Donations to Independent Ministries

A number of years ago, it was announced that SDA churches were not to issue tax receipts for donations to non-profit entities that had their own 501(c)(3), and as of August, 2021, it was requested even more strongly that this policy be followed. Amazing Facts, Quiet Hour, Wildwood, Outpost Centers International, Maranatha, AFM, Jesus for Asia and 3ABN are among such entities. If you receive a donation to an independent ministry, return it to the donor and ask them to donate directly to that ministry.

In addition, we are not, in general, to accept donations and give tax receipts for ministries, even if they are not a full-fledged non-profit with their own 501(c)(3), if they do not show up in our SDA Yearbook. If they are not in the yearbook, it means that the SDA church has no say or control in how the funds are spent, which means there is no denominational accountability to spend them according to IRS guidelines. I am not saying that none of them can be trusted. I am saying that, as a denomination that issues tax receipts, we are responsible to follow the IRS guidelines in how those donations that we have accepted and receipted are spent.

It is true that if a local church board votes to accept and raise funds for a particular project, then sends those funds directly to that project, receipts can be given for those donations. Example: Some churches are raising funds for a particular AFM missionary. Members donate, the treasurer then sends the funds to AFM. That donation is tax-deductible to the donor because of the church vote.

That said, we recommend caution when churches want to adopt far-away mission projects that have no "Mission Board" such as AFM or OCI to oversee them. Churches are supposed to be able to verify that the funds that they have raised and issued tax receipts for are used in accordance with IRS guidelines. So just voting to make the project a church project doesn't relieve the board from IRS responsibility.

AFM and OCI oversee their missionaries. They visit them and verify that the funds are being spent correctly. That is why they can legally give tax receipts in exchange for donations. But if your church gets a letter from an unknown person that says "Give money to me and I will buy Bibles for Iran." you should be wary. Unless you plan to send someone to Iran to verify that the money you send actually bought Bibles, you have no way to know if the money was used according to IRS guidelines.

If a church wishes to raise funds for a ministry or project that they believe will utilize the funds as intended, they can do it. But they should also be wise in the projects that they adopt, and should seek to ensure that the funds are being spent correctly, since anyone can start a “ministry” and begin collecting funds for something they say will take place on the other side of the world.

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