregation.
• 

  shotgun

  Unbelieveable

  When it was time to count the money there were two pennies in the contribution box.

  That freakin widow shows up twice in two thousand years just to get her two cents in...some people.