Helpful Hints for Completing the Remittance Form
Congregation Code No. is needed on all remittance slips. This is the ID known to the ELCA and the synod to help identify your congregation. The code number does not change from year to year. It is listed as your congregation’s PIN in our online directory.
Congregation Name and Town/City are also needed to verify the correct congregation in our reports to the ELCA.
- You might want to print some small labels with that information on them and stick the labels onto the remittance slips to make it a little easier than handwriting the same information on each slip.
Mission Support (Benevolence) is the part of your congregation’s budget designated for supporting the mission we carry out together as the SW MN Synod and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The synod uses 48.5% of this support for our work in the synod and sends 51.5% to the ELCA to support the work of the church in our country and world.
ELCA World Hunger is uniquely positioned to reach communities in need. From health clinics to microloans, water wells to animal husbandry, community meals to advocacy, your gifts to ELCA World Hunger make it possible for the ELCA to respond, supporting sustainable solutions that get at the root causes of hunger and poverty. The ELCA’s website has resources about the many ways to help support World Hunger efforts.
Missionary Sponsorship is the support you provide for a missionary set up through your ELCA Covenant.
- Please include the first and last name of the missionary. If a missionary is not named, your gift will go to general missionary support. Through ELCA Global Church Sponsorship, you can now directly support new initiatives involving ELCA missionaries, Young Adults in Global Mission volunteers, scholarships for leaders and global ministries.
Embrace God’s Mission + Equip God’s People Funding Initiative is for gifts designated for the overall Funding Initiative of our synod to produce much needed resources to empower lay people, pastors, and congregations.
Ministerial Excellence Fund is for designated gifts that will help reduce the burdens of educational costs for pastors serving in our synod, provide incentives for pastors serving in SW MN Synod to prepare more effectively for retirement, and to help pay for unexpected medical crises for pastors serving here.
Other Designated Gifts include: Global Missions, American Missions, Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran Disaster Response, Bible camps, and more. Remember, checks sent to our office must be made payable to SW MN Synod. Any gifts designated to Lutheran Social Service or other local agencies (food shelves, United Way, Salvation Army, etc.) should be sent directly to them.
Change of Treasurer Information is on the back of the remittance form. This can also be updated through our synod website’s form, Update Congregation Data, along with the other congregation staff information. The quarterly statements will be sent to both the congregation treasurer and congregation president. Please make sure your congregation’s staff information is updated annually.
For other helpful financial information, go to ELCA.org.