The Parish Giving Scheme is a resource, free of charge to parishes, that enables people to give to their church and live out their Christian faith. The Parish Giving Scheme is owned by The Church of England and it is a safe and efficient way to donate. Our Diocese has been signed up to the resource now for nearly two years.
Robert Culyer, Colin Tomlin and Naomi Rizk (The Generous Giving Team) said: “It has been the most amazing journey so far. We now have just shy of 140 of our parishes signed up to use the resource. Last month £56,500 was paid into those parish’s bank accounts. It has been an absolute joy for us to support the parishes and to help them improve their financial stability and see these parishes thrive.”
Parishes that are already using the resource have shared their positive experience:
Kelly Bowen from Kings Lynn Minster said: “The launch of the Parish Giving Scheme took place in 2022. The introduction of one-off giving has had a significant effect. In the last four months, we have been receiving one-off giving in excess of over £300 per month.“
Doug Tuthill who is treasurer of several parishes says “Since starting the Parish Giving Scheme, my two largest churches, have converted 60% of their regular Gift Aid givers to PGS. One church’s year-to-date accounts show income claimed from Gift Aid at 214%. One added advantage is that it saves the parishes a large amount in bank charges. With both of these large churches it is comforting to know that a lump sum will be paid into our accounts, shortly followed by the recovered tax.”
Doug went on to say: “Two of my small churches who are struggling to pay their Parish Share, and are ultimately fighting to stay open, have embraced the PGS leaflet kindly supplied by the Diocese which has been personalised for their own catchment area.”
If you want to know more about The Parish Giving Scheme why not have a chat with Robert, Colin or Naomi. Or you can ask to speak to a treasurer or vicar in another parish that is using the resource.
The scheme runs alongside all the other forms of giving that you have in operation. 100% of the gift goes into your parish’s bank account. As we move increasingly towards becoming a cashless society, this is just another way that parishes can prepare themselves. Are you ready?
Contact the Generous giving team here.