Raising Support FAQ
Will I be paid a salary?
Yes, NICS schools do pay a salary. The salary level at most schools will allow a single person to live comfortably in that country.* “Comfortable” means that the single staff member should be able to cover all living expenses (Apartment, utilities, clothing, food and able to go out to eat a couple of times each week and still be able to save enough money to travel home for Christmas or travel during the summer break). Families will usually have to raise some support depending on the size of the family and the location chosen.
*A NICS Home Office Placement Specialist can give specific details on which schools may require some financial support to supplement your salary.
Why do I need to know about raising support?
Even though NICS schools provide some level of salary, the salaries can differ significantly from school to school and some missionaries will find that they need to raise support in order to meet needs in country, or especially for travel, debt reduction or saving for retirement or unexpected expenses. Also, many NICS missionaries find that raising support helps them build a network or team that makes their ministry experience more rewarding and collaborative. Raising support also provides a greater opportunity to do ministry in country that the missionary might otherwise feel that they are unable to engage in due to lack of budget/funding.
What if I need to raise financial support?
Once a NICS missionary is hired by a school, the NICS Home Office will communicate the process of being “appointed” to serve as a missionary educator. This includes the completion of appointment documents (one of which is related to raising support funds). The Home Office Finance Department will issue a unique support account number to you which may then be used to communicate with potential donors for the purpose of raising support. Note: you may not begin the support raising process until you receive your account number and instructions from the Home Office.
If I need to raise support, will NICS process the donations?
Yes, NICS handles all receipting, tracking, and acknowledgment of donations for its missionaries from the time of their appointment throughout their entire time of service with the organization. A small administrative fee is deducted for expenses associated with this service. All support is deposited monthly into the missionary’s US bank account. All missionaries are required to have a US bank account in order to receive support. (Please note: NICS partners with an organization in Canada through which Canadian citizens are able to raise support. Please contact Jesse Newman at the NICS Home Office for more information.)
How do I get reimbursed from my support account?
Sometimes a Missionary will need to be reimbursed for expenses that come up prior to leaving for their field of service. When these needs arise, qualified reimbursements can be requested from the Finance Department at [email protected].
Are support donations tax deductible?
Due to NICS’ non-profit status, donations from US-based supporters that are sent through NICS are tax deductible. NICS is unable to provide tax donation letters to donors who are non-US citizens. For donations from non-US citizens, NICS missionaries should arrange to have support sent through an overseas church or other entity so that tax letters can be legally provided.
What about donations coming from a crowd-funding source like GoFundMe?
You may seek funding from these sources, but NICS will not be able to provide a donation letter for these funds because they are not being donated to NICS or to the school where you serve. You will need to clearly state to such donors that a tax donation letter will not be issued to them by NICS.