The economy has seen better days, to say the least. We know that folks really want to attend our festivals, but coming up with a lump sum isn’t always easy. Sure, you know a year in advance that the festival is coming, but something always seems to come up—the furnace goes out, tonsils need pulling, stitches, car repairs, you name it—that wipes out the money you’ve set aside. With this in mind, the ATC has set up a savings account specifically to help you set aside money for the festivals. A brand new account—Festival Savings—has been opened. Here’s how it works.

Contact the church at 360-793-1945. Ask about the savings plan. We’ll tell you first off that it’s really easy and everyone is eligible to participate. You simply send a check or money order to the church written out to ATC-Festival Plan. This money will be deposited into the new account and your name and the amount you paid (plus method of payment and check number and stuff like that) will be entered into a brand new ledger. After that, we can on request,  send you an email occasionally confirming receipt and deposit of your payments from time to time, including your balance. You can pay as much as you wish into the plan, but regular monthly or bi-weekly payments work best and are easier to remember. Since you’ll only receive a statement when you ask for one, you’ll know whether or not you have enough to attend the festival. We know that you have questions, so we’ll try to answer as many as we can. Check out our FAQ section below. If you want more information, please talk to the ATC Business Manager!

Festival Savings Plan FAQs

· Can I use PayPal to make my payment? Yes. You can use PayPal, but there’s a catch to it. When  a payment is made by you to your FSP account, a fee will be deducted by PayPal, UNLESS you check the “Payment Owed” box on the PayPal website form each time you send a payment. For example, a  payment of $75.00 (from the continental U.S.) is reduced by a minimum fee of $2.48. This means that your FSP account receives only $72.52. What does that mean to you? It means that only $72.52 is deposited into your festival account. So when you use PayPal, be sure to check the “Payment Owed” box to get full credit. Also, if you’re using this option, please note who and what the payment is for (Jane Doe, F.S.P.). Too many times payments come through PayPal without any indication as to what it’s for. The sender is listed, but the sender is not necessarily the person for whom the payment is to be applied. Please use atcadmin@aquatabch.org for PayPal payments.

· Can I use a credit card? Yes and No. There are only two ways that you can use your credit card:  1) if you do not have a PayPal account and you wish to use your credit or debit card online through PayPal; 2) if you want to pay your festival registration fee in a lump sum directly through the church.  We don’t have the manpower to handle manual  recurring credit card payments outside of PayPal.

· Can I make a cash payment? Yes. But only at the church, and only if you give the money directly to the ATC Business Manager. When making a cash payment you must receive a receipt for the cash. By giving cash payments to only one person, we can be sure that this gets done each time.

· Can I set-up a direct deposit? No. I talked to the bank about that. If you do, there is no way for the church to track who has made the deposit as we won’t have copies of a check or a money order. At this time, we don’t know if employers have a way to send us a notice of direct deposit by an individual, and banks currently image checks written on the account, not paid to an account.

· Are there any other payment options? Yes. You can set your payment up through your bank using the Automatic Bill Pay option. This option sends the church a check for an  amount that  you specify directly from your account in intervals that fit your pay schedule. This is probably the easiest option we have.

· What if I can’t attend a festival after all? Should you cancel, there will be a 15% fee subtracted from your savings plan balance to cover administrative fees. Example: If HSF is $125 and you have saved enough to the cover cost of registration and you cancel, the 15% fee of $18.75 will be subtracted from your balance. No PayPal or credit card fees are refunded.

· What is your overall refund policy for festivals? Depending on when you registered, you could receive an 85% refund, a 50% refund, or no refund. This policy will still be in effect for those people paying in lump sums. However, folks using the F.S.P. will receive a refund of 85% of the fee up until 14 days prior to the festival. After that, there is no refund available. As before, no-shows to the festival forfeit all fees. There are overhead costs involved that we still have to pay whether you show up or not.

· Can I use this money for my membership or other events? No. You can use the money only to cover the cost of Hekate’s Sickle and Spring Mysteries. We have to keep the F.S.P. account separate in order to keep accurate records.

· What happens to the interest? The interest earned on the account goes towards the building fund and maintenance of the church and grounds.

· Is there any minimum amount I have to pay every month? No, but in order to cover festival fees we suggest a minimum of $15 every two weeks per person. If you put in $15 every two weeks, you will have accumulated $390 over the course of the year. That covers both festivals at the current rates for one person and leaves you a bit of leeway. We try to keep the fees as low as we can. However, with the rising cost of the site and food, there will be increases from time to time. The buffer you build can help cover inevitable increases in fees.    At this time, we don’t have the plan set up for you to pay for more than one person at a time.  However, we’re working on it, so check back with us from time to time.

· Will you send me a payment reminder every month? No. We don’t have the work force to send out reminders. However, you will receive a coupon book (should you request one) to help you keep track of your payments. Any statements requested will list payments made, registration or retreat fees subtracted, and balance forward.  If you choose the recurring payment feature through PayPal (remember, they deduct a fee unless you always use the “Payment Owed” option) or the Automatic Bill Pay through your bank, your payments are automatically subtracted from your account, so there’s no need for a reminder from the church.

· What if I move away? That’s up to you. You can withdraw the funds, less the 15% administrative fees. However, wouldn’t it be nice to know that, even though you’ve moved away, that money is still there for you for your festival registration?

Try as we may, we can’t think of all the questions that folks might have.  Not to worry!  Just give us a call at the church at 360-793-1945.  The office is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9:00am to 7:00pm.