Love gift to Pastor from outside the church.

We have a family that doesn't go to our church, but knows the Pastor and his wife. They send a check to the church almost every month for $400.00 or $500.00. The check is made out to the church but they want it to go to the Pastor and a receipt for tax purposes. Is this alright to do?

Comments for Love gift to Pastor from outside the church.

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Donation designated for pastoral support
by: Anonymous in Virginia

My Husband and I have been giving money designated as pastoral support for forty years. When did the rule/law change from deductible to non-deductible?
Designated Gifts
by: MarcusNTexas

This would seem to be the same as if a grandparent sent money to their grandchild's university with instructions to use the money as a scholarship for their grandchild and then claimed the donation as a charitable gift to the university.

No university could legally accept such a gift and the church should not accept the gift under these conditions UNLESS it is understood by the donors and by the pastor that the donation will be treated as part of the church's general operating budget and that the pastor's salary is set by the church's elected Finance / Personnel committee.

The tricky part of this is that if this gift stops coming, the church could not/should not reduce the pastor's salary by the amount of the gift.
Love gift designated to the pastor?
by: Lewis in NC

Being a contributor to a nonprofit qualifying for a tax deduction like a church does not give me the right to set up designations as to where the donated money must be used.

The money is given to the church to be used for the church's needs. The governing body of the church decides what those needs are--usually through a line-item budget.

On the same hand, obviously one of those needs is paying the pastor's salary. So all is well to give to the nonprofit church and to trust that it will be used for the budgeted expenses which includes paying the pastor.

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