From page 37 Congregational giving


So, let us peek at some finance schemes genuinely adopted by churches of various persuasions, that can easily be adapted by others. I asked some of my acquaintances about the methods used by their respective places of worship to administer their receipts of freewill offerings. These ranged from a so-called house church, where the congregation meet in lounges, either in a rota of their own homes or consistently at the residence of their minister, to medium sized chapels through to larger church buildings.


Each of these individuals, without exception, reported that until recently they effectively relied on the traditional passing round of a plate or bag for contributions of hard cash. A few members had voluntarily requested bank account details so that they could make their donation in the form of a regular bank transfer which, as we noted above, is operated via the BACS system. All this was before the appearance of Covid-19 and subsequent lockdowns.


Introduced by H.M. Government, the pandemic lockdowns (and we cannot rule out the possibility of further lockdowns in the future) brought about the temporary closures of places of worship of all persuasions, schools, and many other establishments. This led to a completely new thinking concerning the way forward. It soon transpired that the so-called new normal for freewill donations, both right now and for the future, is the favoured method of bank transfer.


Cricklewood Baptist church Account: 10286222 Sort code: 20-96-55


www.cricklewoodbc.org T:020 82081463


Example of information for giving by bank transfer (Courtesy of Cricklewood Baptist Church)


A modicum of supporters indicated that they prefer to pay their tithes through Standing Order. An even smaller number reported that they make their contributions by cheques, generally posted to the Honorary Treasurer. However, coming second to bank transfer, a substantial number of responders stated quite categorically that they genuinely preferred to donate their Alms using credit or debit cards. All of these lovely people added that, despite their preference, their respective venues did not, as far as they were aware, have facilities


Not only should a budget carefully include anticipated expenditure; it should also include anticipated income. If the difference is a negative figure, then a programme of fundraising is probably called for. Everything from appealing to parishioners to dig deeper into their pockets to holding events which, due to lockdown, may well mean initiating online projects such as raffles.


Places of worship are classed as charities. As such, do not neglect the importance of Gift Aid, enabling the Treasurer to reclaim from H. M. Government any Income Tax paid by standard rate tax payers. Full details from: Tax relief when you donate to a charity: Gift Aid - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).


Eric A. Thorn 38


Email: EricAThorn@msn.com M37


for accepting plastic card payments. Not surprisingly, this prompted me to enquire of several places of worship as to why they were not able to accept card payments. The overwhelming response was that their understanding from their individual banks was that the cost of setting up a card payment scheme, allied to the high per centage of commission charges, proved rather prohibitive. On the other hand, a few churches informed me that, yes, they did accept card payments. Each of these used a system from iZettle. iZettle produce a hand-held mobile card reader for the affordable cost of £29 and charge a modest 1.75% transaction fee. At these prices (correct at the time of writing), plus no monthly retainer fees, acceptance of credit and debit cards is now a genuine reality for all places of worship. It must be linked to an iPhone, iPad or Android phone connected to the Internet. Check this out at Card reader – take card & contactless payments iZettle UK (www.izettle.com/gb).


iZettle card reader Budget carefully


Every place of worship should adopt at the very least an annual budget. Such budget should anticipate future expenditure and include any debtors that must be reimbursed.


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