Description of Administration Services

Topics Covered

• Shepherd’s Staff Missionary Tax Status• Overview of Administration Process• Donations: Received, Recorded & Receipted• Communications with Home (sending) Church• Group Health Plan• Administration Fee

Shepherd’s Staff Missionaries are W-2 Employees

• Eliminates requirement for missionary to pay in quarterly taxes

• Applicable taxes are automatically withheld by Shepherd’s Staff

• At the end of the tax year missionaries are issued W-2s• “Employee” status reduces likelihood of an IRS audit

Administration Process Overview

• Upon joining Shepherd’s Staff, the missionary will be assigned an account number– Account number will be indicated on all donations to Shepherd’s Staff to

ensure funds are correctly allocated to the missionary’s account

• Missionary will be paid a salary amount once per month from the available funds in their account– The missionary will specify the salary amount based on his/her on-field

budget– Salary will be directly deposited into missionary’s U.S. bank account– Applicable taxes will be withheld from missionary’s salary – usually only FICA

tax– Ministry expenses will be advanced or reimbursed from available funds in

the account

• Shepherd’s Staff will email an account status report and donor list to the missionary monthly

Donations

• Donations may be made by any of the following methods:– Checks (mailed)– Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) from checking, Visa, MasterCard,

Discover, or American Express (scheduled) – Online (instant)

• Donations are recorded according to the designated missionary account number.

• Tax deductible receipts are provided within 7-10 days of

receiving the donation.– Includes a self addressed envelope and coupon for the next donation– Includes year to date giving total

Communication with Home Church

• A Regional Missions Pastor will contact the sending church during the interview process.

• A Regional Missions Pastor will be available to assist the sending church in providing care for their missionaries once they have been accepted as a Shepherd’s Staff missionary.

• Missionary’s account status will be emailed monthly to sending church – Ensures church is aware of missionary’s support status

Group Health Plan

• A group health plan is available for Shepherd’s Staff missionaries to join. The plan includes:– Low deductible ($200) – Wellness coverage– Emergency Evacuation

• Monthly premium is deducted from the missionary’s account– Current monthly premiums:

• Family - $430; Couple - $278; Single - $140

• A 403b retirement plan is also available through GuideStone Financial Services

Administration Fee

• A 10% administration fee is deducted from funds received to cover administrative costs– Maximum administrative fee is $450 per month per missionary

• Examples:– Missionary A receives $1,000 for the month: admin fee is $100– Missionary B receives $3,000 for the month: admin fee is $300– Missionary C receives $7,000 for the month: admin fee is $450