Kingdom Halls are built without windows to reduce the risk of property damage. In 2015 it was announced to elders in the United States that new Kingdom Halls worldwide would all be based on one of three similar design plans, depending on the required size. Regional Building Committees Jehovah's Witnesses' branch offices formerly appointed local Regional Building Committees (RBC) to oversee the construction and maintenance of their places of worship. Such committees - which usually consisted of five to seven persons, often with experience in construction trades - aimed to coordinate the efforts of those involved so as to provide attractive and functional facilities that are financially viable. RBCs cooperated with local congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses seeking to build or renovate a place of worship, under the direction of the local branch office. Committees helped in assessing the suitability of a possible construction-site, purchasing the land and materials and coordinating the efforts of volunteers from the wider area. Members of a Regional Building Committee worked voluntarily and received no remuneration for their work. On Saturday, January 31, 2015, in a special meeting with all elders in the United States via live video-feed, it was announced that Regional Building Committees would be replaced by Local Design/Construction Department of the branch office, but with a more defined organizational structure. Funding In 1983, an arrangement was instituted whereby loans from the Watch Tower Society financed Kingdom Halls. In addition to contribution boxes for local congregation expenses and "the worldwide work", each congregation had a contribution box specifically for voluntary donations toward Kingdom-Hall construction. The Watch Tower Society pooled these donations into the Society Kingdom Hall Fund for financing the construction of Kingdom Halls worldwide, particularly in developing nations. When a congregation received local approval to build a new Kingdom Hall, that congregation could apply for a loan from the Society Kingdom Hall Fund. The congregation repaid the loan to the Watch Tower Society, in addition to its continued contributions to the Kingdom Hall Fund. Interest was charged on the loans until September 2008. The way Kingdom Halls are funded changed significantly in 2014. The provision of Kingdom Hall loans from the Society ceased, as did the separate Society Kingdom Hall Fund. Instead, all congregations were directed to contribute an ongoing amount to the branch office each month, in addition to donations for other purposes, into a single World Wide Work fund, and the