Undesignated Gifts Policy

Prologue: Community Mennonite Church receives offerings each week during worship and unless otherwise designated these offerings contribute to our annual budget.

Policy:
Large gifts (such as estate gifts, memorial gifts, etc) in excess of $5,000, which are not part of a pledged annual commitment, nor designated for a CMC special project, nor pass through funds for another agency shall be designated as follows:

  • 10% to CMC General Fund in the fiscal year that the gift was given.
  • 10% to be disbursed at the discretion of CMC Outreach Commission for mission and ministries beyond Community Mennonite Church in the fiscal year the gift was given or the subsequent fiscal year.
  • 80% to CMC debt reduction or building reserve.

Procedures:
Upon receipt of a gift:

  1. Finance chair and/or Office Administrator shall report to pastors and Outreach Commission chairperson the amount of the gift.
  2. Pastor(s) shall write a letter of thanks to the giver.
  3. Outreach Commission chair (in consultation with commission members) shall identify the ministries, missions, or special projects beyond CMC which shall receive 10% of the total gift and instruct the office administrator to forward the designated funds to appropriate agencies.
  4. Office administrator shall disburse funds and issue contributions receipts as per all financial gifts.

These examples are not applicable.
Not applicable: A year-end gift of $7,000 by a CMC member that is part of a pledge commitment. Such a gift will be considered part our general undesignated offerings for the year.
Not applicable: A year-end gift of 10,000 to a special project by CMC (such as memorial garden or an MCC giving project.) Such a gift will be considered a designated contribution.

Approved by Church Council, November, 2014.