Money for Mission - Issue 19 - Finance Update for Clergy, Church Treasurers and Fundraisers

Money For Mission

News From The

Stewardship and Income Generation and Finance Teams

In This Issue

What's On ✝ Parish Share Requests ✝ Dates

The PGS ✝ Treasurer Briefings ✝ Building a Generous Church ✝

Online Giving ✝ Call for Accounting Support ✝

Grants from Ecclesiastical ✝ Free Covid Cash Recovery Course ✝ EasyFundraising ✝ Who's Who

What's On

Wednesday 25th November - Parish Share Explained - 12noon and 6pm

Monday 30th November - Treasurer Briefings - 12noon and 6pm

Parish Share Requests

Parish Share requests were delivered electronically for the first time this year to over 900 Clergy and Treasurers at 451 parishes.

Delivering the requests electronically has saved several thousands of pounds in postage and printing costs and we hope you found the email format informative as well as accessible.

Thank you to everyone who completed the parish feedback questionnaire, the link for which was given at the bottom of the request. At the time of writing, 65 parishes out of our 451 had completed the questions. We need you to complete the feedback so that we know the share request has been received and the information will allow us to plan for the year and ensure you are better supported. The questions take no longer than 10 minutes to complete and ask how much Share you estimate being able to pay in 2021 and the type of support you need to run your church finances.

To access the Parish Feedback Questionnaire please click here.

The questionnaire will remain open until 31st December.

We are also running hour-long webinars to explain the Diocesan budget, your Parish Share calculation and how the Diocese spend Parish Share. The next one is on Wednesday 25th November at 12noon and 6pm.

Join Parish Share Explained Webinar Code 877505

Dates

2020 Parochial Fee forms, expense claims and invoices

Please send 2020 Parochial Fee forms, expense claims and invoices for payment to the finance team as soon as possible, and no later than 14^th December 2020, thank you. The last payment run in 2020 will be on 18^th December and we will not be able to make payments in the first week of 2020.

Could you please ensure all expense claims are appropriately coded and authorised.

Share Payments

2020 share payments should reach the Diocese by Friday 8th January in order to be shown on your account for 2020. Also, please ensure that any share payments for 2021 are clearly noted as being for 2021 to avoid confusion.

If you have any queries, you can contact the Finance Team finance@leeds.anglican.org

There Has Never Been A Better Time to Join the Parish Giving Scheme!

The popularity of the Parish Giving Scheme continues to grow across the Diocese as more parishes recognise how the scheme can help to strengthen their financial resilience during these challenging times.

Increased levels of giving and regularity of income are just two of the important benefits that are being enjoyed by parishes that have already joined the scheme. Watch the short PGS video stories, prepared by some of our treasurers, to hear their PGS experiences first hand by visiting https://www.leeds.anglican.org/video-gallery

Following a national pilot, involving 5 Church of England Dioceses including the Diocese of Leeds, the PGS are preparing to launch their Donor Account Management service. This new service, which compliments the more traditional paper gift forms and recently launched dedicated telephone line, will allow donors the ability to set up their own giving account online and then manage it at their convenience. The new service is due to be launched nationally in phases with Leeds Diocese being one of the first 5 Dioceses to enjoy the service before the end of December.

Check https://www.leeds.anglican.org/pgs/2 for latest news on when the new service will become available.

Treasurer Briefings

If you missed these briefings last month you now have another opportunity to join Stewardship officer, Janet Edmond, to discover some key tasks you can undertake now to help maximise income for your church. Heard about online giving, contactless giving, donate buttons, the PGS etc but not quite sure how to set them up for your church?

Come along to one of these special treasurers’ webinars at 12pm or 6pm on Monday 30^th November to find out how to get to grips with such essentials for your church. This is not a webinar to discuss the intricacies of Parish Share calculations but it is an opportunity to find out what else you can do to help grow your church income and strengthen your financial resilience

For more information about the briefings please email janet.edmond@leeds.anglican.org

Join Treasurers' Briefing 12noon 30th November Code 742003

Join Treasurers' Briefing 6pm 30th November Code 746865

Building a Generous Church

Generosity is at the heart of our faith, we believe in a generous God and our own generosity is a testament and hallmark of our faith in action. The ministry and mission of The Church of England is largely funded through the incredible generosity of those who give to it.

Brand new resources, guidance and inspiration for encouraging giving to your church and for growing generosity within your church has been launched by the Church of England online. Find out more here.

Online Giving and Generosity

Three ways to grow church giving this Christmas | The...

Ideas to allow the people of our parishes and faith communities to turn virtual presence into real giving.

Read more
www.churchofengland.org

New research is emerging that suggests that 50% of church-goers already give online but only 14% give online to their church. We have already seen many churches adding online giving as an additional way to receive donations.

Is your church giving people the opportunity to give online?

How to set up an online giving account using SumUp | The ...

Online giving enables people to give to your church through the internet without having to visit your church building. It is simple to set up an online giving account, and once you have set up your account you will be able to link it to your...

Read more
www.churchofengland.org

Encouraging Online Giving | The Church of England

"I owe you more than my whole self, but I have no more, and by myself, I cannot render the whole of it to you." St Anselm We need to communicate the impact of giving and what we are doing with the money that people donate...

Read more
www.churchofengland.org

Call for Accounting Support

Are you someone or do you know someone who would provide accounting support to parishes either for free, expenses or full paid basis? Services could range from regular bookkeeping to annual accounts preparation and independent examination services.

Please do get in touch with philip.deane@leeds.anglican.org if you can help or if you would like to make a recommendation.

Grants from Ecclesiastical

Ecclesiastical are delighted to announce that nominations are now open in their annual 12 days of giving.

Designed to give eligible charities and churches in the UK and Republic of Ireland the financial assistance they need to help them make a real difference, they are donating £1,000 to 10 charities each weekday from 7 – 22 December. That’s £120,000 to 120 charities over 12 days.

Churches are eligible to apply even as exempt charities and anyone can make nominations. Multiple nominations can be made for the same church, so why not publicise these awards to your congregation and ask them to make a nomination for you.

Visit https://www.movementforgood.com/12days/

Free Covid Cash Recovery Course

COVID Cash Recovery (CCR) is a free online course which up-skills churches, community leaders, and organisations to provide key information and resources, to help their communities cope with money issues that have developed as we continue through the pandemic.

Run by the Just Finance Foundation this 2 hour course will train you to help others through giving accurate information and signposting.

Find out more from the Just Finance Foundation.

EasyFundraising is a way of raising free funds for your church and now offers a way of receiving monetary donations:

1. Join

2. Shop

When your congregation shops online, they go to the easyfundraising website or app first...

3. Collect

When they buy something, the retailer they shop with sends your Church a free donation at no extra cost!

With the big shopping season just around the corner why not explore the benefits using this special link for our Diocese: https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/diocese-of-leeds