Your gift furthers growth in ministry by supporting training, sending, and serving of long-term workers as well as other daily operating costs!
YWAM is 100% donor-supported and relies on the gifts of people like you to fund ministry. You are a part of fulfilling the Great Commission alongside Melinda and Youth With A Mission. Thank you for your financial contributions as all donations go directly to support Melinda, who is teaching students and training staff in nations all over the world.
Youth With A Mission(YWAM) is a Section 501 (c)(3) organization. All gifts given through YWAM are tax deductible as charitable contributions for federal and state income tax purposes. Under U.S. tax law, YWAM has discretion over the use of all donated funds. Remember to state clearly that they are marked for Melinda Merz. Other donations given through the internet or donated directly to Melinda will not be tax-deductible. Please see the directions below each method of giving.
Tax-Deductible Options
USA Tax Residents only
Checks: Please make the check payable to YWAM and put an additional note in the envelope that it is for Melinda Merz. 

For tax-deduction reasons - Please do not put my name in the memo section or anywhere on the check.
 Send the check to: YWAM Accounting • 
PO Box 3000 • Garden Valley, 
Texas • 75771-3000 • USA
, YWAM will send you a tax receipt.
Cash: Cash can be sent directly to the above address with a note stating that it is for Melinda Merz.

 If you have any questions you can call YWAM Accounting at +1(903) 882-5591 or email: accounting@ywamtyler.org, YWAM will send you a tax receipt.
Credit Card: To use a credit card for tax-deductible purposes, call and speak with Ywam Accounts at YWAM Tyler, USA on: +1 (903) 882-5591 - please state that the donation is for Melinda Merz. YWAM will send you a tax receipt.
Re-Occuring Donations:
YWAM has an Automatic Bank withdrawal option. To set this up directly - call the accounts ministry, YWAM at: +1 (903) 882-5591 and have your donation directly withdrawn from your checking or saving on a monthly or otherwise basis, without having to write a physical check. They will send you receipts for each donation and this is also tax-deductible.
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Caterpillar: IF You are an employee or retired from Caterpillar- If you donate directly to YWAM, you can also apply for Caterpillar to match any donations up to $10,000/year. This is tax-deductible. Other companies might have matching programs.
Non-Tax Options
There are a variety of ways to donate directly. Donors may give in various non-tax deductible ways. Any donor that does NOT require a tax-deductible receipt may give any of these ways no matter where you are from. I can receive funds directly through a personal check, cash, PayPal (see below) or Wise (formerly Transferwise).
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VIA this website: Fill out the form to the right ---->
Direct Transfer or Deposit: Many banks will allow you to directly transfer funds from your account to another bank with ACH transactions. In order to transfer to my bank you will need: My bank name, routing number, account number and my name and address. I will gladly provide that information to you. Please click here to connect directly to me:
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Donate via Paypal
Donate via Wise
Send money in following these steps:
1. Log into your Wise account
2. Click the Send Money button
3. Choose the account you wish to send from and how much
4. Choose the recipient - enter my email address
5. Review and approve the transaction.
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Success - Done!
Retirement Fund
For a while now, I have worked hard to faithfully steward finances and recently I started planning for life after missions. I don’t have any plans on retiring anytime soon but it is crucial and important to plan ahead. My life as a missionary is so rewarding and comes with many blessings, but it also comes with long-term planning challenges. As a full-time, self-funded missionary, 100% of my finances currently go towards immediate field work. As a US citizen, I am classified as self-employed. I do not earn any money in their eyes and as such, in the future I will not be able to receive Social Security, as I do not have income that pays into that system. Additionally, I am also not able to have or invest into my own retirement account such as an IRA or a Roth IRA or 401K. Additionally, YWAM does not provide any services related to this.
As such, I feel it is important for me to try to begin to set aside some savings for my future. I have set up an investment account with a local financial planning firm, the Waite Financial Group. The financial planner that is helping me has donated her time to advise me and any others wanting to help me in this process. She has provided me with some additional information on how all of my donors can give in different ways to help me plan for a long-term future after my work as a missionary is complete. My aim is to meet the same amount that I would be able to put into a IRA at $6,500 a year or $542 monthly. Once it is appropriate and I am ready to retire, I can change it into an annuity at a later time.
The following ways of donation refer to both taxable and non-taxable. Anyone can contribute to this ‘retirement’ fund in the same standard ways of tax deductions and non-taxable giving (as mentioned above) and note that it is specifically to be used for retirement.
Ways to give towards this new fund:
Tax-Deductible
If You itemize your taxes and appreciate the tax deduction that you get from giving- you can give directly to YWAM to continue to get the tax deduction for your generosity. Nothing has change here, however, earmark the funds for ‘retirement’
If You are taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from a retirement account- you can give up to $100,000 each year directly to any charity (YWAM included) and save having to pay income taxes on the funds distributed through a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). Talk to your financial advisor about how to do this if it interests you or contact Anne (details below).
If You have a Donor Advised Fund (DAF)- While you were still working, you donated cash or appreciated stock to a Donor Advised Fund (DAF). You received the tax deduction in the year you made the donation, but now you can use those funds to donate directly to YWAM. If you are a Cat employee or retiree, you can apply for the Caterpillar match in the year you make the donation to the charity, doubling your impact!
Note: IF You are an employee or retired from Caterpillar- If you donate directly to YWAM, you can also apply for Caterpillar to match any donations up to $10,000/year. This is tax-deductible.
Non Tax-Deductible
If you don’t itemize your taxes and just take the standard deduction- more of the funds you give toward retirement will come directly to me, if you give directly to me. You are allowed to give up to $17,000 that is exempt from taxes in 2023 that you can gift to any one person (either relative or non-relative). By depositing it directly into my bank account you help me avoid the processing fees that YWAM charges (up to 10% in some cases). I can then have however much you choose transferred to my investment account to go towards saving for my retirement. If you would prefer, it can be directly given to the investment planning firm and they can put it into my retirement account. This is considered a gift and is not tax deductible or eligible for the Caterpillar match. Please communicate with me about how to do this or reach out to Anne (contact details below).
Finally, If you aren’t sure what the best way for you to give may be, feel free to reach out to the financial planner that is helping me, Anne Schutt, CFP® at Waite Financial Group. Her email is anne.e.schutt@nm.com and her phone number is 309-216-4887. She has graciously donated her time and knowledge towards my future. She would be happy to help you consider best options may for you.
Get in touch!
I'd love to hear from you. Please feel free to reach out. Do you have questions about ministry? Would you like me to speak at your church? Do you need help with figuring out how to donate, send me a message.