Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Nation's Banking Crisis Hits AOCCCI

We have all heard about the banking crises in our nation. Big banks have had to be bailed out. Smaller banks have been taken over by the FDIC and turned over to more profitable banks. I never thought the banking crisis would affect me personally, but it now has.

I didn’t think I would be affected by a bank closer because my personal finances are with a small credit union. Credit Unions are different then banks in that the members of a credit union are the owners. Every year I get a ballot in the mail so I can vote for next year’s trustees. Though there are many similarities between banks and credit unions, there are differences. And a major difference is credit unions are less likely to fail because some idiot or idiots are in charge.

I am not just responsible for my own finances though. I also manage the finances of Alpha Omega Christian Communities For The Chemically Injured (AOCCCI). This is not a job I want to keep and have been praying for years that God will send me a bookkeeper or accountant, but so far that prayer has not been answered.

Years ago I opened a Non-Profit checking account at Guaranty Bank here in San Antonio. It was the best deal at the time. Most business checking accounts come with lots of fees. The non-profit checking account has much lower fees and none if a balance of $200 (at the time) was kept. A really good deal.

I first heard that Guaranty Bank was having problems last month when it was mentioned on the news that the bank was looking for a buyer. Well, over the weekend BBVA Compass Bank. The only thing I know about Compass bank is they have branches around the city. I did look at their web site and do not see any special checking accounts for non-profits. Hopefully they will honor the terms of the non-profit account. If they do not, well I will deal with that issue when it arrives.

If you subscribe to Healing God’s Way, AOCCCI’s free online newsletter, you should have received a newsletter last week in your email box. If you did not, please let me know. I know one person did not because it bounced. Fortunately I am in contact with this person and have her current email address. So I was able to go correct the address in the newsletter mailing list. But most folks who change their email address I never hear from again. If your email becomes no good, and you do nothing about it, you will stop receiving Healing God’s Way. Please let me know you are changing your email address if and I can make a change to the mailing list. Or at the bottom of the newsletter is a link that will allow you to make the change yourself.

If you are not receiving Healing God’s Way, you can sign up on the web site. It is free.

I never did solve the problem I am having but I did figure out the problem is with a specific template. So I started over in developing a new template. Not happy with what I created last week but I got a newsletter out, which was most important to me.

Update on my car shopping. I have test drove a few vehicles and am close to making my decision. I have been praying a lot about what exactly God wants me to buy. I expect to buy something in September.