Larchmont United Methodist Church 1101 JAMESTOWN CRESCENT NORFOLK, VIRGINIA 23508-1405 TELEPHONE (757) 489-8168 FAX (757) 489-1267 FUNDRAISING POLICY Approved by the Committee on Finance June 15, 2015 Approved by the Administrative Council July 27, 2015 1. PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to assure that all fundraisers conducted on Larchmont United Methodist Church (further referred to as Church ) property or for the benefit of the Church follow uniform, established procedures. No one is authorized to conduct a fundraiser except in accordance with this policy. This fundraising policy has been established for the following reasons. 1.1. We have numerous members affiliated with a variety of non-profit civic and sports organizations who would like to conduct fundraisers at our Church. We cannot accommodate the large number of requests and we do not want to turn the Church into a shopping mall. 1.2. We have numerous members involved in home-based businesses and sales careers and we cannot accommodate all the requests to use our Church for special activities and sales events. 1.3. We have members who do not want to receive phone calls, e-mails, or letters from sales representatives who use the Church telephone directory for solicitation purposes. 1.4. To ensure that use of Church property for certain types of sales and fundraising activity does not violate either Church policies or The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church (current edition), and that the Church s tax exempt status is not jeopardized. 1
2. OVERVIEW Fundraisers are expected to contribute to the goals and objectives of the Church and the proceeds realized used for pre-approved causes supporting those goals and objectives. The Committee on Finance will review all proposed fundraisers and grant or deny approval based upon the conditions of need, church or community benefit, and minimal impact to the normal Church operations. All requests will be reviewed against a master calendar of currently approved events. 3. DEFINITIONS 3.1. For purposes of this policy and procedure, fundraising is defined as any effort to obtain money, goods or services for the purpose of funding or benefiting an individual, group, or cause. Events for which an entry fee is charged or where goods or services are sold during the event are not included in this definition. 3.2. For the purposes of this policy and procedure, the following are not considered fund raising activities: a. Fees charged solely to recover the cost of presenter s fees, consumable supplies, food, books, and training materials. b. Church stewardship or capital campaign activities. c. Membership dues in the Larchmont United Methodist Church Foundation. d. Tuition, supplies, and program activity fees for the Larchmont United Methodist Church Preschool. e. Individual solicitations such as Girl Scout cookie sales, Cub Scout popcorn sales, school fundraisers, etc., that are made directly to individual members and not by booth or table sales. 2
3.3. Groups exempted from the fundraising definition include: the Administrative Council; the Stewardship Committee; the Missions Committee; the United Methodist Men s and Women s groups; the Youth Group; the Norfolk Emergency Shelter Team; Other groups identified and approved by Admin Council. 3.4. Building use for fundraisers. Defined and requirements listed in the LUMC Building Use Policy (available on the LUMC website or from the church office). 4. RESPONSIBILITY It is the policy of the Church to approve and fund its ministries through its regular budget process. The Church s Administrative Council and the Charge Conference approve the ministries and budget. Also, the Church sponsors a limited number of related organizations such as, but not limited to, the LUMC Preschool, United Methodist Men (UMM), the Anchor Men s Group, the United Methodist Women (UMW), the Upper Room Class, LUMC Youth Group, the Mollys, Boy Scout Troop 24, Cub Scout Pack 24, approved Girl Scout Troops, and others for which fundraisers are authorized. Fundraisers will not be allowed except for authorized church ministries or exceptions approved by the Finance Committee. The Committee on Finance is responsible for overseeing and approving all fundraising efforts of authorized Church ministries, scheduling and controlling the dates, times, places and number of fundraisers, maintaining a master calendar of currently approved fundraisers, and administering a process for collecting and accounting for the use of all money raised through fundraisers. The Committee on Finance may delegate specific aspects of fundraising oversight to staff or committees, as deemed appropriate. 5. POLICY 5.1. All fundraisers must reflect and relate to the principles and purposes of the Church and serve the mission of the Church. 3
5.2. All fundraisers are to be conducted for the benefit of the Church, its ministries, clubs, or causes approved by the Committee on Finance. 5.3. The number and frequency of all fundraisers shall be limited at the discretion of the Committee on Finance to avoid excessive and frequent financial demands on the Church members. 5.4. Fundraisers shall be limited to a specific time interval. 5.5. Every request for a fundraiser must be made in writing using the Church Fundraising Application (see attached). 5.6. Solicitation for fundraisers shall not normally last more than two Sundays. Solicitation time does not include delivery of items sold or goods received. The Committee on Finance can approve exceptions to the two Sunday period. 5.7. The following fundraising events or activities are exempt from seeking approval: a. The Mollys Pancake or other meals b. The Angel Tree Program c. NEST d. Food Locker or Soup Kitchen e. The Thanksgiving Food Drive f. The Vacation Bible School Supplies g. Conference supported offerings including: On file in church office h. Easter or Halloween candy drive i. Missions Committee 4
