STEP 1
The budget allowance program provides general Church funds to pay for activities of stakes and wards
STEP 2
Stake and ward budgets are used to pay for all activities, programs, manuals, and supplies.
STEP 3
Members should not pay fees to participate or provide materials, supplies, rental or admission fees, or long-distance transportation at their own expense.
STEP 4
Budget funds are allocated based on attendance:
- Sacrament Meeting
- Young Men and Young Women
- Primary children ages turning 8 - turning 11 years of age
- Young single adults
STEP 5
Stake presidents and bishops make sure budget allowance funds are spent wisely. Funds should be used to bless people and to further gospel purposes.
STEP 6
Possible exceptions to the funding policy may be made for annual camps or similar activities, optional activities, and occasional young single adult activities.
Policy and Principles
The budget allowance program provides general Church funds to pay for the activities and programs of stakes and wards. It eliminates the need to receive budget contributions from members. Faithful payment of tithes has made the budget allowance possible.
Stake and ward budget funds should be used to pay for all activities, programs, manuals, and supplies. Members should not pay fees to participate. Nor should they provide materials, supplies, rental or admission fees, or long-distance transportation at their own expense. Activities in which many members provide food may be held if doing so does not place undue burdens on members.
Possible exceptions to the funding policy may be made for annual camps or similar activities, optional activities, and occasional young single adult activities.
If the ward budget does not have enough funds to pay for the following activities, leaders may ask participants to pay for part or all of them:
- One annual extended camp or similar activity for young men
- One annual Young Women camp or similar activity
- One annual day camp or similar activity for Primary children ages 8 through 11
- Optional activities
If funds from participants are not enough, the bishop may authorize one group fundraising activity annually that complies with Church guidelines.
In no case should the expenses or travel for an annual camp or similar activity be excessive. Nor should the lack of personal funds prohibit a member from participating.
Similarly, when large multistake or area events are held, young single adults may occasionally be asked to pay some costs themselves. However, leaders should ensure that all young single adults can participate without incurring unreasonable personal costs.
When determining the amount of funds to be allocated to the stake and wards, the Church allocates funds to the stake for the next quarter based on attendance figures from the previous quarter. For example, the allocation for the first quarter of 2020 is based on attendance reported on the Quarterly Report for the third quarter of 2019.The Budget and Appropriations Committee allocates budget funds based on attendance in the following categories:
- Sacrament meeting
- Young men
- Young women
- Primary children turning 8 – turning 11 years of age
- Young single adults
Stake presidents and bishops make sure budget allowance funds are spent wisely. Funds should be used to bless people and to further gospel purposes. Leaders also ensure that all expenditures are within the allowance. The success of the unit budget allowance depends on the efforts of local priesthood leaders to monitor and control Church finances and expenses.
Unneeded budget allowance funds should not be spent. Unneeded ward funds are returned to the stake. Unneeded stake funds are returned to the Area Office. ***As an exception, stakes and wards may retain some unspent funds if they are needed for specific activities that are planned for the next year, such as a youth conference. However, significant portions of the stake or ward budget allowance should not be retained from one year to the next to cover travel expenses. Nor should funds from the “Local” category be used to supplement the “Budget” category.
The local unit budget allowance does not include expenses for building construction, maintenance, telephones, utilities, computers, or priesthood leader travel. These expenses are paid from general Church funds according to current guidelines.
LCR Procedures
While management of budget funds is an annual process, funds are generally sent every three months because the process depends on the Quarterly Report that each ward submits.
Stakes manage the distribution of budget to each ward by assigning budget distribution percentages to each budget item (such as sacrament meeting %, YM %, YW %, and so on). In these instructions, we refer to these sources as budget allocation sources.
Proposed percentages can now be reviewed and either saved or changed, if needed. If acceptable, click Save to send the percentages to Church headquarters to be used for future budget allocations. The most recently submitted percentages remain on record for future budget distributions until they are updated by the unit or by Church headquarters. All percentage change updates should be submitted by the end of the month prior to a quarterly budget allocation. For example, submit percentage change updates in March prior to the second quarter budget allocation that occurs in April. One month before each scheduled quarterly budget allocation, stakes will receive a preliminary budget notice for review. Percentages shown on the preliminary notice will be used unless they are updated as explained in the notice. To enter the ward’s percentages for each budget allocation source, do the following:
- Click the Allocation % tab in the Budget Menu.
- Enter in the allocation percentage for each category for each unit.
- Click Save.