St Edmundsbury & Ipswich Diocese An Introduction St Edmundsbury & Ipswich Diocese Eleanor Stead Acting Chief Executive

Agenda Introduction to the PGS How it Works Unique Benefits About Us Data Security & Financing of the Scheme Q&A

What is the PGS? The Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) is a direct-debit facility originally developed by the Diocese of Gloucester to provide a professional, effective donation management system to support parishes in funding their mission and ministry. Donations made through this scheme use a Direct Debit. This can be made on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. Each donation is restricted to a parish church. Gift Aid is reclaimed and passed onto the parish directly. Separate Charitable Organisation, Company Limited by guarantee (In British and Irish company law, a company limited by guarantee (LBG) is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A company limited by guarantee does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as guarantors.) Been going for 9 years now, not a new scheme

Committed Christian Giving Regular & One off Gifts Serves the Church Family GA & Non GA Donors S,M,L Churches & Gifts Replace the Volunteer Process all Giving GASDS (not yet…) Solve all your Problems Won’t be for Everyone

How does it work?

PGS Statement

Why we developed the PGS Keep pace with the Charity Sector Improve and Engage with the Donor Journey To Grow our Mission and Ministry Lighten the Burden Locally (Recruiting Successor) Offer our Parishes Unique Benefits

Giving to rise in line with inflation annually Unique Benefit 1 Combats Static Giving Giving to rise in line with inflation annually  

Gift increases in line with Retail Price Index (3.2%) Why is this Important? In 2017 £50 + £12.50 Gift Aid = £62.50 Gift increases in line with Retail Price Index (3.2%) By 2027 £68.51 + £17.30 Gift Aid = £85.64 Extra £277.68 a year  

tick the inflationary increase box (opt in) How many? 55% of donors tick the inflationary increase box (opt in) Annual Review SUPER INFLATION!!!

Increases the Level of Giving Unique Benefit 2 Increases the Level of Giving How we give influences How much we give  

Example Winchester Liverpool Gloucester Average Weekly Giving (Diocese) £12.25 £10.58 £9.60 Average Weekly Giving (PGS) £19.27 +57% £14.73 +39% £14.77 +48% Also because it is launched alongside a giving initiative Source: 2014 Parish Finance Returns, PGS data for 2016

Administered Centrally Unique Benefit 3 Delivered Locally Administered Centrally  

£4 MILLION Every Monday Morning… ….across all the parishes in Church of England how much cash (collected at the Sunday services) is taken to the bank? £4 MILLION

26 out of 40 Mainland Dioceses GLOUCESTER WINCHESTER CHICHESTER EXETER LIVERPOOL CHELMSFORD TRURO PORTSMOUTH LEICESTER GUILDFORD BIRMINGHAM ST ALBANS LONDON NEWCASTLE SALISBURY ELY BRISTOL DERBY ST EDS & IPS OXFORD HEREFORD SHEFFIELD DURHAM LINCOLN LEEDS WORCESTER Live prior to 2017 Live in 2017 Launching in 2018 2019 (and beyond) 26 out of 40 Mainland Dioceses

Who are we? Members Have ultimate responsibility Sign off accounts Participating Dioceses who: Have ultimate responsibility Sign off accounts Elect trustees Trustees John Preston, Chair and National Stewardship Officer Victoria James, Stewardship Advisor – Portsmouth Benjamin Preece Smith, Diocesan Secretary: Gloucester Rebecca Evans, Stewardship Advisor – Truro John Sherlock, Strategy & Resources – Chichester David Brooke, Lead Mission Support Partner – Durham Neil Williams, Finance Director – Exeter Adrian Beney, Fundraising Consultant – More Partnership Company limited by guarantee Registered England No.8824540. Registered Charity No.1156606

Who are we? PGS Team Eleanor Stead, Acting Chief Executive Helen Taylor, Head of Operations Gail, Steph, Kim & Sue Team of 4 Administrators / Customer Services

January 2017 • Received over £1.9m gifts •   Claimed just under £435k Gift Aid •   Received from over 25,075 donors •   Forwarded to 1,357 parishes •   Entered 926 new donors onto the PGS •   Registered 55 new parishes to the scheme •   Issued 964 inflationary increase •   Handled 1,520 administrative changes

Is it Secure? Restricted Donations Direct Debit Guarantee Industry Standard Database (CARE) Fidelity Insurance in Place 3. Full adherence to Data Protection Act (+ incoming GDPR) Policies in Place (Data, Security, Privacy, Acceptable Use) Externally Audited once a year As a a data controller we take data processing incredibly seriously Personal and Sensitive data No direct marketing Only contact for a genuine purpose Externally audited once a year

10,431 planned givers = £1.15 per donor p/a How is the PGS financed? Diocesan Membership Fee = £20,000 Annual Services Contribution = £12,000 After 3 years £ % of donors on scheme 10,431 planned givers = £1.15 per donor p/a Free at the point of service for parishes Equivalent to 4 hours of paid volunteer time Cost of envelope scheme is approx. £60 - £80)

Parish Giving Scheme The story so far… Top Tips What others say…

1. The story so far 22

Pilot: Jan 2012 Launch: Sept 2012 Results so far… The Diocese of Winchester : The story so far… Pilot: Jan 2012 Launch: Sept 2012 Results so far…

