Nobody will deny that the Ameisli, Jungschar and teen work costs something. But - who is going to pay for it? The youth leaders? The church? Sponsors? Or simply donors?
Some suggestions for the general Jungschar budget
- Regular, monthly contributions from the congregation
- Annual fixed contribution from the congregation
- Contribution handled through the congregation budget
- Contributions at the request of the Jungschar
- Offerings of special events in the congregation involving the Jungschar
- Combinations of suggestions such as:
- Fixed contribution and offerings and actions of the Jungschar
- Fixed contribution and additional according to the request of the Jungschar
It makes little sense if the necessary material is generally paid by the leaders. If there are differences in the team, this can have serious consequences for the Jungschar work. The right way is that the Jungschar keeps its own cash register.This is fed by the congregation. The leaders, however, make their gifts available to the congregation. The leaders are reimbursed for their expenses by the Jungschar treasury, although practice shows that by no means all expenses are accounted for by the leaders. It makes sense, however, if non-reimbursed expenses are booked as donations and as expenses. Such handling only shows the true picture of costs and donations for a Jungschar.
The Jungschar keeps a cash book and submits this to the church treasurer for inspection for the annual accounts. The treasurer can integrate the annual figures into the overall accounts. Thus the financial matters are clearly regulated and can be seen at any time.
It is quite reasonable that the total Jungschar also contributes a part to the financing. Thus the JS-lern becomes like also their parents consciously that the Jungschar evenly also something costs. It is unique in Switzerland that no annual fees are charged to participants/members for activities in extracurricular youth work. Only a few youth groups know this analogous to the Pfadi.
What can the financial budget of a Jungschar look like, respectively its income:
- Monthly a fixed contribution from the municipality of e.g. Fr. 3.-- per child, according to the budget for the overall municipality youth work.
- Self-generated funds of the Jungschar through, for example, candle pulling, car washing events, play festivals, Christmas outreaches, offerings of events carried out by the Jungschar in the parish, etc.
- Grants from the parish according to prior consultation for special purchases or occasions.
Please note: In numerous communities, the contribution, or funds for additional major purchases must usually be claimed through the budget submission. Subsequent requests tend to be difficult and result in a corresponding administrative burden.
The materials purchased are the property of the congregation and no leader can take anything with them when they leave, unless they have provided certain materials on loan.
The financing of the education and training of the leaders
The education and training of leaders for a good youth work must be a concern of the church. It is important to encourage the leaders to do this. Partial payment of training costs by the church strengthens the positive attitude and the commitment of the leaders to the church. It is also a form of recognition and appreciation of their commitment by the church. It is not self-evident that young people are willing to invest part of their holidays for youth camps, Pentecost camps, possibly youth weekends and one week and 1-2 weekends per year for training. We think that this should be estimated by a contribution. However, we support the fact that this does not have to be the full amount for educational reasons. The BESJ considers an allowance of 50% of the course costs to be reasonable, whereby different weightings can be applied between pupils/students and those who earn money. The fact that a large part of the leaders do not have faithful parents and must pay for the costs of the courses themselves, even if they do not yet have an income, also speaks in favour of such a regulation. So it happens again and again that participants in training weeks save up for the course costs over months and for more than a year from their pocket money.
The insurance contribution
Young groups of Chrischona parishes are obligatory members of the Jungschar insurance. For all other youth groups the membership is voluntary. However, since about 2/3 of the youth groups are affiliated with the insurance, some thoughts about this are justified at this point. Who should, must or may pay the annual contribution? The congregation, the youth group out of its treasury, or the parents? A uniform regulation will hardly be possible, since the financing variants are too different. If a youth group is supported generously and has possibilities for special financial actions, the contribution can be paid from the youth group's treasury. Otherwise this is the responsibility of the church. Another option is to pass on the insurance contribution to the parents, which can usually be done without any problems if the parents are properly informed. This can also be done on a voluntary basis. Parents receive a friendly letter every year with the option of paying this contribution voluntarily. A payment slip is enclosed. Practical experience has shown that this method often yields more than the required amount. Here, too, it is important to have an open discussion. The request can be brought up very well, for example, at a parents' evening
The municipal contribution to the BESJ
This is levied differently depending on the denomination. This contribution is a partial payment to the general services of the BESJ, whose beneficiaries are primarily the municipalities. We are of the opinion that these costs are to be borne in full by the congregation, and not by the young people's treasury or even by the leaders personally, as happens now and then.
Who therefore finances the costs of the Ameisli, Jungschar and Teenie work?
A sensible investment in the Jungschar work and in the training of the Leit is a good, future-oriented investment.
Practical steps
How is the funding of the youth group arranged? The church leadership and the youth team independently complete the following evaluation table. Then the results are compared and discussed. An open discussion is important (scale of 1 - 6; 1 = very bad, 6 = very good)
Source reference:
Content: Annual focus 1993 "Community", Peter Blaser, Siegfried Nüesch, Martin Bihr, Hansruedi Tanner, Ueli Obrist, Johannes Wallmeroth, Peter Schulthess
Copyright: www.besj.ch
Cover image: clipart courtesy of buch+musik ejw-service gmbh, Stuttgart - www.ejw-buch.de
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