Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. is a corporation used by Jehovah's Witnesses which is responsible for administrative matters, such as real estate, especially within the United States. This corporation is typically cited as the publisher of Jehovah's Witnesses publications, though other publishers are sometimes cited. The corporation's stated purposes are: "Charitable, benevolent, scientific, historical, literary and religious purposes; the moral and mental improvement of men and women, the dissemination of Bible truths in various languages by means of the publication of tracts, pamphlets, papers and other religious documents, and for religious missionary work." In 2001,
Newsday listed the Watch Tower Society as one of
New York's forty richest corporations, with revenues exceeding $950 million. Originally known as the
Peoples Pulpit Association, the organization was incorporated in 1909 when the Society's principal offices moved to Brooklyn, New York. In 1939, it was renamed
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, Inc., and in 1956, the name was changed to
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. Until 2000, a member of the
Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses was president of both the
Watch Tower (Pennsylvania) and
Watchtower (New York) corporations, as well as Britain's International Bible Students Association corporation; in 2001, it was decided that the corporations' directors need not be members of the Governing Body. It filed for incorporation on August 21, 2000, in
New York State as a "
domestic non-profit corporation" in
Putnam County, New York. An incorporation record was also filed with the
State of Florida on March 3, 2006, as a "
foreign non-profit corporation" with an agency in
Collier County, Florida. As announced to congregations in January 2001, the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses is a corporation used by their United States branch committee, which oversees the preaching work of Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States,
Bermuda, and the
Turks and Caicos Islands. All branch committee members are appointed by and report to the
Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses. As with other agencies of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses may correspond directly with any circuit overseer, local
body of elders, or individual, or it may assign someone else to communicate on its behalf. Any of these persons or groups may function as an
agency acting at the explicit direction of the Governing Body.
Board of Directors • President: Allen E. Shuster • Vice-Presidents: Gary Breaux, Andrew Sciascia • Secretary-Treasurer: Mark Turner • Assistant Secretary-Treasurers: Keith Wolff, Richard L. Ashe, Jr., Thomas Jefferson, Jr.
Other US corporations Reorganization in 2000 resulted in the creation of several additional corporate entities to serve the needs of the United States branch of Jehovah's Witnesses. Since then, most written communication with congregations and individuals in the United States involves the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, Inc.; other corporations include: • ''Religious Order of Jehovah's Witnesses, New York'', incorporated in 2000 for the administration of full-time preaching activities. •
Kingdom Support Services, Inc., New York, incorporated in 2000 for construction and
fleet management. ==Corporations outside the United States==