A Letter from Cathedral Treasurer Betsey Monsell
Maybe you rarely think about what happens to the money in the collection plate after the service or where your online giving goes. Your giving supports all the ministries at the Cathedral, so the finance team takes extra care to make sure your contributions are safeguarded and used only as intended.
Here’s a quick behind the scenes tour of the path your giving follows. After each service, two ushers put everything from the collection plates into the Cathedral’s safe. Later, two volunteers retrieve those funds, along with other receipts and checks that come in the mail. Members of the “Money count Team” sort the contributions according to purpose and count and label each batch. A second team member recounts and verifies each batch to ensure accuracy. All the paperwork is then handed off to Wes Dayhoff, our Accountant, to process through the Cathedral’s Realm contribution system, noting the person who gave it and the intended account the money goes to. Wes also processes all contributions that are made through online giving. When Wes has processed all the cash and check batches, we make sure his totals agree to the counters’ totals and to the total bank deposit. We keep all the back-up paperwork in our files for seven years so we can research an item if there is ever a question. When the count is finished, Wes inputs the summary totals into the Cathedral’s accounting system.
Our goal is to process everything correctly the first time, but occasionally an item might get credited to the wrong category. Sometimes we have difficulty reading the handwriting or understanding the intention. We’ll generally call to follow up if we’re not sure of something, but if we can’t get hold of you, we’ll do our best.
If a contribution has been given as a special gift for a certain purpose, Wes composes a thank you letter for Dean Penny to sign. Each quarter, Wes generates contribution statements from the Realm contribution system so each of us can see the dates, amounts and purpose of contributions we’ve given. Each year-end, Wes generates a contribution statement for each donor for use in preparing tax returns.
At the end of each month, Wes and Erin Sacco Pineda, our Finance Director, generate financial statements from the Cathedral’s accounting system showing actual results versus the budget adopted by Chapter. These are reviewed in depth by the Finance Committee and at a higher level by Chapter. These reviews help ensure accountability and transparency for income and expenses. The Cathedral’s financial statements are audited annually by an independent public accounting firm.
If you ever see something amiss on your quarterly statement or if you have any questions about giving, please give Wes a call at the Cathedral. He is very knowledgeable and provides excellent customer service!
We are so grateful for all those who participate in safeguarding and recording our gifts: ushers, money count volunteers, and finance staff. And thank you all for your generosity!
