by 
Alatea
ANSWERS: 3
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When I was on a Mission in 1978 (in South Africa) the money was sent directly to each missionary. This meant that some missionaries needed a lot less money then a missionary in a place like Japan. Nowdays, inorder to make it the same payment for everyone, (today it is 400$) the Money is sent to the church headquarters and they send each missionary what is needed for the area where he or she serves. (My oldest daughter is in Romania) this fixed amount takes all the suprises out of budgeting.
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This was done to streamline payments to missionaries and for federal tax purposes as well. When the payment was sent directly to each missionary, at times it was difficult to assure the receipt of the money depending on where the missionary was. Also, a missionary is encouraged to save for his or her own mission. That was difficult before the current arrangement when the prospective missionary had no idea where he or she was going and how much it would cost. Also, the family could not receive any tax benefit in the form of a charitable deduction since the money was sent directly to a person, not a charitable orgainization. Under the current payment process, the payment is sent to the church (which is a qualified charitable organization) to distribute. This not only streamlines payment, but allows the family to receive the tax benefit.
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