BP 11122023 129pm - Flipbook - Page 49
Credit/decrease Operating checking account
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Considerations:
• Parish specific 2nd collections should be approved in writing by the Archbishop.
• Collection fees incurred for donations processed via online giving should be recorded as
a parish/school expense and not offset to the donation remittance.
• All collections should be remitted timely.
• If donations are sent to an international organization with no US based charity status or
tax identification, the donations are not tax deductible for the donor.
• Wires to most foreign countries can be processed through Bill.com. Contact the
Chancery finance office if assistance is needed.
Parishioner Restricted Donation for Parish/Pastor Use
Restricted donations: Parishioners donate and fundraise for various parish needs and reasons.
Examples include alter flowers, new stain glass window, statue for a memorial garden or parish
entry, parish picnics, staff luncheon, selling bricks for a parish anniversary, etc. These types of
funds benefit the parish directly and should be recorded to revenue on the date the donation is
received. While most of these donations will have restrictions on their use like capital campaign
funds, they belong in income and not liability accounts. Pastor discretion donations are also
included in this discussion as the parishioner donated funds for the pastor to direct where most
needed, but they are still donations to the parish to cover parish expenses and belong in income
and not in the exchange account. When it comes to picnics and staff luncheons, evaluate if the
picnic and staff luncheon would occur if nobody donates to them. In most cases, the parish
would still provide these events and pay for the expenses as part of the operating budget and
therefore are part of parish operations.
Accounting: The following accounting scenarios detail the correct accounting which is created
in the normal course of recording a deposit or check payment:
Donation is given for a new playground and deposited as part of the weekly deposit:
Debit/increase to Operating Checking Account
10,000
Credit/increase to other donations (playground project code)
10,000
When payment is made for the donor restricted purpose via check and the expense matches what
was donated:
Debit/increase capital replacement expense (playground project code)
10,000
Credit/decrease Operating checking account
10,000
OR
In some cases, the amount of other donations may not cover the full expense and some or all of
the funds may come out the offertory funds. In this case, we assume that the cost of the
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