Dates to Know
June 1 – April Financial Reports will be due for US Missionaries. This includes FNPO Reports for those with Foreign Non-Profit Organizations.
June 1 – May Financial Reports will be due for Non-Resident Missionaries. This includes FNPO Reports for those with Foreign Non-Profit Organizations.
June 28-July 5 – See The Harvest trip to greater Boston, Massachusetts, in partnership with the Stelzigs.
July 1 – May Financial Reports will be due for US Missionaries. This includes FNPO Reports for those with Foreign Non-Profit Organizations.
July 1 – June Financial Reports will be due for Non-Resident Missionaries. This includes FNPO Reports for those with Foreign Non-Profit Organizations.
July 4 – The Office will be closed in celebration of Independence Day
April 10-13, 2023 – Family Fellowship Week at Caraway Conference Center in Asheboro, NC.
Investing for Retirement
At Family Week this year Bro. Whetstone emphasized the need to plan for retirement. John O’Malley’s brother David is a financial advisor with Edward Jones, and has helped the Office as well as many of our missionaries with their investments. He produced a short video for our missions family about saving for the future. We trust this will be helpful to you. If you have questions or would like contact information for him or other financial advisors, please contact Kim O’Malley.
Mobile Banking
Mobile banking and mobile deposit are becoming more and more accessible. We have received questions from many of our missionaries in recent months about how to handle funds with regards to mobile deposits. Following are important things for you to know.
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- WWNTBM recommends all checks be payable to the mission office, as it alleviates certain tax reporting requirements both for the church and for the missionary. However, we realize there are times when a donor will write a check payable directly to the missionary.
- If you receive a check payable to you, it is fine to use Mobile Deposit options to deposit the funds to your bank. Be sure to list the funds as additional income on Line 2 of your financial report, or to track the funds for your own personal tax records. *NOTE: Due to visa restrictions, Non-Resident Alien missionaries should never accept funds in the US payable to them personally. Please contact our office if you have questions about this.
- If you receive a check payable to WWNTBM, you should never attempt to deposit it to your bank using Mobile Deposit. Doing so could create problems for both you and the donor. Please mail the check(s) to the Office, so we can process the funds and put them into your bank account. If you need the funds immediately, before the check would have time to arrive in the mail, please let us know and we will be happy to advance the funds into your account pending the arrival of the check.
- When mailing checks to the Office, please be sure to make a note of the donor(s), amounts, check numbers, and dates you mailed the items to us. In the rare event the checks may be lost in the mail, this would be important information so you can contact the donors to ask about a replacement check.
Things to Consider When Mentioning Financial Needs to Donors
You may occasionally have financial needs that are not covered by your regular support funds. It is good for your donors to be aware of the needs of your ministry. However, there are some things that you should think through when mentioning such situations to donors. Because of this, WWNTBM asks that you keep the following information in mind when communicating your needs and contact us prior to seeking designated funds.
When WW receives or receipts funds with a specific designation, we become legally accountable to ensure the funds are used for that specific project. This can create issues, because multiple churches may give more than what is required for one designation, and funds are then not available to be used for another need that may arise. Because of this, our recommendation is that funds always be designated simply “as needed for the missionary,” without any additional designations or specifications attached. Where that is not possible, we recommend the following.
First, if you are asking to raise funds for a specific project, we request that you confirm for us in advance that your sending pastor is aware of and behind the project. In order for WW to issue tax receipts for specially designated funds, the Executive Board has to include it in the official minutes, and they prefer to know that your sending pastor is aware of the situation.
Second, there are many logistical items the Office can assist you with. For instance, it may not be advisable to ask donors to mark a gift as “France Building” because we may already have another missionary raising funds with that designation, and it could create confusion for how we would post the donation. Therefore, it is always best to confer with the Office prior to contacting donors, so that we can help advise on the best way for funds to be designated. In addition to the designation, there may be tax implications to you based on the manner in which funds are designated. We can help ensure the best tax situation for you as funds are received.
Third, we always recommend that donors make checks payable to WW, rather than to the individual missionary. Although we do have the ability to cash checks in your name, this makes for a smoother process and can avoid unnecessary tax paperwork for the church and the missionary. (If a church makes funds payable to you in the amount of $600 or more over the course of the year, they are required to issue a separate 1099 to you, even if the funds came through WW. In addition, if you are not a US citizen, there may be other tax and visa implications for you.)
Finally, we often see situations where designated funds arrive in our office for needs mentioned in passing or in a prayer letter but for which the missionary was not intending to solicit funds. Please be aware that the same procedures for Executive Board approval of designated funds apply regardless of whether you intended to solicit funds or not. Because of this, it is our policy to reach out to you and ensure that it is a legitimate need, and one of which your pastor is aware, before we process the funds. Thank you for your understanding. If you have any questions please reach out to our staff.
Opportunity for High School Juniors and Seniors
Ambassador Baptist College has recently started a Dual-enrollment program, allowing high school juniors and seniors to take up to two classes per semester to get a head start on a Bible degree. These classes are offered tuition-free, and are taught over zoom. Click here to see more information about this program.
Uplift Podcast
The following recordings were recently published on uplift.wwntbm.com. You may access the site by entering the username: wwntbm and the password: gospel. We hope they will encourage your heart.
That Which is Shaking You is Shaping You by Missionary Adrian Hendricks
Guarding a Glad Heart by Missionary Gabe Eiben