Do Jehovah's Witnesses have membership fees or how are they funded? I was given an invite to a convention by Jehovah's Witnesses. It says on the bottom "FREE ADMISSION" and "NO COLLECTIONS TAKEN" and the couple who gave it to me had mentioned that there are quite a few conventions around USA.

Considering the cost of renting the convention sites, and what other costs there may be, I got curious on how their meetings are funded. The questions I would like to ask:


Do Jehovah's Witnesses do collections in any other meetings, or have
they ever done so in the past?
Do they have membership fees or other automatic/mandatory fees (such
as mandatory purchase of books or study material), or have they have
such in the past?


I would prefer an answer from a Jehovah's Witness.
I'm one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Jehovah's Witnesses have always been financed by voluntary, anonymous donations. All speakers and those in the ministry work are unpaid. They find that soliciting money is a major cause of corruption in churches, and have made it a theological point to let people make their donations a matter of personal choice.


  Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. —2 Corinthians 9:7


At Kingdom Hall meetings, there are two donation boxes in the rear of the hall which people may choose to put money in. One box is for paying for local congregation expenses (such as electricity and water bills), and the other box is for contributing to worldwide expenses (such as for printing literature, Kingdom Hall construction work, or branch office expenses). The congregation is kept informed about local expenses and account balances, but donations are never solicited or mandatory. People can also donate online at jw.org.

At conventions, there are usually contribution boxes here and there in the concourse areas. At least in the United States, there is usually also at least one contribution box that also has a credit/debit card reader beside it. The convention expenses are paid for by worldwide donations.

For more information on  and the history of how Jehovah's Witnesses have handled monetary matters, there's Chapter 18 - How Kingdom Activities Are Financed from one of the more recently released books, God's Kingdom Rules.

There's also the FAQ: How Is the Work of Jehovah’s Witnesses Financed?