ish ing eme Donor Guide All you need to know about the Parish Giving Scheme, allowing you to raise money to support your local Church.

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1 ish ing eme Donor Guide All you need to know about the Parish Giving Scheme, allowing you to raise money to support your local Church.

2 A message from Bishop Pete First let me say a big thank you for taking the time to consider signing-up to the Parish Giving Scheme to give financially to your parish. I am very excited about the new opportunities it offers us as Christians to share in the extravagant generosity that God has first shown us. It is a scheme that has been trialled successfully in over half of the Dioceses across the country, and is now being introduced in many more. PGS is serving thousands of parishes, enabling them to securely and reliably raise funds through the generous donations of committed individuals, like yourself, who want to support the love and hope of Jesus Christ shown in the work of local churches. The Parish Giving Scheme has been designed to be simple and effective, and having signed up for myself I can attest to how easy it is to use. I want to encourage you carefully to consider how you can support the mission and ministry of your local church by donating flexibly and securely through the Parish Giving Scheme. Through this donation you will be supporting your church to help those around us to experience the overflowing generosity that is found in Jesus Christ. In my travels around the Diocese I have seen first-hand this generosity in action in our church buildings, our parish centres, our foodbanks, our schools, and other places of encounter and activity. Indeed everywhere I have been, I have been heartened to see the people of God at work, in the service of Jesus Christ. It is this faithful service that this new scheme will help us to develop. The Parish Giving Scheme offers us a unique opportunity to secure our work for the future, and I encourage you to sign-up and donate generously to your Church.

3 What is PGS? The Parish Giving Scheme is a new, free resource to help you give financially to your local church, to maintain current mission and ministry and to enable new ways of sharing the love of God. Tried and tested by more than 24,000 people in over half of dioceses, the Parish Giving Scheme will enable our churches to have sustained, regular funding, whilst significantly reducing the administration time for treasurers and Gift Aid secretaries as Gift Aid is automatically claimed from HMRC. The Parish Giving Scheme utilises the Direct Debit payment system, meaning it is the most secure and flexible method of regular giving available. You will be in complete control of your donations, and you can easily modify, pause, or stop whenever you like, by sending a letter, making a phone call, or registering online. It is simple and easy to use. All you need to do to sign-up is fill in the form and post it using the pre-paid envelope, both of which you ll find in this pack. Why Sign-up? The Church of England offers a Christian presence in every community, seeking to be at the heart of all our cities, towns, and villages; by serving our communites; by sharing our faith and values; by worshipping together and by our wonderful buildings. This valuable contribution to our community has a cost, which is largely met by personal donations. For the Church to survive and flourish, we rely on regular donations so that we can plan confidently for our future. Money often dominates too many agendas in our Church. We need to tackle this problem head-on, so that we can move forward with confidence. Successfully addressing the Church s need to receive realistic, long term giving from committeed Christians is a fundamental part of developing a thriving, outward looking church.

4 Benefits of PGS Benefits for you: A simple way to regularly give financial support to your church Being in total control of your giving The option to increase giving annually to protect your gift against inflation The Direct Debit Guarantee Scheme protects your gifts You can give anonymously if so desired Can give monthly, quarterly or annually Benefits for your Church: Stable and predictable giving making it easier to budget for the year ahead Efficient reclaim of Gift Aid Protection against inflation by church members choosing to increase their gift annually by inflation rate. Benefits for your Treasurer: Reduced administration and paperwork Saves time for them and the people who count the money How does it work? PGS has been designed to make giving as simple as possible. You have received this pack because your Parish has already signed-up to PGS, and you are invited to make your gift through this scheme. All you have to do is fill in the Direct Debit form in this pack, ensuring that you fill in your Gift Aid details if you are eligible. Once you ve completed the sign-up form, post it back to PGS using the pre-paid envelope provided. You will then receive a confirmation letter within five working days which states when your donations will begin. Your donations will then be transfered to your Church each month, with the pattern of payment illustrated on the following page. If you ever want to change your details or your donation, you can contact PGS. PGS are available by post, phone, or online, and they will make any change requests. No visiting your bank, no awkward conversations with the treasurer, just a simple exchange with the friendly team based in Gloucester.

5 PGS in Summary Processes giving to your Church monthly, quarterly, or annually Collects your donations regularly and efficiently Claims any Gift Aid entitlement to add to your donation Uses Direct Debits to securely and flexibly manage your donation Pays your gift into the Church account by the 10th of the month Pays your Gift Aid into the Church account once it s received from HMRC Keeps you informed of any changes to your donation Allows you to increase your donation annually with inflation automatically

6 How much should I give? Giving is essential to secure our Church s future ability to serve our communities. Giving is not just a duty to ensure that our church life continues, it is also an integral part of our worship. Being financially generous is central to the calling on our lives as followers of Christ. By setting up a regular donation we are following in the footsteps of generations of Christians by offering our First Fruits to God. Acknowledging the importance of our worship and trust in God through financial donation by placing it as the first payment out of our account, in preference to what is left at the end of the month. The Church of England encourages committed Churchgoers to give 10% of their income to good causes, a practice based on the Biblical principle of tithing. It is suggested that of this 10%, half is offered as a gift to your Church. This level of giving would ensure not only a secure future for the Church but enable real growth in mission and outreach. Example of Tithing The following is based on an annual wage of 24,000 which is the average wage in South Yorkshire. Annual Wage = 24,000 Monthly Take Home Pay = 1,633 Monthly 10% Tithe = 163 5% Monthly Donation to Church = 81 By following the principle of tithing, you will be helping fund your Church for years to come, as well as giving generously to other Charities that are equally in need of regular, sustained gifts. In the Diocese of Sheffield, our average monthly donation is 65, which brings in over 6million to Churches across South Yorkshire.

7 Inflationary Giving Over time the cost of living keeps increasing. This is as true for the Church as it is for other areas of society, as paying clergy, general salaries, insurance costs, utility bills, and maintaining buildings, all go up over time. Over the past 50 years the reliance of the Church on personal donations has increased enormously. Personal donations from individuals are what keeps our churches open. More often than not, individuals do not increase their donations in line with the inflationary increases that are costing the Church more money. There are many justifiable reasons why this is the case. On an individual level, a few extra pence a month may not seem like a lot extra, however when replicated across the country this lack of inflationary increase can cause a large shortfall in church finances. A key benefit with PGS is the ability to choose to have your donation increase by inflation annually, and on average 55% of all donors using the Parish Giving Scheme choose this option. We are asking you to secure your support to your church by ticking yes to an annual increase in your donation. Pleased be reassured that if your circumstances change, it is also easy to reduce the increase when the annual inflationary letter arrives. Inflationary Increases A small annual increase in your donation can go a long way to enabling your church to be sustainable in the years to come = Gift Aid = 50 Gift increase in line with Retails Price Index (RPI)* 2022 = tax efficient gift a month Extra a year invested in mission and minstry *Estimate using actuarial projections from CEPB - 3.2%

8 What Next? Consider how much you would like to give to your Church. Sign-up to the Parish Giving Scheme using the form provided in this pack. Post it using the pre-paid envelope. You ll be up and running. It s as simple as that. For any questions or additional resources visit or pgs@sheffield.anglican.org The Parish Giving Scheme four square logo is a trademark of the Parish Giving Scheme. Church House, College Green, Gloucester, GL1 2LY. Tel: Registered in England No Registered Charity No The Diocese of Sheffield, Church House, Effingham Street, Rotherham, S65 1BL. Company limited by guarantee and resgistered in England No Registered Charity No