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.