So I found this cool Government of Canada site: Charities Directorate which lists all sort of information on charities in Canada.
I looked up the Magrath wards (because I’m nosey like that) and, in total, my little town of Magrath donated about 2 million dollars to the LDS church in 2005.
I immediately thought, “I wonder if people know how much in total they tithe?” followed up shortly by looking at scenarios of what that kind of money could do if it stuck around our community; and wondering why were there so many church fundraising events if they have a draw that significant.
I guess I was more surprised by the size of the gross figure than anything else.
Just a question….
What “church fundraising events” are you refering to? I don’t beleive that there have been any in Magrath.
Ward/scouting bake sales, etc.
Hmmm…I can’t bring up any info for Lethbridge.
All wards (as well as the National charity) are registered in Cardston, Kim.
Try putting “latter day saints” in the charity name and leaving the rest blank.
But I am assuming they are counting all donations, not just tithing.
Our ward had $ 542,276 in “revenue” in 2005. $1,000 less than its expenditures.
the Expenditures section also includes the donation to the national chapter of the LDS church.
Look under rules for Donees.
How many families in your Ward Kim?
I don’t know. There are about 400 members, if that helps.
$500,000 divided by 100 families is an average donation of $5,000 per family. Is your Ward in an upscale area?
Part is/part is not (two opposite ends of the spectrum. As well, we have a high percentage of seniors).
So, what’s this I hear about the North American church subsidizing the rest of the world? If even your ward is spending more than it’s taking it, something seems amiss.
Alea
Well that’s just our ward. We have three stakes in Lethbridge alone. Many more than that in Southern Alberta. I doubt we are being subsidised outside of Canada.
Pewsitter, revenue does not just consist of tithing. It also consists of fundraising, other offerings and budget allocation from the stake. The fact we had over 500,000$ in expenses should give you an indication of how upscale our ward is.
alea, I don’t know if the premise that North America subsidises the rest of the world is true or not, but certainly having a sample size of 1 is not enough to make a judgement on the hundreds of wards that are on the continent.