2017 WTBTS Financial Statement Ireland

by Atlantis 13 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  shepherdless

  Hi sbf, almost all of the assets are tied up in freehold land. I know nothing about the situation in Ireland, but I wonder whether that branch building in Ireland is worth around €3 million, representing all of the freehold land in he accounts, and all Kingdom Halls are held in separate trusts or legal entities.

  €300 per publisher per annum might seem a lot but I remember calculating the similar rate for publishers in the geographical area that Watchtower terms “Britain”, and it was much higher; of the order of £50 per publisher per month.
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  slimboyfat

  There’s no way JWs contribute £50 a month on average. In a nearby congregation it’s around £450 for the congregation and £250 for the worldwide work per month. That’s £700 divided by 45 publishers equals just over £15 per publisher per month. I guess you need to add direct giving and legacies to that, but I’d be surprised if that brought it even to £20. Probably that congregation is below average but not a complete outlier.
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  slimboyfat

  As regards the trend, what would be really useful would be to have the numbers from before, during, and after Lett made a special appeal for funds in 2015.
• 

  shepherdless

  There’s no way JWs contribute £50 a month on average.

  I am glad to hear that. You are probably right. I better explain.

  I made that calculation using the financial figures for Britain about 18 months ago, and I mentioned it on a thread here, at the time. (Nobody challenged it.) I had a suspicion at the time that it wasn’t reflective of the rate at which individuals publishers were donating. It was an artificial rate; the total amount the Britan branch was extracting from the congregations or receiving directly, divided by the number of publishers, at the time. The great cash grab was probably still in its last stages, and the sale of Kingdom Halls would have lifted that figure, as well.

  Maybe the same thing applies to the Ireland accounts. That €300 p.a. per publisher could be just reflective of the rate at which congregations are handing over money, not what individual publishers are donating.

  Of course, you would expect the 2 rates to be the same or even out, over time. Except, of course, if the Borg is scrambling for cash.