Best Fundraising Ideas

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rexgj
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#31

Post by rexgj »

lajackson...good answer. I'm going to make another metaphor here. The counsel on fundraisers is much like the counsel for the Aaronic priesthood to wear white shirts and ties while administering the sacrament. Someone will always say, but what about the boy who doesn't have a white shirt, or can't afford a white shirt? And someone else will reply, but we're talking about boys from well to do families here--they can all afford it.

The problem is, many in the church choose to go casual, or dress for church, the way they would dress for school. So Elder Holland, for example, talks about the "uniform of the priesthood." Then the "ya but" folks come out and have a different view.

I always try to discern the real intent of counsel, what are the brethren really getting at? what is it they really are trying to say? Why did they say what they said? Why the letter? why the direction at all? What drove them to issue this counsel?

With regard to fundraisers, I'm confident the real intent was to say, in almost all wards, fundraising is not necessary, all activities should be funded from the budget allowance. However, in some situations, they are allowed, and here's a list of conditions. But many buzz right past the real intent, and goes straight to the "howevers."

The same thing happend in the late 1960s when the first presidency sent out a letter on birth control. 99% of the letter dealt with why we shouldn't practice "artificial" birth control. But one line of the letter gave you an out--if there were extenuating circumstances.

Half the members applauded the statement against artificial birth control, the other half (my observation) applauded the fact the church now endorsed birth control by "artificial" means. Just so interesting.

So, in my dreams, I would like to sit down with President Monson (or any of the brethren) and ask the question; "What is the mind of the Lord with regard to fundraisers?" And I just can't believe he (they) would say, "oh we're fine with fundraisers."
russellhltn
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#32

Post by russellhltn »

rexgj wrote:So, in my dreams, I would like to sit down with President Monson (or any of the brethren) and ask the question; "What is the mind of the Lord with regard to fundraisers?" And I just can't believe he (they) would say, "oh we're fine with fundraisers."
I would agree they wouldn't say that. But I suspect that either you'd get something that left you right back to where you started "They shouldn't be needed, but...." or advice that only pertains to your particular situation.

If opportunity ever came up, I think a more enlightening question would be "When have you seen conditions under which fundraisers were justified?" I think the stories that would flow would be most interesting - and informative as to why the policy is what it is.

What keeps fueling this thread is the insistence that fundraisers be eliminated when that is not what's written in policy. The fact that some ward (in our opinion) abuse it, doesn't justify a harsher interpretation of policy. Fundraiser are permitted with restrictions. It's up to the local priesthood leaders to apply that to their wards.
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lajackson
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#33

Post by lajackson »

rexgj wrote:The counsel on fundraisers is much like the counsel for the Aaronic priesthood to wear white shirts and ties while administering the sacrament. Someone will always say, but what about the boy who doesn't have a white shirt, or can't afford a white shirt?
The answer is in the Handbook on page 37. It tells the bishop exactly how to handle this situation.
rexgj wrote:I'm confident the real intent was to say, . . .
You may well be correct. In my experience, however, we are asked to do things first, and we learn the intent and the reasons why as we are obedient in the doing. This is the pattern the Lord seems to have used for quite some time. (Moses 5:5-6)
rexgj wrote:The same thing happend in the late 1960s when the first presidency sent out a letter . . .
But one line of the letter gave you an out--if there were extenuating circumstances.
Funny how we read and interpret things the way we want to, isn't it. English comprehension is such an imprecise subject, eh?
rexgj wrote:So, in my dreams, I would like to sit down with President Monson (or any of the brethren) and ask the question; . . .
In my visits with these brethren, it seems that we have never gotten around to the fund-raising question, sorry. [grin]
rexgj
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#34

Post by rexgj »

I guess in my experience in the church, I see far more abuse of the fundraiser, than the "blessing" of the fundraiser. I can give dozens of first hand knowledge of abuse of this, and I'm stretching to think of a single, really, valid, important use of it.

In conversations with church leaders (bishop, stake presidents, YM and YW leaders, other clerks), all I have ever gotten is a vague justification of the fundraiser, mainly, that "we've always done it," or "without the fundraiser we can't take our youth to the BYU football game," or some other similar justification. Never am I able to have reasoned discussion that begins with, "Well, what does the hand book say?" or "What are we counseled to do?" This, to me, speaks volumes. It says that many leaders are more interested in maintaining the status quo, or more interested in hanging on to all that extra money, than they are interested in doing what we've been counseled to do.

I also find similarities in the counsel on fundraisers, with the counsel on modesty. Instead of seeking to understand what the Lord would truly have us do, we look for ways to justify how we dress.

I still maintain that, at least in the more populous areas of the church, fundraisers are completely unnecessary, and that that is the intent of the brethren. Instead, what I see is every ward having multiple fundraisers, or at least one big fundraiser every year, or increasingly, finding a fundraiser that is there every year, so we can count on it (like the flag fundraiser).

