First Chinese Baptist Church of San Antonio
General Benevolence Policy
General Benevolence Committee Guidelines

Definitions

General Benevolence Committee

      The General Benevolence Committee (GBC) is an officially recognized body designated to receive and disburse love offerings given to First Chinese Baptist Church of San Antonio, (FCBCSA).  Guidelines for the disbursement of such offerings received will be established by GBC members. 

General Benevolence Committee Members

      The Church Council will select the members of the GBC and determine the number of members they deem necessary for the committee.  The duration of a GBC term is defined as one calendar year, beginning in the month of January.  There is no restriction on the number of consecutive terms a member may serve on the General Benevolence Committee.  In order to protect the church membership and community, members of this committee must exercise complete confidentiality on all matters of requests for benevolence.

Oversight and Accountability

The General Benevolence Committee is accountable to the pastoral staff, Church Council, the church membership, and ultimately to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Guidelines for Disbursement

General Guidelines

·        Under no circumstance is a gift from the General Benevolence fund to be considered a loan. No gift may be repaid, either in part or in full, in money or in labor.

·        The General Benevolence Fund Committee will not provide help to anyone who, in its estimation, will have negative or irresponsible behavior reinforced by financial help.

·        Those receiving assistance must be willing to give the General Benevolence Fund Committee permission to follow up on any of the information provided to the committee.  The GBC will maintain strict confidentiality of the requestors and their circumstance. 

·        The GBC will not commit to provide monetary assistance of an indeterminate or undefined amount.  Examples of such circumstances may include, but are not limited to medical costs, temporary housing needs of an unknown duration, and estimated cost of repairs.  However, the GBC may choose to contribute fixed dollar amounts toward such circumstances.

Recipients

In order of priority, recipients of funds disbursed from the General Benevolence fund at the direction of the General Benevolence Fund Committee are:

1.      Believers

2.      Non-believers

Criteria

The stated purpose of the General Benevolence fund is to meet people’s basic and immediate needs. Normally, these needs are defined as:

·        Lodging (utilities, phone, water, hotel rooms, etc)

·        Food

·        Clothing

·        Medical treatment

·        Transportation

·        Funeral expenses

·        Initial evaluation and professional counseling appointments

Needs that may not be met by the General Benevolence fund include:

·        School expenses, business investments, or anything that brings financial profit to the individual or family

·        Paying off credit cards.  Exceptions can be made when an individual has had to use a credit card in a crisis or emergency (e.g., hospitalization, death, etc.)

·        Needs of individuals who are wanted by the law or for paying fines as a result of breaking the law

·        Housing for unmarried couples

·        Legal fees

·        Penalties relating to late payments or irresponsible actions

·        Private school fees or tuition

·        Business ventures or investments

Procedure for Disbursement

Source of Request

A Request for Assistance Application must be filled out by the person requesting help or by someone who is assisting the person in need. In either case, the person must be in the presence of a representative of the church. The church representative taking the request will record references and contacts to collaborate the need.

Processing the Request (The process will take approximately one week.)

1.      Upon identification of a need, the GBC chairman will be notified and arrange for at least two individuals to visit and interview the person making the request.  The church representative will assist in filling out the Request for Assistance Application.  (If the Application is the first notification of the need, the visit/interview will take place following.)

2.      In a meeting, email, or telephone conference, the General Benevolence Fund Committee will review the request and come to a decision.  The request will detail the exact dollar amount(s) to be paid.  If circumstances arise where additional monetary assistance is necessary then the GBC will repeat process #2 and add the additional details to the Request for Assistance Application form, if necessary.

3.      The person receiving assistance and the church sponsor will be informed of the decision.

4.      Checks will be written and disbursed. As much as possible, checks from the General Benevolence Fund will be payable to vendors.

5.    Evaluation and follow-up will be done in a timely manner and reported to the GBC at their convenience.