Grace Church
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Bloomington, Minnesota
Grace Church Rides The Gravy Train
- Wowed by Grace Church but questions its community impact.
- The author says the tax subsidy costs Eden Prairie.
When my family and I walked into Grace Church, we could not help but be wowed and impressed.
Then I paused and asked the question, what does Grace Church actually contribute back to the community of Eden Prairie?
The answer ... very little.
As a nonprofit leader in Minnesota said: "Nonprofits have tax exemption for a reason -- they provide service to the community that lessens the burden on government. We are partners with government and the community".
Tax payers agree the purpose of tax exemption to nonprofits is to lessen the burden on government,. Nevertheless, charities and other nonprofits have become a hotbed of tax evasion and abuse, according to the head of the Internal Revenue Service.
An example of abuse is Mega churches using tax payer subsidized land grabs to ruin our communities resulting in a defunding of our schools.
Grace Church of Eden Prairie MN is one such clear example.
This 80 Million dollar state of the art facility sits on 62 acres and rivals any large shopping mall. Grace Church does not pay any form of taxes leaving the Eden Prairie community to pay for supporting infrastructure such as roads, utilities, sewer, fire, police and rescue.
As a result of Grace Church tax exempt status, consider the amount of lost property taxes which otherwise would benefit the City of Eden Prairie schools, libraries, community centers, parks & recreation, sanitation, and local infrastructure.
The average Eden Prairie MN housing density is 5 + homes per acre. Grace Church Eden Prairie sits on 62 acres which amounts to a potential of 310 homes and commercial buildings being removed from the property tax role. Now multiply 310 home owners paying $3800 in annual property taxes which equals $1,178,000.
Over the last 10 years this tax payer subsidy cost the City of Eden Prairie and shorted tax payers out of $11,178,000. This tax subsidy is being passed on in the form of increased property tax burden on financially stressed Eden Prairie families and businesses.
Does this seem right, just or even sane?
I am a huge advocate of nonprofits that actually share the burden of government such as hospitals, homeless shelters and organizations that return an equitable amount of services back into their local communities.
However, I do not believe Grace Church and others like it return anything close to $11,178,000 back to the local community of Eden Prairie MN.
While many of the initiatives by Grace Church benefits its members, it does not mean these benefits should be subsidized by increased burden of property taxes imposed on all faiths, ethnic cultures, families and businesses of Eden Prairie MN.
Local tax payers agree and demand the city of Eden Prairie MN requires churches pay for supporting their real costs to the city in the form of a progressive property tax, or PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes). Many communities across the country are successfully developing a plan to impose PILOT fees to recover the cost of inequitable tax exemptions from large wealthy churches and nonprofits that take more than they give back to the local community.
In a time of economic crises where Americans are forced to move from their homes due to the inability to pay real estate taxes, churches should not be allowed to remove valuable tracts of prime real estate from the tax rolls, cause increased tax burden on local families and businesses and continue to ride the "no taxes" gravy train.
Call your state and local government representatives to stop this unfair inequitable tax subsidy that hurts local communities, families and businesses.
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You forget that all the members work and pay taxes.
Your posting is ignorant and irrelevant. Grace Church collects over $15 million in revenue and returns crumbs back to the community.
This church demands ten percent plus gifts and other offerings from attendees income. Where does almost all of it go you ask? It goes for salaries and buildings.
Mission offerings go for even more salaries and buildings. Taking a gaggle of elderly ladies down town to stock a food pantry is good work, but falls short of being a responsible non profit organization.
I'm NOT a church going person at all- and i have never even visited this church...
BUT what I do know is that they save lives. I've heard stories of neighbors who were in the process of divorce- and that church reached out to them and literally saved their marriage.
How? by meeting needs, concrete children service, healthy living education.
This couple they "saved" did they happen to live in Bear Path??
Life giving?
More like blood sucking vampires.
How sad!
Atheist.
Grace Church gives back to the surrounding communities and around the world way more than they are tax exempt.
BS!!
Sounds like a cult church operating in Fort Pierce , FL where all the money goes straight into the pastor's pocket.
Life Giving Church?
More like blood sucking vampires.
I'm not a member of Grace Church, but I'm there every Tuesday evening for my son's civil air patrol meeting, CAP is the civilian auxiliary of the US Airforce. Our CAP group (Viking Squadron) utilizes this wonderful facility free of charge for meetings, drills, search & rescue training, and other events as part of Grace's community outreach. We are very grateful as the space we are given to use more than adequately meets our needs and does not cost CAP or taxpayers a dime for rental.
The amount of funding returned to support local programs is paltry.
When the Bible refers to the "Great *** Of Babylon" is it talking about todays churches?
Mmmmmmmmmmm???
Churches have no shame. What an embarrassment! !!
Because???
Read the thread.
We did, and still because?
Obviously you have a beef with this church as there are several large churches in EP and you don't mention them and quite frankly your argument would apply to ALL tax exempt non-profits taking up so-called valuable real estate that could be used for tax paying purposes. It's also obvious you've never been to Grace or any other church, if so you would see what and how Grace and others benefit the local community other means.
The facility itself hosts many faith based and secular functions that bring thousands of people to EP that shop and dine at EP merchants(restaurants, shopping, hotels etc.). The church has many outreach programs whereby church members volunteer their time to go out into the community and offer assistance to the elderly, low income, food banks etc.
And finally Grace Church because of it's location has brought people to EP to live and buy those homes you speak so fondly of and pay property taxes and many of the members are business owners in EP that employ EP residents and also pay taxes. Then there's the whole separation of Church and state thing I won't even get into.
I agree with the poster "Grace Church Rides The Gravy Train".
Very few Eden Prairie residence have specifically purchased a home due to the aura given off by Grace Church. In fact, a number of the church staff and pastors do not live in Eden Prairie.
Those "many secular and faith based functions" have paid large facility fees and thousands have paid the price of admission to attend those events. Those events are not FREE as you imply. However, events and ticket sales are a major source of revenue.
Top rated charities rated by Charity Watch generally spend 75% or more of their budgets on programs, spend $25 or less to raise $100 in public support, do not hold excessive assets in reserve, have met Charity Watch's governance benchmarks, and receive "open-book" status for disclosure of financial information and documents to Charity Watch.
Generally, churches are the direct opposite, spending most income on facilities and salaries and return comparatively little of income on programs in public support.
Churches have turned into "big business" money machines. They are more interested in "closing the deal" on raising money.
They are much more like country clubs which benefit attendees and not the public interest.
Non Profits must be means tested, abusers need to be ferretted out and their tax exempt status cancelled. I am all for free enterprise, but NOT with tax free income.