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Staff List
Canons and Constitutions Relating to Treasurer's Office The Canons and Constitutions of the church are the rules and regulations for our orders of business, common life, procedures and expectations. We operate under two sets of Canons and Constitutions, those for The Episcopal Church (also called Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America or PECUSA) and those for the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. Each parish, mission and agency of the Diocese may also have its own by-laws or constitutions that speak to unique rules of life for that entity. Of course, specific laws of each civic jurisdiction may also affect operations of the church. These may include federal labor laws, state regulations regarding misconduct disclosure or municipal zoning codes. The Episcopal Church has assembled the most pertinent regulations and expectations for business affairs in the Manual for Business Methods. The entire Constitutions and Canons for The Episcopal Church are available here as well. The Constitution and Canons of the Diocese of Chicago (2006 Edition) are available here. While reading through these documents can be very interesting, you may not want to navigate the documents in their entirety. For this reason, the Treasurer's Office has compiled some of the most pertinent guidelines from the Diocesan Canons that relate to finances. Please click on any item on the following list for more information:
Check Request Forms & Processes Any payments or reimbursements from the Diocese must be made by filling out a Check Request form. This form is available at http://www.epischicago.org/treasurers-office/documents/CheckRequestForm.pdf or at the Diocesan Offices. Please fill out all fields completely, including account numbers, authorizing signatures, vendor address and attach original receipts, invoices or boarding passes. Any missing information may delay payment until all necessary data are provided. If there are any special instructions, such as the need for a check to be held at the Diocesan Offices for later pick up, these should be included on the check request form. Check requests are gathered each Friday afternoon at the end of business. Checks are cut on Wednesdays only and will be available for disbursement late Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. Sales tax will not be reimbursed. For instructions on how to qualify for tax exempt status, please see the appropriate section below. Annually, all entities of the Diocese of Chicago are audited by an independent firm. The audits are received by the Diocesan Audit Committee and this committee's report is submitted to Diocesan Convention each year. The entities audited are
The Diocesan Foundation is a common investment fund available to churches and agencies of the Diocese of Chicago. More information can be found in the 2010 disclosure statement and on the Diocesan Foundation Webpage. Many of our tips and resources from the Treasurer's Office are available in Spanish. Please be aware that the Treasurer's Office also offers regular workshops in Spanish at the annual Diocese of Chicago Leadership and Ministry Fair and as part of the Learning Opportunities available at our Diocesan Convention.
Each parish, vicarage, mission and other congregation is asked to make an annual pledge to the Diocese of Chicago to support the Common Mission undertaken by our Bishops, the Diocesan staff, Diocesan Commissions and other agencies, corporations and entities. The Diocesan Canon regulating The Apportionment is Canon 40. This pledge is voluntarily given and the Diocesan Convention has set guidelines for giving. These voluntary giving guidelines are based on the congregation's reported income, or Line A of the annual parochial report. If Line A is under $100,000 Please pledge 11% of your income to the Diocese If Line A is $100,000-$200,000 Please pledge 13% of your income to the Diocese If Line A is over $200,000 Please pledge 15% of your income to the Diocese Apportionment letters for the 2010 Church Year have been distributed throughout the diocese to all congregations. All congregations not reaching Common Mission Share will be asked to create a plan for reaching this status over time. Technical assistance from the Office of Finance and Administration is available. Please contact the staff with further questions. Pledge notifications and plans were due to the Diocese Office of Finance and Administration by December 31, 2009. Mail pledge payments to: Episcopal Diocese of Chicago Treasurer's Office 65 E. Huron St. Chicago, IL 60611
The Diocese of Chicago and its entities are considered a 501(c)3 organization, a designation of not-for-profit status. Agencies held or housed by a Diocesan of Chicago church may need to apply for their own 501(c)3 designation. However, all entities of the Diocese may use the Diocesan Illinois Sales Tax exemption letter when visiting retail establishments. Most purchases made by an entity of the Diocese of Chicago are exempt from sales tax. The sales tax exemption is appropriate for the purchase of consummable items that will be used at church or church functions and fof the purchase of furniture and equipment that will be owned by the church and used for church purposes. Sales tax cannot be reimbursed, even with receipts. For this reason, it is important to present the Illinois sales tax exemption letter to all retail vendors. Please contact your parish treasurer for a copy of this letter.
Parishes may deal with many different types of restricted funds. Certain grants or financial gifts may be restricted in their use by the grantor or donor. Discretionary funds have specific rules for use and oversight. Honoring these requests and regulations is not simply a matter of propriety; oftentimes, it is the law! The guidelines for Discretionary Fund use are located here. For assistance with other kinds of restricted funds usage, please contact the Office of Finance and Administration.
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