Giving for Growth...


This information is aimed at those of you who might like to give to your parish church either regularly or on particular occasions, but who are not quite sure how to go about it – or who perhaps wonder that your contributions won’t make any difference.  Isn’t the Church of England somehow supported by Government?  Why does it need more money from hard-pressed individuals?

Nationally, about three quarters of the Church of England’s funds come from the contributions of their church congregations. Parishes – like all four in our Benefice – have to pay an annual “parish share” to their Diocese (in our case Canterbury), as well as their own running and maintenance costs and the costs of any other activities they wish to undertake. For example, currently, the annual parish share is around £33,000 for St Margaret's, and our total annual costs nearly £60,000.

Contributions from individuals form the main source of our income in St Margaret’s. We want to make sure that it is as easy as possible for individuals to contribute if they wish to, and that payments are made where possible in a tax-efficient way.

The Parish Giving Scheme has just been launched, which greaty simplifies the way you can make regular donations to your church.  By signing up to a regular direct debit for an amount of your choice, linked to inflation if you wish so that it retains its value, and you can register your donations for Gift Aid, you can make a real difference.

Find out more here:

https://www.parishgiving.org.uk/donors/find-your-parish/st-margarets-at-cliffe-antioch-kent/

You can download a  registration form by clicking the button below:


If you are a UK taxpayer, I will also ask you whether you can sign a Gift Aid declaration; this is a very short and simple form which allows us to reclaim tax on your payments – currently 25p for every £1 you give – so is of huge help to our finances.

One-off gifts can be made at any time, by cash or cheque. Again, your gift will be even more valuable to us if you can Gift Aid it; your £5 becomes £6.25, your £10 becomes £12.50! There are special envelopes at the back of the church which contain the necessary declaration for UK taxpayers – please do use them if you can.

If you wish to contribute purely or mainly for the fabric of St Margaret’s Church – a Grade I listed building, whose maintenance requires costly specialist treatment – you may wish to do this through membership of The Friends of St Margaret of Antioch Church.  More information can be found on the Friends’ page of this website.

If you have any questions at all or wish to discuss any of this further, in confidence, please get in touch – my details are below. Thank you all so much for your support.

Linda Carter -

Treasurer,

St Margaret of Antioch Church