So, in the end, what does it matter? I believe all counsel has a spiritual foundation, and a spiritual blessing. Those who follow counsel will be blessed for it, those who try to skirt around it, will not.
rexgj
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#35

Post by rexgj »

RussellHltn wrote:
What keeps fueling this thread is the insistence that fundraisers be eliminated when that is not what's written in policy.
But, in fact, that is what is written in the policy. From MLS: Help, FAQ, I quote "The increase in the local unit budget allowance for youth and young single adults is intended to fund activities more effectively, to help build testimony in our youth by having good, wholesome activities, and to eliminate the need for fund-raisers."

Is this not saying the "New Budget Allowance" was intended to eliminate fundraisers? If it's not saying that, what is it saying? It certainly isn't a hearty endorsement of fundraisers. True, The Church has not completely forbidden the possibility of having a valid fundraiser.

But, the counsel on abortion could be taken the same way; abortion is essentially forbidden, but it does allow, in some cases, for the possibility of having an abortion. But does this mean abortion is endorsed by the church? Certainly not, and neither does it endorse fundraisers, except in some unusual circumstances.
rexgj
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#36

Post by rexgj »

From LDSclerks.org,

One of the principles of the budget allowance program is..."Activities are to be simplified to fit within the Budget Allowance."

Now, this could have said, "Fundraisers are to be used to make up any short falls in the budget allowance," but it doesn't say that, it says just the opposite. Yet, in my experience, the latter is more common than the stated "principle" in the first paragraph.
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#37

Post by jdlessley »

The topic of this thread is best fund-raising ideas. Please, let's keep the discussions focused on that topic.

It is readily apparent that some individuals have differing opinions regarding the policy. The matter of interpreting fund-raiser policy should be left to those who hold the keys to make the determination as to the course of action they will take regarding this issue. We will not decide that for them in these forums.

A momentary digression from topic for the benefit of visitors to these forums:
rexgj wrote:From LDSclerks.org ...
Please note that LDSClerks.org is not an official site of the Church. The information from that web site that was deemed useful and in alignment with Church policy has, for a several months now, been incorportated into the officially sponsored Church wiki. All efforts from past contributors to LDSClerks.org have been redirected to the Church wiki and the information found at LDSClerks.org may not be accurate since those monitoring contributions to the site have ceased to ensure accuracy of the information.
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mkmurray
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#38

Post by mkmurray »

jdlessley wrote:The topic of this thread is best fund-raising ideas. Please, let's keep the discussions focused on that topic.
In agreement with what jdlessley has posted, we (the Moderators) will lock this thread if it digresses into a policy debate again.
jbh001
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#39

Post by jbh001 »

rexgj wrote:Is this not saying the "New Budget Allowance" was intended to eliminate fundraisers? If it's not saying that, what is it saying? It certainly isn't a hearty endorsement of fundraisers. True, The Church has not completely forbidden the possibility of having a valid fundraiser.
I am confused, because you apparently asked and answered your own question within the same paragraph.

The Church has established a rule and provided policy on how to deal with exceptional circumstances. Like so many other things, any additional questions on the matter should be referred to the appropriate priesthood leader.
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#40

Post by jpjones~ogr »

My current ward uses an annual flag program to support Boy Scout Camp. The boys place and remove flags on designated days throughout the year. They learn some work ethic and money valuation. Moneys are credited for participation only. Thus far flag program money's have only been used for Scout Camp and associated equipment, and are not available for Venturer or Explorer activities. Some consideration is being given to extending the program to support Young Women's camps because of their increasing costs. Leaders are frugal with camp plans, but costs increase significantly regardless. Consequently, if extended, young women would be allowed to place and remove flags in order to earn credit. The Handbooks are being consulted.

Occassionaly support is needed to help a family that is struggling financially to participate in activities that require what might be considered an insignificant fee or cost. It is common for members aware of such need to donate through the ward to allow such participation. For one annual adult activity ward budget monies are made available to families in need because they may be strengthened most from participation.

In a prior ward we had a food booth in an annual county fair. It was a great opportunity for the ward to join in service, represent the Church in the mission field, and learn new skills. My memory is fuzzy as to why we discontinued this fund raiser, but it was before the boost in Church budget allotments.

Recently, the stake challenged the youth to assemble personal hygiene kits for donation around the world. It would've been nice to be able to use some Ward funds to reach our kit count goal, but members were tasked with donating kit components. Some members were able to find companies willing to donate cases of items. We didn't reach our goal, but with the current status of the economy most companies, as well as members, donate much less than they used to. In any case a significant amount of kits were assembled. We even had a Sister participate in a brief mission (as a nurse) and witness distribution of personal hygiene kits donated by the Church as well as other organizations.

I hope this helps.

In any case I plan to use this thread to prepare for my turn at providing Bishopric training. Thanks for the discussion.

JJ
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