j. Kits for Conference 5.8. The following fundraising events are not acceptable: a. Events that involve aggressive sales pitches b. Direct solicitation of parishioners such as blocking their paths of travel, before, during or after any worship service or Church-wide event c. Any event that would in any way reflect negatively on the Church, including excessive noise, disturbance to any abutters, and unreasonable hours d. No request for fundraising through gambling activities will be accepted, including raffles and bingo 5.9. Fundraising requests do not carry over from one year to the next. 6. PROCEDURES 6.1. A Church Fundraising Application must be completed and submitted to the Chair of the LUMC Board or Committee that oversees the program that will be served by the fundraiser. If no board or committee is designated to oversee the program that is to be benefited, then the application will go to the Missions Committee to determine if it is consistent and/or does not conflict with current missions/outreach programs already sponsored or supported by LUMC. A Church Fundraising Application may be obtained on the LUMC website, from the Church office or downloaded here (PDF). 6.2. Once reviewed by the appropriate committee, the Church Fundraising Application must be submitted to the Committee on Finance Chairperson at least one (1) week prior to the next Committee meeting (generally the third Monday each month), and at least one month prior to the fundraising activity. 5
6.3. The Finance Chairperson shall place the application on the agenda of the next scheduled meeting of the Committee. The event cannot be published or placed on the calendar prior to full approval by the Committee on Finance. 6.4. The Committee on Finance will review the proposals. Those submitting proposals shall be invited to attend the meeting of the Committee at which the proposal is reviewed and are permitted to make a presentation. Presenters may or may not be asked to stay for a vote. 6.5. After the Committee on Finance has voted on a proposal, a response will be prepared and provided to the contact person listed on the application. 6.6. The following criteria shall be considered when evaluating a fundraising proposal: a. Compliance with the procedures set forth in this document b. Time elapsed since the last fundraiser by the same proponents or for the same purpose c. Time elapsed since the last fundraiser at the Church d. Time between the proposed fundraiser and any regularly scheduled or previously-approved fundraiser e. The degree of affinity between the fundraiser and the Church s mission f. The impact of the fundraiser on the Church s facilities g. Potential interference with other Church activities 6.7. Handling of monetary funds will be as follows: a. All checks collected must be written to Larchmont United Methodist Church, or the appropriate approved Church Organization. (No checks may be written to individuals.) 6
b. All money (cash and checks) collected must be given to the Finance Secretary for deposit into the appropriate bank account. c. No expenses shall be paid out of cash received (no petty cash expenses). d. Any cash advance (seed money) not covered by the proposing group must be approved by the Committee on Finance. e. The groups that maintain individual accounts, including but not limited to UMM, UMW, sponsored scouting organizations, youth groups, Sunday school classes, mollies, food locker, etc., are exempt from this requirement. f. In the event that a fundraiser for goods is held and someone submits money for the event, the policies above must still be followed. In such instances, the money will usually be deposited into the appropriate account for dispersal. 6.8 Groups wishing to conduct monetary fundraisers must provide a report back to the Finance Committee detailing the following information after the completion of the fundraiser: a. Total items sold and/or money collected b. Total expenses, if any, for the fundraiser c. A specific listing of how much and where the profits were used The required follow up report is due to the Finance Committee two weeks after the end of the event, or last delivery date, whichever is the later date. Failure to provide the follow up report may affect approval of future fundraising requests. 7. SPECIAL OFFERINGS Special offerings, referred to as love offerings, are such things as unanticipated UMCOR requests and or District requests following natural disasters. 7
7.1. Special offerings will not be requested to address an individual or family s emergency needs. The Minister s Discretionary Fund exists for this reason. Please refer these types of needs to the Senior Minister. 7.2. Special offerings will not be requested to support the programs or ministries of guest speakers or musicians unless pre-approved by the Committee on Finance. 7.3. All special offerings must be approved by the Church s Committee on Finance with the following exceptions: a. The Thanksgiving service special offering b. The Christmas Eve Service special offering c. Other approved annual giving 8. WAIVER OF POLICY The Committee on Finance may approve a one-time waiver of this policy should extraordinary circumstances exist, the fundraiser will further LUMC mission activities, and a majority of the Committee on Finance approves the waiver. 8