ECCU Blog

Jesus said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. 

So how can you effectively disciple people who have significant financial resources in matters of generosity and stewardship? How can you engage their hearts and help them catch a vision for your church’s mission? 

ECCU is hosting a Generis luncheon seminar, How to Disciple, Encourage, and Engage the Wealthy People in Your Church, on Thursday, October 18 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Those who attend will learn from experts like Richard Watts, author of Fables of Fortune: What Rich People Have That You Don’t Want, and Generis Vice President Gerald Farley. They will discuss: 

• Who the wealthy are in your congregation.
• Why they often stay hidden.
• What they need that they don’t already have.
• How to encourage wealthy people to invest more of their financial resources in ministry. 

ECCU will host this free event for senior pastors and executive staff, which includes lunch, at its headquarters in Brea, California. To register, contact Sheri Kohlmann at 714.420.5092 or sherik@generis.com.

It is common for ministries to transport U.S. dollars internationally for ministry work. When doing so, it is important to follow the U.S. laws that relate to transporting of cash and monetary instruments. 

An individual can legally carry or mail any amount of money into or out of the U.S., but you must report it to U.S. Customs and Border Protection using this form. If this reporting isn’t done, the traveler is at risk having the funds confiscated and potentially not getting them back. In addition, criminal and civil penalties may apply. 

People who travel with money will be asked if they are transporting more than $10,000 in cash or monetary instruments. If they answer yes, then they must complete this form. After this document is completed, the inspector may choose to verify the funds. If the form was completed accurately and truthfully, the form is accepted and the traveler is free to depart. However, if the inspector finds additional funds, then all the money will be seized and the traveler will have to petition U.S. Customs for its return. 

It is important to note that these laws apply to cash or monetary instruments that are mailed or shipped. They also apply if your ministry receives cash or monetary instruments that have been mailed or shipped internationally. (Note: The term “monetary instruments” includes foreign currencies, traveler’s checks, and checks or money orders which are in bearer form or from which the name of the payee has been omitted.)

 A transfer of funds through normal banking channels, such as international wire transfer or international ACH, which does not involve the physical transportation of currency or monetary instruments, does not need to be reported. 

If your staff or volunteers travel with, mail or ship cash or monetary instruments, provide them with this Currency Reporting Flyer from U.S. Customs, which includes good summary information and requirements to ensure that you’re in compliance.

“Your account appears to have an unauthorized transaction. To ensure that your account is not compromised, please click the link below and confirm your identity.”

Sound familiar? That message is from a recent phishing attempt I received via email. In the act of phishing, Internet fraudsters send spam or pop-up messages in hopes of gaining access to your personal information (credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security numbers, passwords, or other sensitive information). The email looks official and raises concern and may even threaten dire consequences if you do not respond. They include a link to a website that looks official, but isn’t, and captures any personal information you enter so they may steal your identity. 

Now, the same type of scam is finding its way to you via your cellular phone. In a smishing attempt, identity thieves send a similar message to your mobile phone using an SMS text. The text relays that an urgent matter needs to be discussed and provides a toll free number where a fake automated voice-response system records account number and password information. Smishing relies on the tendency for individuals to be more trusting of text messages than email messages. 

In a world where fraudsters are looking for any opportunity to gain access to our private information, how do we defend ourselves? The American Bankers Association suggests financial institutions share tips and remind customers that socially engineered schemes rely on methods financial institution would never employ.

They state,

“To avoid fraud, banks and credit unions should remind customers to”:

• Never give out personal or financial information in response to an unsolicited phone call, fax, e-mail or text.
• Contact the financial institution to confirm the legitimacy of any e-mail that asks for the submission of personal or banking account information.
• Check credit card and bank account statements regularly for unauthorized transactions…even small ones.
• Make sure websites are secure when submitting financial information online. Check for padlocks or key icons at the bottoms of Internet browsers. Most secure Web addresses also use “https.”
• Report suspicious activity to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center.
• Contact your financial institution immediately if a phishy link may have been clicked or a suspicious communication responded to.

What have you done to prevent identity theft?

Employee education is one of the strongest tools in our arsenal to fight cybercrime.  NACHA, the Electronic Payments Association, suggests that one simple question can make the difference between an infected network and a protected one. Teaching our employees to always ask, “Does this email make sense?” before responding to it, opening an attachment, or clicking on a link, can make all the difference.   

Regularly remind your staff that financial institutions, government agencies, and associations will not request personal identification numbers (PINs), user names, passwords, or account verification via an email. Should they receive such a request, it is best to delete the email rather than risk infecting your network. 

Emails from family and friends may include links to sites that also may infiltrate the network. Asking, “Does this email make sense” includes considering whether or not it makes business sense to open an attachment or link to an unknown site. 

When in doubt, NACHA suggests: 

Using a lock up service such as “whois.net” to view domain registration information of an email sender.

Contacting the sender to determine legitimacy, but never use the phone number included in the email.

Deleting the email. 

How have you been educating your staff about the perils of cybercrime?

Yes, this is a blog post about the IRS. So, understandably, I’m afraid I might lose you before we even begin. Please don’t check out too soon, though, because here’s the bottom line: The IRS actually has a new program designed to save you hassle and money. 

Good, you’re still reading. Now let’s talk about why this program might be important to your ministry. 

In the nonprofit world, especially in churches, it isn’t uncommon to find misclassification of workers—usually meaning an employee is mistakenly classified as an independent contractor. Why is it a problem? According to the IRS, “Employers who misclassify workers as independent contractors can end up with substantial tax bills. Additionally, they can face penalties for failing to pay employment taxes and for failing to file required tax forms.” 

The new IRS program allows employers to resolve past worker classification mix-ups. By making a minimal payment to cover past payroll tax obligations, employers can come back into compliance rather than waiting for a dreaded and painful IRS audit. 

If your ministry is eligible for this new program, you can obtain substantial relief from past-due federal payroll taxes. Once accepted into the program, you will pay an amount effectively equaling just over one percent of the wages paid to the reclassified workers for the past year. No interest or penalties are due, and you will not be audited on payroll taxes related to these workers for prior years. 

(Need help determining if you have classification mix-ups? In a blog post I wrote addressing the issue last year, I included a resource from the IRS to help distinguish employees from independent contractors.) 

There you have it. If you discover your ministry has employees who are classified as independent contractors, take advantage of this program to avoid hassle and expense and get into compliance. After all, how often does the IRS try to make things easier for you?