As a self-supported ministry, we depend upon donations to fund our activities. We do not have a head office in Rome (or anywhere else) that will send us money, expertise, or any other type of assistance. We depend upon you, the community which we serve.
Depending on your jurisdiction, your donations may be tax-deductible. Please check with your tax advisor for your specific situation.
What you do with the money?
We spend it, of course! Nearly all of the money goes to pay expenses generated by the activities of the ministry. We have to pay for web hosting, the webmaster who keeps it running, any advertising we buy, production costs of that advertising (graphic designers, animation programmers, marketing experts, actors, you get the idea.) We also use the money to fund our projects: materials, additional labor, equipment rental, expert consultation (architects, engineers, building inspectors, etc.) and, of course, the land it sits on. There are also miscellaneous expenses such as travel, replacement parts, maintenance and the occasional cup of coffee.
Donations are also used in direct gifting. For example, if we ran an advertising campaign soliciting donations which involved research on creating hybrid-girls, a portion of those funds would go towards scientific research, as promised. (We keep things honest around here.) Would all of the funds go towards trans-humanism research? Probably not. The majority (if not all) of the funds would likely go towards pure scientific research- the most difficult to fund as there is no directly observable outcome that could be predictably monetized. In other words, there’s no money in it. Unfortunately, it is the pure research which develops the most sensational breakthroughs in science and technology. Funds are also used to support members of our community who are not independently wealthy: grants for education, emergency living expenses and other material needs are typical. You won’t see us showing off our fleet of private jet aircraft (unless they were donated to us, of course!)
The best way of helping us is through tithing.
What is tithing?
Tithing is essentially a subscription plan for donations. The Mormon church generally receives one tenth (1/10th) or 10% of the family’s income. It signifies an investment in one’s spiritual development. (It is quite definitely a financial investment in the Church.) This financial commitment allows the church some measure of security in that it has a regular income upon which it can presumably depend.
How does it work?
On the individual level, paying money every month signifies a commitment. People who pay money are more likely to want to receive value for that money. People who do not pay money generally are not as committed, even if the information is freely available and of the same quality as that provided to the paid participants. Or in other words, “you get what you pay for.”
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