Financial Philosophy


Introduction

  • The Boys JIM Club of America belongs to God. From its inception, He has provided for this ministry in miraculous ways. In His good pleasure, He has not supplied state of the art facilities, national recognition nor explosive growth; however, He has ordained and blessed it in very real and unique ways. Since 1954, boys, growing into men, have been laboring in God’s Kingdom. Lives have been changed. No charge has ever been made to any JIM Clubber. We acknowledge His goodness and grace and offer this ministry back to Him to proceed, alter, or discontinue as He considers best. We recognize that we are one of many tools God uses to build His Kingdom.
  • We will not compromise the blessing of God by resorting to manipulation or other unethical tactics to make this ministry succeed in the flesh. We will strive to give God glory for this ministry by pursuing the following policy:

Moderation

  • We believe that God’s children should have a moderate lifestyle, without extravagance. Likewise, organizations composed of God’s servants should operate in a moderate and economical way.
  • We will seek to spend in practical fashion on durable, attractive, functional projects that make the most economical sense.
  • We will strive to purchase the best value with our operating expenditures.
  • Our organization survives through the help of scores of volunteers who receive no compensation for their efforts. Neither the president nor any member of the Board of Directors receives any compensation from The Boys JIM Club of America. Generally, counselors who help are not guaranteed an income in advance for their service. When possible, the Board of Directors will offer college grants to counselors, but even grants are not guaranteed at the time they come to camp to sacrifice their time.

Accountability

  • We want to be honorable to all those who support this ministry.
  • Upon request, we will provide a copy of our internal financial statements that the Board of Directors uses for analysis and planning.
  • All operating expenditures are reviewed in detail by the Board of Directors, and all substantial capital expenditures are approves by the Board of Directors in advance. The Board is required to meet at least annually.
  • We are a small organization. We have considered the compliance costs to join such organizations as the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability) to be too significant in relation to our overall budget. Because of these costs, we have not pursued membership.
  • Should The Boys JIM Club of America ever dissolve, corporate bylaws require the remaining assets to be transferred to other not-for-profit organizations that share our conservative, evangelical perspective.

Integrity

  • We want to be truthful and open to all those who invest time or money in this ministry.

    To the Christian, serving God through giving is no different than serving God through other resources and abilities. Giving is a good work, and believers should be encouraged to good works. In both the Old and New Testaments, when there was a need, God’s servants set out the need and took an offering:

    Exodus 35:4-5 (NIV): Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the LORD has commanded: From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver and bronze.”

    I Corinthians 16:1-2 (NIV): Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

    We may do the same. However, we will not resort to disrespectful or dishonorable pressure tactics, even when the needs are great.

  • God does not promise material wealth to those who are faithful to Him. “Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” (James 2:5, NIV) We will not apply techniques that would give donors false assurances of future well-being.
  • We will not create unrealistic expectations of what a donor’s gift will actually accomplish.
  • Statements about the use of gifts will be honored. The donor’s intent, both related to the nature of the appeal and any instructions accompanying the gift, will be respected.
  • We will make every effort to avoid accepting a gift from a prospective donor which would knowingly place a hardship on the donor, place the donor’s well-being in jeopardy, or lead him/her to think that giving contributes to his/her acceptance with God in salvation.
  • We believe that contributions are sent by loving people who have sacrificed to make their gifts possible. We will not try to raise more money than we need.