Excess tithing contribution - what to do

[gregwanderson]

I suppose one could argue that the fine print on the donation slip doesn't adequately tell the donor that charitable donations are non-refundable. Sure, the Bishopric and clerks know the policy but the donors likely do not grasp it. The fine print on our slips today says: "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." Techincally, that implies "non-refundable" but it could be more clear. We know that Scout Camp money is refundable, after all, while still falling under the same terms in that fine print.

Speaking for myself, I would much rather ask the Bishop to make a "busybody" phone call when something seemed unusual than to tell a donor that "Sorry, you messed up and it's non-refundable. Maybe we can send you to the Bishop's Storehouse for groceries this month. But at least I did my MLS input job perfectly!"

[waynecooke]

I know that when I sold my house and paid tithing on the profit I made on the sale, I don't know if I would want the Financial Clerk calling me and asking me if I had come into a windfall or what. Like has been said, as long as the check and the slip match, that is what the donor wanted. I know when my son-in-law had an extra $5000 in his tithing, I was curious, but didn't ask him any questions. He told me later, of course, but I certinally didn't ask him.

[mlh78]

I haven't thought this through all the way, but what if a member of the bishopric or a clerk (without any liquidity problems) paid her $720 and then $720 of the donation was recategorized as his tithing. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if you can use "add a slip" after the fact. Probably not the best idea, but just throwing it out there.

[aebrown]

... I don't know if I would want the Financial Clerk calling me and asking me if I had come into a windfall or what.

I would agree that asking a question about a windfall is inappropriate. But I see nothing wrong with asking a simple yes/no question: "Before we process this donation, we just wanted to make sure. Is this the amount you intended?" If the donor answers yes, the matter is closed. If the donor answers no, he or she will probably be very grateful that someone called.

Clearly such questions should be rare, but with good judgment and the guidance of the spirit, it seems to me that it could be entirely appropriate to verify that a particular donation was indeed what the donor intended.

Like has been said, as long as the check and the slip match, that is what the donor wanted.

Go back and review the original post. The whole reason we're having this discussion is that there was at least one case where the amount on the check and slip matched, but was most definitely not what the donor wanted.