Business & Administration
Resources for congregations around finances, benefits, insurance, and the general administration of the parish.

Diocesan Finance & Administration

2024 Diocesan Budget

Parish Finance & Administration

Apportionments

Your “apportionment” is your congregation’s…

Audit Policy and Procedure

The Canons of the Episcopal Church and of the Diocese of Western Michigan require that all congregations and their auxiliaries submit an audit of the just finished fiscal year. This process is designed to review on an annual basis the financial records and the operational practices of congregations to ensure that we are good stewards. We as a Diocese have not consistently met these requirements. This canon change requires that these audits be accomplished and references the policies of The Episcopal Church Manual of Business Methods in Church Affairs and The Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan Policy “Annual Audit of Congregations” and specifies sanctions for non-compliance.

Parish Reporting

Parish Annual Report

(Formerly known as the “Elections Report”)

The online form asks for contact information, positions, and updated trainings for each person serving on the vestry or as a delegate. This year, we also ask for contact information for any paid lay staff members of the congregation.

Click here to access the 2024 Parish Annual Report (fillable PDF), due February 15, 2024.

Please contact Mark Sullivan, our Diocesan Office Administrator, at msullivan@edwm.org with questions about the Elections Report.

Parochial Report

The filing site for Parochial Reports for the Episcopal Church is located at reports.dfms.org.

When you file your Parochial Report online, our office automatically receives a copy. There is no need to mail a hard copy.

For more information, please see the Parochial Report Information Page of the General Convention website.

Please contact Sara Philo with any questions or if you need your log-in email address reset. Her email is sphilo@edwm.org.

The deadline to submit the Parochial Report is March 1, 2024.

Previous Workshops

Feb. 2021 Parish Finance and Administration 101

Episcopal Church Foundation Diocesan Investment Fund - For Congregations

In 2022, our diocesan investments were transferred to the Episcopal Church Foundation. In addition to the benefits of lower rates, more active management and reporting, and working with a firm engaged with the ideals and vision of The Episcopal Church, this move brings a new opportunity to congregations of the Diocese of Western Michigan.

No matter the size of your investments, you can invest in the diocesan pooled funds, gaining access to better investment rates with the larger corpus. Your funds would be invested using the same asset allocation strategy as the diocesan investment policy. In addition, instead of needing a local investment committee, the staff of ECF will produce quarterly reports and assist your vestry in determining a prudent draw each year. Your vestry retains control over the funds and can, of course, transfer out of ECF at any time.

Click here to review our Diocesan Investment Policy.
Click here to review our DIF Participant Guide.

Click here to watch a December 2022 Webinar about the Fund – Slideshow Presentation

For All Employees

Employee or Contractor?
In determining whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor there are two publications that you need to refer to:

First, IRS Publication 15 – Employer’s Tax Guide offers some guidelines to follow. Generally, a worker who performs services for you is your employee if you have control over what will be done and how it will be done, and they use your tools (computers, etc.). It does not matter if the employee works full or part-time. To access this document, visit www.irs.gov and search for the publication title.
Second, The Manual of Business Methods in Church Affairs, published by the Episcopal Church, is another reference point that provides very detailed guidance on this area. It explicitly states that the following are normally employees: all rectors, vicars, and their assistants; Interim clergy and regularly employed supply clergy who consistently work at the same congregation; and Secretaries, sextons, directors of Christian education, childcare providers who are not volunteers (including teenagers), yard maintenance workers (including teenagers), organist, and choir director. All employees must receive a W-2, including clergy.

Other Resources:

For Clergy

Clergy Licensing & Reporting

Fill out this form to submit the annual report for retired, non-parochial, and canonically resident (but not physically resident) clergy. Deadline, March 1, 2023.

To inquire about becoming licensed in Western Michigan from another diocese, please email ccameron@edwm.org.

Employment Resources:

Position Openings:
We post our open positions to the employment board at the Episcopal News Service. Please visit the job board to learn about any open positions in the Diocese of Western Michigan.

Other questions can be directed to one of our regional Canon Missioners.

Staff Contacts

Mileage Rates

2024 IRS Mileage Rate: 67 cents per mile driven for business use

The Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is recommended at 2.4% for 2024, according to the Midwest CPI-W Index

Employment & HR

Health Insurance

The Medical Trust

The diocese continues to offer health, vision and dental insurance coverage with the Episcopal Church Medical Trust, a division of the Church Pension Group (CPG) for eligible, active clergy and lay employees. Diocesan Canon 28.02(b), states “Each congregation shall provide health insurance through the denominational health plan for all eligible clergy and eligible lay employees.

Episcopal Church Medical Trust