Tech Forum

Our ward just got a new box of tithing envelopes in. We noticed on Sunday that the donation slips included in this box are different. The line under the donor's name asks for their record number instead of their address. Some of the donation categories (Humanitarian, Perpetual Education, etc.) are also missing. In place of the missing categories the "Other" section is larger, and includes a note saying that the Church will attempt to use funds globally for their stated purpose but may use them otherwise at the Church's discretion (paraphrasing).

My first thought was that perhaps this version of the donation slip is intended for use outside of North America, and was put in our box by mistake. If that's the case, I won't worry. We have a ton of extra donation slips and I can just swap them out. Has anyone seen slips like this before?

It sounds like you did get slips for outside North America. Apparently there are four different types. You can see them by logging in to store.lds.org and searching for item number 31584. I see what you describe on the "Outside US/Canada" version. The US version is item number 31592.

bedone wrote:Our ward just got a new box of tithing envelopes in. We noticed on Sunday that the donation slips included in this box are different. The line under the donor's name asks for their record number instead of their address. Some of the donation categories (Humanitarian, Perpetual Education, etc.) are also missing. In place of the missing categories the "Other" section is larger, and includes a note saying that the Church will attempt to use funds globally for their stated purpose but may use them otherwise at the Church's discretion (paraphrasing).

My first thought was that perhaps this version of the donation slip is intended for use outside of North America, and was put in our box by mistake. If that's the case, I won't worry. We have a ton of extra donation slips and I can just swap them out. Has anyone seen slips like this before?

You're correct. The Tithing and Other Offerings Form is different whether the intended geography is US/Canda, outside US/Canada, the Pacific area, or Australia. You received item # 31584000, intended for use outside the US/Canada. You should have received 31592000.

allenjpl wrote:You're correct. The Tithing and Other Offerings Form is different whether the intended geography is US/Canda, outside US/Canada, the Pacific area, or Australia. You received item # 31584000, intended for use outside the US/Canada. You should have received 31592000.

We have found the same problem with the new envelopes we just got. Looks like the tithing slips were printed with the wrong form number on them. We will have to call church HQ and see if we can get the correct ones.

It also came to our attention today that our new slips are different, but they don't match anything shown on store.lds.org. Plus they have the same 31592 item number that pertains to the US/Can slips on the site. These slips ask for Membership record number instead of Full address, and only include (in this order): Tithing, Fast offering, General missionary, Ward missionary, Humanitarian aid, and Other rows. The new Other row is about twice as tall as it is on the older forms. Book of Mormon, Temple Construction, and Perpetual education are no longer there. At the bottom there's also a revised statement:

[INDENT]Though reasonable efforts will be made globally to use donations as designated, all donations become the Church's property and will be used at the Church's sole discretion to further the Church's overall mission.[/INDENT]

Just curious if these are actually the new slips, and the thinking behind the changes. By the new statement on the bottom, it seems there's a general desire to loosen the specification of donations.

It also came to our attention today that our new slips are different, but they don't match anything shown on store.lds.org. Plus they have the same 31592 item number that pertains to the US/Can slips on the site. These slips ask for Membership record number instead of Full address, and only include (in this order): Tithing, Fast offering, General missionary, Ward missionary, Humanitarian aid, and Other rows. The new Other row is about twice as tall as it is on the older forms. Book of Mormon, Temple Construction, and Perpetual education are no longer there. At the bottom there's also a revised statement:

[INDENT]Though reasonable efforts will be made globally to use donations as designated, all donations become the Church's property and will be used at the Church's sole discretion to further the Church's overall mission.[/INDENT]

Just curious if these are actually the new slips, and the thinking behind the changes. By the new statement on the bottom, it seems there's a general desire to loosen the specification of donations.

My Ward (in Layton, Utah) has received 2 new boxes of donation slips and both contain the different, abbreviated slips inside too.
The biggest initial problem is that these slips do not have boxes at the bottom for checks, currency and coin ... you have to remember to write the donation type(s) when you open each donation envelope.
The item number is identical on the bottom of these slips and the old ones ...31592.
The lds online store brings up only an image of the original/expanded version of the donation receipts.
The missing 3 categories (Book of Mormon, Temple construction and Perpetual education) will also lead to less donations for all three categories as well.
I guess I'll try talking to a person on the LDS order desk the next working day to see if the slips my ward received are indeed intended only for use outside the U.S., and if so, order new slips to replace the wrong ones.
Nothing else makes any sense with these different slips ...

You received the new tithing slips that were recently approved for world-wide distribution. The first shipments did not include cash, coin, and check fields which are important to help clerks and leaders as they process donations. Use up the current stocks and when you order more, you will get the newest ones with the cash, coin, and check fields on the slips again.

Also, donations other than Tithing, Fast offering, General missionary, Ward missionary, and Humanitarian aid are to be included in the Other category. Tax deductible categories will still be tax deductible while pass through funds will not be tax deductible.

A notice will soon be sent to priesthood leaders worldwide.

Thanks for the info, tullisda. I neglected to mention the missing cash/coin/check boxes, which we thought was strange, too. Also, does the collapsing of the Other categories on the slip mean that a similar change will happen in MLS for entering donations?

MLS will not be adjusted to include all the variety of donation categories that are or will become available. However, Church accounting systems, including MLS will be able to identify those that are tax deductible and those that are not.