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~ Addressing Congregational Finance and Administration ~
In This Issue
Important Dates
November 30
Mission Share Pledges Due

February 15
Annual Reports (from your annual meeting) Due

February 20
Leadership Academy

March 1
Parochial Reports, 2015 Financials, 2016 Budgets, Church Officer Data Collection Forms Due

April 15
Notification of Audit Type Due

June 6
Planning for Tomorrow Conference for Lay Employees

June 7 - 8 
Planning for Tomorrow Conference for Clergy


Quick Links
Peter K 5 Minutes to Fitness
Audit Guidelines
 
Leadership Academy Videos & Presentations
 
 December 2015
 
Julie Young
 
December is a busy month for churches! While it should be all about Advent and preparations for Christmas, most of us are finishing up our stewardship drive, finalizing next year's budget and finding new vestry members. My hope for you during this Advent season is that you find pockets of quiet time to remember why we do what we do and for Whom we do it.

Advent Blessings,
Canon Julie Young
Canon for Finance and Administration and Diocesan Treasurer
jyoung@edsd.org
   
Office of the Bishop Address
The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego
2083 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92107
Treasurer's Tip of the Month
Stolen Checks and the Importance of Contribution Statements
One of our parishes recently discovered that contribution/pledge checks were being stolen. Here is their story: "We discovered it (stolen checks) when a parishioner called to say her check didn't appear on her contribution statement. We hadn't received the check, but she showed it had cleared the bank. When she requested a copy she found it had not been endorsed by the church. We thought it was a random occurrence, but then we received a second call. We had the time period because both checks had been written in the same time frame. I ran a report of parishioners with pledges that were missing a check in that time period. We then called those parishioners and asked if they had sent a check during that period. Some had just missed and made it up in the next months. Some had checks that had not cleared the bank. Others reported that they had paid and the check had cleared the bank. We asked them to contact the bank and follow the procedure we mentioned in the bulletin. They have done this, and the bank is following up on the fraud, but redepositing the funds to the parishioners. We made the announcement in church also since there may be parishioners without a pledge that made a payment. We wouldn't be able to determine those amounts since they are random. We also stressed the importance of reviewing their contribution statements on a timely basis to find errors like this."

The church thinks that the checks were stolen out of its mailbox. They installed a locking mail box and have not had further incidents of missing checks. Make sure you have a locking mailbox and that you restrict access to opening that mail box to authorized individuals. Also, make sure you ask your parishioners to review their contribution statements on a regular basis.
Leadership Academy
Come to this day of pragmatic workshops about Episcopal church administration. Saturday, February 20 at St. Bartholomew's, Poway. The Governance, Finance and Administration track includes workshops on: vestry roles and responsibilities, finance and admin, human resources and parochial reports. For full descriptions and registration information, visit the diocesan website. 

HR Tip of the Month

SECA versus FICA 

Parish and mission priests are typically employees when it comes to income tax, so they should get a W2. However, they are self-employed for social security and Medicare taxes. Therefore, they should not have FICA taken out of their paychecks, nor should you as the employer pay the employer portion of FICA.

 

Minimum Wage Increase on January 1

California minimum wage for non-exempt (hourly) employees will increase to $10 per hour on January 1. At the same time, the minimum wage for exempt (salaried) employees will increase to $41,600 regardless of how many hours per week they work.

 
Mission Share Pledges Due November 30
Mission share pledges (also known as Common Life Shares) were due November 30. Thank you to all who have already submitted them. If you have not and need the form, please contact Diana Rubi, 619-481-5458.
Housing Resolutions
Don't forget to have your vestry pass a housing resolution for your priests so that they can benefit from the income tax exemption on the cost of housing. Templates can be found on the diocesan website: www.edsd.org/housingallowance.
 
Parochial Reports
You should receive your parochial report from The Episcopal Church soon, if you have not already. Rosa Feeney will host a workshop at Leadership Academy on how to complete a parochial report, which are due March 1. We ask you to provide your 2015 financial statement reconciling the financials with the parochial report and your 2016 budget along with your parochial report.
Imputed Income
Church Pension Group (CPG) has provided our office with the imputed income for the clergy life insurance benefit. We will send this information to you later this week. Don't forget to ask your payroll provider to report life insurance imputed income for your clergy on their W2 - box 12c. 
The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego and its employees do not provide, and none of the information furnished in this email should be viewed as investment, tax, or legal advice. The content of this email is provided for your information purposes only.
The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego | 619-481-5453 | jyoung@edsd.org  | www.edsd.org

~ Serving and Assisting Financial and Administrative Leaders ~

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