Special Message from Bishop Barry
Bishop's Partnership Appeal 2017
 

D ear Friends in Christ,
 
Grace and peace to you!
 
I am writing to invite you to join the 2017 Bishop's Partnership Appeal. This Partnership is a collaborative year-end fundraising process that is designed to directly support the congregations and institutions of our Diocese.
At its core, the Partnership I speak of is between the Board of Trustees of the Diocese and the Episcopal Foundation of Northern California (EFNC). These two partners do the work and bear the expense of the Appeal. But all congregations are invited to benefit from the Appeal.

Over the past four years, several congregations in our Diocese have signed up to receive such benefits: Last year, as a result of the efforts of this Partnership, I was able to sign and send checks to 22 different congregations and ministries of our Diocese.

Last year, donations received from the Appeal totaled $26,907.27, all of which went to its designated recipients. This year, I hope that we can continue to draw a larger circle, to add more pa rticipants, and to reach out and help even more ministries in their effort to do Christ's mission.

The fact is that about one third of all charitable contributions given in the U.S. are received between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. Yet, it seems that the majority of our congregations do not give our members sufficient opportunity to choose the Church as recipient of their year-end giving. We are trying to change this. I believe we can do more to empower the generosity of our people and we can be better ministers of the great joy of giving.

In partnership, we become a stronger Church. We give more of our members the opportunity to support their Church, and we become better stewards of our resources by doing this work together. I urge you to join us.

Yours in Christ,

Bishop's Signature
***

To join the 2017 Bishop's Partnership, please:
  • Confirm by email that you would like to join the Bishop's Partnership by July 26, 2017 to [email protected]. 
  • Submit your mailing list by August 14, 2017 - Excel documents are strongly preferred.
  • By August 14, 2017, submit a brief description of your church, program or ministry for the remittance form (30 words or less. We reserve the right to edit down descriptions due to space.)
  • In early December, please promote this effort with your local congregation in your newsletters, announcements and bulletins. Please let people know a mailing from the Bishop is being sent, and ask them to support this effort.
We provide the following support:
  • The Foundation and Office of the Bishop Staff will provide support staff, letters, paper, copies, envelopes, brochures, the remittance form (with your name included), labeling, bulletin inserts, postage and mailing.
  • Our team will do the accounting and write the thank you letters.
  • Our team will mail a check to you for your designated donations, with a full list of your donors (including name, address and amount).
This year-end campaign closes on  January 31, 2018. The Office of the Bishop will send you checks by late-February for all donations received by that date. All donations received after January 31 are processed on a monthly basis.

We look forward to joining together in this beneficial partnership!

               

THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
  Making Disciples, Raising Up Saints & Transforming Communities for Christ