by djnoyze 5 Replies latest jw friends
I'm learning a lot of nifty things about the WBTS. But the one thing I haven't nailed down is how does it make it's money. I understand that they rely heavily on volunteer labor, but do they still sell publications? I guess they own a lot of real estate, but do they ever have to sell the properties?
Thanks...
Contributions from the membership.
Money and property left in wills.
Literature - 'sold' to the publishers who then are encouraged to also donate money received in the field.
There have been many threads on this site detailing how conventions are HUGE money-makers for the WTS.
-Aude.
Forgot to add: Welcome to JWN~!!
Nice to have you join us. I think you'll find this site very informative.
-Aude Sapere (meaning: Dare to Know; Dare to Have Wisdom/Understanding)
Welcome and feel free to use the search function.
You will find a wealth of great info.on any subject you like. Be prepared to have your eyes opened wide as you seek the truth about the WTS.
On money: A complete financial statement from the British Branch the WTS filed with the gov. Very interesting. Detailing how they make millions on literature sales, corporate investments, donations, real estate investments. Also documenting how they spend it, including side payments to individuals. And how little they donate to needy causes.
I was actually just discussing something along the lines of this with a friend today....I mentioned to them about the recent (within the last 2-3 years anyway) "suggestion" by the society to have the congregations keep the majority of their "local" funds in an account operated at headquarters. If I'm remembering correctly (or, even if I'm not, it's an interesting theory) the concept was so that these accounts could earn money in interest that the society could directly access. Of course, the society added the assurance that if the funds from this account were needed for whatever reason, all they simply had to do was fill out some request paperwork crap and they could get their money back. How convenient. I wonder if the kingdom hall would have rights to the interest earned on THEIR money, or if that part of the account was off limits....hrm...
For example, the congregation I left had decided, I think, to keep only 5,000 a month on hand locally and whatever surplus in donations there were for the "local" fund was sent to an account run by the society. Therefore, hypothetically, if the congregation members donated 10,000 to their local kingdom hall fund, 5,000 was sent off to the society and only 5,000 kept in case of the need for immediate access to funds.
I mean....can you IMAGINE the insane amount of money that HAS to come from this????? OMG. I just did some basic math estimations...and hopefully my math is right because it's rather late/early for me lol So...imagine, if you will, that only 5,000 congregations each sent $5,000 to the society for holding. Now imagine that the society has these funds set up in a savings account that has a one percent APR. Doing the math, that comes out to a whopping 250 THOUSAND dollars. In just ONE month! I think I just blew my own mind lol The worst part of this equation is that the numbers I gave are probably sad UNDERestimations of what really probably gets sent in.
I think i'm going to be sick. How on earth can they keep DRILLING people to donate as much as humanly possible? How can they dare suggest people will their estates to the society? This "new" arrangement alone must surely have them rolling in the cash. Man....I didn't realize it was possible for me to have an even newer sense of disgust with the WTBTS.
I should go to bed and stop doing mathematical hypothetical equations LOLOL
The WTBS is simply a real estate and property development company.