The Diocese of Winchester : The story so far… 165 Parishes registered 4,221 Donors £5 Million received in 2017 £20 Average weekly gift before Gift Aid 24

2. Top Tips 25

The Diocese of Winchester : Top Tips… Start with your PCC Seek some trusted & respected ‘Ambassadors’ Plan some form of ‘Giving Initiative’ to launch to the PGS as your preferred method of giving Stamped Addressed Envelope Ongoing - use your annual review 26

3. What others say 27

What others say… The Parish Giving Scheme really helps maintain cash flow with no effort involved for Treasurers. It makes it easier to budget based on a committed regular income and is simple to set up and run. I thoroughly recommend it! Carolyn Allen, Stewardship Promoter, St James, Pokesdown, Bournemouth. 28

What others say… Speaking as treasurer of a church that had about 300 monthly standing orders (and all the admin that goes with that), I am very pleased we are moving over to PGS.  About 40% of orders transferred on the initial request and 6 months later we are up to 60%.  PGS have offered consistently good service and our volunteer giving coordinator is relieved to have technical support and a lower workload David Boul, Treasurer, Christ Church, Winchester 29

What others say… The Scheme has significantly improved our cash flow and has also reduced the administrative burden placed on our finance volunteers. Would you like to work less hours and have more money coming into your church more quickly? If the answer is yes to this question, then get on the PGS bus! The Revd. Tim Sledge, Vicar, Romsey Abbey 30

What others say… Just do it!  It's quick, convenient, efficient, saves a huge amount of work for the people who count and account for the money given, and helps the church to budget efficiently and be better stewards of money and time. The Revd. John Wigmore, Rector, Winklebury & Worting 31

How to Get Started Graham Hedger Stewardship Advisor

STEP 1: Register PCC meet and pass a Resolution PCC complete registration form & send to GH GH sends to PGS Team and they register details GH provides materials & unique church code

STEP 2: Plan Launch Find a handful of people to join first Ask for their experience & to provide testimony Plan your giving review Receive PGS materials & unique church code stickers Customise pack (if required)

STEP 3: Launch PGS Deliver giving review Offer PGS as the preferred method of giving Hand out Donor Packs Donors will send their forms to PGS Team PGS Team registers donor & sends welcome letter

STEP 4: PGS On-going Start receiving Donations & Gift Aid Register on website to receive Statements Remind non PGS donors about joining Celebrate & share success stories of PGS Revisit every 6 months or so

Support Materials Parish Implementation Guide - each parish will have a copy Registration Form Donor Pack and inserts Collection plate token

Support Materials Diocesan website documents available for download Stewardship Advisor I am here to support you

Stewardship principles

Stewardship principles It’s about discipleship An offering of our whole life Time, talents, treasure Martin Luther – ‘the last thing to be converted is the purse’

Stewardship principles Regular Proportionate Joyful

Why launch with a review?

Encouraging Generosity Key Objectives: Connect Giving with Faith Giving Enables Mission & Ministry Giving is Valued by the Church Encouraging giving in a parish can feel daunting, but it need not be so.  Some simple tasks can set the right climate for people to review their giving and levels of generosity. When these are done well, a number of important objectives are achieved. Church members then : connect their giving with their faith, seeing their giving as a response to the giving of a generous God. understand that their giving enables mission and ministry, rather than simply paying the bills. feel that they, and their gifts, are valued by the church  

Four Easy Options Giving in Grace Generous God, Generous People Giving for Life: Continuing the Journey Smaller and Rural Churches Giving Programme

Common elements… Christian input (Preaching, prayer & reflection) Financial needs of the church Church Vision / Mission Impact Pledge / Response

Giving in Grace Website URL www.givingingrace.org Medium / Larger Churches Pledge based giving programme / annual review Breadth of resources Preaching & Teaching Teens and Young People

Generous God, Generous people Website URL www.cofesuffolk.org/ Teaching resource for individuals and home groups Link with Giving in Grace for liturgical resources

Giving for Life Website URL www.parishresources.org.uk/givingforlife All Churches Incorporates annual review in good practice: Flexible and (can be) light touch Can use “A Parish Funding Programme” (on web) Promotes PGS as area for action

A Simple Giving Programme Website URL www.parishresources.org.uk/sgp Smaller Churches Pledge based giving programme Community Engagement Presentation and Leaflet Templates Easy to Run

Reimagining the Offertory Where we stand today and what we need to do in order to grow

Why pass a bag or plate around during a service?

Two Reasons Collection of offerings Offering of ourselves in worship using money as a proxy. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Cor 9:7 And they exceeded our expectations: they gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.. 2 Cor 8:5 Collection of offerings for many giving is at unrealistic levels / Giving is often static / Encourages cash mindset – giving mixed messages. / Unannounced, and little explanation as to why it’s happening Offering of ourselves, money is the proxy. Often more a ‘collection’ than an ‘offering’ / Little sense of money being a proxy Weekly routine can dull sense of offering.

www.parishresources.org.uk/offering

Summary Let’s do it Plan to join PGS Plan a review I will be in touch over next 2 weeks to find out How and when you will spk to pcc How take forward What help you need from me