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Towards Vitality

Research Project Finds Common Themes

The vital congregations project of The United Methodist Church recently released its findings. Based on results of a survey of persons in leadership positions, the report gives the Church insight into what makes and how to build vital congregations.

Reports of the work can be found at these links:

  • Click here to read the full report.
  • Statistical data supporting the findings can be found at this link.
  • Read the full press release at this link.
  • The Executive Summary can be found at this link.

For details on the Towards Vitality project, visit www.umvitalcongregations.org.

 

What's New

GCFA Responds to Request from 2012 General Conference

By action of the 2012 General Conference, GCFA is mandated to provide a report of the names of consultants used by bodies of The United Methodist Church which are amenable to the Connectional Table, as well as the Council of Bishops. GCFA Report #11, section 8, adopted by the 2012 General Conference states: "As part of its oversight function, GCFA shall prepare and make available an annual listing of all consulting contracts entered into by agencies and organizations amendable to the Connectional Table. This shall also include the Council of Bishops. This listing shall be published by March 1 of each year and include contracts in place during the preceding calendar year. The list shall include the name of the individual or corporate entity, address, length and purpose of the contract and the amount of money paid for the contractor." The reports can be viewed at this link.

# # #

 

IRS Increases Mileage Rate to 56.5 Cents per Mile

WASHINGTON —

The IRS has announced that the business standard mileage rate for transportation expenses paid or incurred beginning January 1, 2013, will be 56.5 cents per mile, up one penny from the rate in effect during 2012 [Notice 2012-72, released 11-21-12; www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-12-72.pdf].

The mileage rate may be used to compute the amount to reimburse employees who are using their own cars for business purposes. It may also be used by employers that elect to use the "cents-per-mile" valuation method for purposes of determining the amount that needs to be imputed to an employee's income for personal use of certain company-owned or leased nonluxury vehicles (see The Payroll Source®, p. 3-22).

In addition, the 2013 standard rate for miles driven for medical or moving purposes will increase to 24 cents per mile, up from the 23 cents-per-mile rate in effect during 2012.

Finally, the standard mileage rate for operating a passenger car for charitable purposes, which is set by law, will stay at 14 cents per mile in 2013.

Rev. Dec., 2012

 

What's Available on the GCFA Website:

  • All resources, forms, and reports – many of which have been available as spreadsheets or PDF documents – are available by clicking FORMS & RESOURCES on the navigation bar above.
  • The QUICK SEARCH area should provide you with the most frequently requested documents and services.
  • DONATE NOW will take you to special offerings. You can also access The Advance. Other funds will be added periodically.
  • You have the capability to print the page by using the PRINT-FRIENDLY VERSION option on each page of the site. Another new feature allows you to translate pages by selecting the language you desire. This will affect the pages, not the documents contained within. To revert back to English, visit the Google toolbar that pops up when you translate the document, and press SHOW ORIGINAL.
  • If you have linked www.gcfa.org from your site, please make the necessary updates to assure you’re linking to the most recent version of the site.

How Do I...

  • Make an online donation to a specific fund? From the DONATE NOW button, you will be directed to the online donation page. The link to “Donate Now” is also in the QUICK SEARCH box.
  • Find the monthly Financial Commitment Report? Click to FORMS/RESOURCES > REPORTS.
  • Locate the Group Ruling Request Form? Go to QUICK SEARCH on the right of this page, type in GROUP RULING in the Search criteria box, or go to FORMS/RESOURCES on the navigation bar.
  • Find the date for a meeting? From the navigation bar click on UM CALENDAR. Click on CHURCH CALENDAR. Fill in as much information as you have about the meeting, just as you would on the previous GCFA site. Press SUBMIT to get your search results.
  • Locate the phone number for a staff member? Locate ABOUT at the top of the home page. Scroll to WHO WE ARE. You will find a link for Board Members and a Directory of key staff members.