26/11/2014. Aims of today. Friends Group. St Alban s Tattenhall. Sefton Parish Church. Show me the money. Why a friends scheme?

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1 Friends Group Suggested guidelines for setting up a friends scheme Aims of today Some Friends case studies What is a Friends Group? How can they help our church? How do we go about setting one up? Next steps where do we go from here? St Alban s Tattenhall Sefton Parish Church A church without walls Friends of St Alban s Church Building Six trustees, 60 members 25,000 on church projects in June 2013 A separate charity such groups Image of St Albans Twenty one years old 380 members around the world Prayer desk and bookcase Mediaeval windows Insurance and drains! A sub committee of the PCC hard to know how many Image of Sefton church Show me the money Income varies: 1k - 2k is common Up to 15k Median c. 4k - 5k Subscriptions Fundraising Trusts and grants Why a friends scheme? They can widen the pool of people who will help support the fabric of the church. To help with the maintenance, repairs and preservation of the fabric of the building NOT the running costs of the church. To help with the maintenance or replacement of major items, for example heating systems or organs, roofs or paths 1

2 More than the money Church and community The word Friends is no accident Friends groups help build social capital Key point: Many friends are not church members Image of Canterbury cathedral The Friends group is one of the ways we can take the church back to the community; it is after all a parish church. Even if they don t attend people here love their church but often they don t know how to help us. The Friends group is one of the ways they can help Quote from Father Lameck Mutate at St Albans, Tattenhall Why are churches special and worth preserving Historic significance Architectural merit Cultural landscape Sacred space Community building Formation of Christian people Exercise What is special about your church? What kind of friends might your church make? Existing Friend schemes say... Excellent link between community and church Income from others who don t give already Great satisfaction to raise funds to get new church gates Fun social events Good to find out about history of the church Purpose What do you want to achieve? Who might your Friends be? Relationships with the church council Example here: two PCCs wanting toilets in the church and two Friends that could not help but no animosity because purpose of PCC and Friends was clear from the start and good relationships between the two bodies 2

3 Proposition Subscription levels Events and activities Fundraising Lectures Concerts Promotion A Friends brochure Posters, postcards, radio; launch event Social media Patron The face of the invitation Local celebrity Radio or Rector A strong chair A committed committee Payback The benefits of being a Friend Beware: Gift Aid benefit rules Staying in touch Tangible, visible achievements Practicalities A separate charity A sub committee of the PCC Perpetual Fabric Fund Benefits of PCC sub-committee 1. Under full authority of the PCC. 2. Charity status as part of the PCC. 3. Tax efficient donations through Gift Aid. 4. No separate constitution, AGM etc. required. 5. Some functions can be delegated by the PCC as it is a sub-committee. 6. Its events and personnel may be covered by the PCC s insurance. 3

4 Disadvantage of PCC sub-committee 1.May not attract a wider membership, particularly leadership, if perceived as a sub-set of the church. 2.Organised by existing church members (events, membership list, reports to PCC). 3.Officers must be on the electoral roll. 4.Has no executive powers. Benefits of an independent charity 1.May attract wider community support. 2.Seen as distinct from the religious activity of the church. 3.Possibly easier to find a patron. 4.Organisation does not fall on the church members. 5.Tax efficient donations and annual gifts through Gift Aid if income above 5,000 Disadvantage of independent charity 1.Length of time to establish. 2.Requires its own constitution, AGM, bank accounts and officers. 3.Need to be registered as a charity under the Charities Act and follow charity commissioners guidelines 4.The committee are the trustees 5.May fall out of the control of the PCC in respect of its activities and need separate insurance Benefits of Perpetual Fabric Fund 1. Attractive to anyone who wishes to donate money only to the church building. It has the safeguard that the capital will not be exhausted but always maintained. 2. Can attract gifts, legacies, grants and Gift Aid 3. Easy to run once in place as it is not labour intensive. 4. Capital is always there with the facility to use 20% of it as a loan and repay later. 5. The PCC can receive interest from the capital annually Disadvantage of Perpetual Fund 1. A Trust Deed is required to set it up. 2. A considerable sum must be invested to enable the income to cover major repairs. 3. If there is not a capital sum available to set it up it may take some time for the funds to be sufficient to produce a reasonable income. 4. Only the income can be spent on the fabric as the capital is protected. 5. A decision will need to be made about where the capital should go if church or the Fund is wound up (in trust deed) Watch out for Friends groups are for friends not Church family Too closely bound into church/pcc Lack of community Competing interests village hall committee Remember to review and say thank you to friends committee. 4

5 What next? Working group to explore PCC: decision and resolution Terms of reference and/or constitution adopted by PCC Friends committee and patron Name friends scheme Resources Click image for text of this classic booklet from diocese of Canterbury. k/friends-schemes The Value of Friendship: Search Building Friends: search 5