An Example Document St Jagielka Walton Giving in Grace 2015 www.givingingrace.org 1
Section 1: strengths, weaknesses & plans This section of the case statement offers reflection on maintenance, mission and ministry in our church and identifies some key areas for development. The strength of our church fellowship; lots of organisations such as our Mothers Union. We have a welcome team and the sense that we are a welcoming church. The 3 main strengths in our church We are a prayerful church with a well established team of lay intercessors and a prayer group who meet weekly. We have strong relationships with other churches. There are shared Lent groups and preaching. We are involved with the local ecumenical outreach team. We are very short of teenagers and young adults. The small group of faithful teenagers we do have are led by just one regular leader and a couple of other occasional volunteers. The 3 main weaknesses in our church The heating system for the church building is no longer adequate. The building does not feel very welcoming on cold days. Money always seems to be short and we have had significant deficits for the last three years. Replace the boiler with a larger, more efficient, unit as part of a larger plan to make the church building a more welcoming and friendly place. Our agreed or provisional plans for ministry and mission over the next 1-2 years Create a carpeted area at the back of the building that can be used for after service refreshments and meetings. Significantly increase our mission giving, the grants we give away to other charities, as it is currently very low. Meet in full our wider obligations to support and fund Christian Ministry throughout our region. Giving in Grace 2015 www.givingingrace.org 2
Section 2: stewardship reflections This second section of the case statement contains some reflections on the stewardship practice and culture of the church which helps to inform our thinking about Giving in Grace and the shape of the programme. Those items in bold in the left hand column represent the four key tasks identified in the 2009 Giving for Life report. Preaching and teaching We preach regularly about giving and wider issues of stewardship; we offer small group learning opportunities Giving has rarely been taught in our church. Last stewardship programme was nearly 20 years ago. Budgeting for ministry & mission We prepare an annual budget for operational and ministry costs. We communicate it to the congregation, connecting giving to ministry outcomes. We set aside a percentage to mission giving Stewardship practice We address stewardship intentionally, nurture our planned givers and invite an annual review of giving The PCC have never set a budget. Accounts are ably presented each year to the church annual meeting by our Treasurer. Because of continual annual deficits, very little has been given away to other charities in recent years. Our Gift Aid Secretary is very active in promoting Gift Aid giving and ensuring a good supply of one-off Gift Aid giving envelopes for visitors. We have no annual review of giving. Accountability & appreciation We are transparent and accountable in financial matters and thank our givers annually Pastoral care We offer and/or signpost to training, support and advice for those in financial difficulty Leadership Our clergy and lay leaders are committed to and supported in a stewardship ministry and model generosity. We have structures to facilitate good stewardship practice Our Treasurer is approachable and very good at explaining the church accounts. Quarterly surplus/deficit reports are provided to the Church Council. Thank you letters are sent out annually to those who Gift Aid. We currently have no provision for this. While we have good structures, the Church Council could do much more to encourage our Ministers to teach us about financial generosity and stewardship. All the responsibility for good stewardship practice currently falls solely on our Gift Aid Secretary. The whole Church Council needs to take a more active role in this. Giving in Grace 2015 www.givingingrace.org 3
Section 3a: income and expenditure These charts give an overview of the operational, day to day, income and expenditure of the church over a number of years. 'Unrestricted' includes all General and Designated funds. Note also that Restricted income can only be used for the purpose for which it was given, as stated by the giver, and is not available for the general use of the church. Income ( ) Expenditure ( ) Total ( ) Overall ( ) Year Unrestricted Restricted Unrestricted Restricted Income Expenditure Surplus/Deficit 2010 105,169 4,198 83,322 4,674 109,367 87,996 21,371 2011 70,136 750 68,143 2,383 70,886 70,526 360 2012 61,763 2,141 86,391 64 63,904 86,455-22,551 2013 55,565 1,631 63,990 1,536 57,196 65,526-8,330 2014 58,181 4,527 73,028 5,319 62,708 78,347-15,639 120,000 5 year running total surplus/deficit = -24,789 350,814 13,247 374,874 13,976 Unrestricted Income & Expenditure ( ) 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 Income Expenditure 20,000 - Total Income & Expenditure ( ) Overall Surplus/Deficit Totals ( ) 120,000 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0-5,000-10,000 - -15,000-20,000 Income Expenditure -25,000 Giving in Grace 2015 www.givingingrace.org 4
Section 3b: our levels of reserves These charts give an overview of what is available to the church by way of reserves (i.e. unrestricted funds), which can be used for day to day expenditure on maintenance and the mission of the church. They also show restricted funds which can only be used for the purpose for which they were given and, finally, total church funds minus what we owe to others. Total Amounts in all Total (1yr) Total Bank & Deposit Accounts Liabilities All Funds Year Unrestricted Restricted ( ) ( ) 2010 46,591 7,870 8,625 45,836 2011 48,584 6,237 8,021 46,800 2012 23,956 8,314 3,915 28,355 2013 15,531 8,409 5,032 18,908 2014 684 13,554 7,956 6,282 Notes: 1. 'Unrestricted' includes all General and Designated funds. 2. Please exclude the values of buildings, shares and non-cash investments from these figures. Reserves (Unrestricted Funds only) 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 - Restricted Funds only 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 - Total Funds (includes Liabilities) 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 Giving in Grace 2015 www.givingingrace.org 5
% Amount Given Section 3c: our planned giving profile This planned giving profile offers an insight into the pattern of giving in our church. TEPG refers to those who Gift Aid their giving; OPG refers to those who do not or cannot Gift Aid their gifts. Tax Efficient Planned Giving (TEPG) Average or Mean TEPG gift is 11.31 Median or middle TEPG gift is 7.33 10 0.00-0.99 0.00-0.99 This means that while your most generous donor 8 1.00-2.49 1.00-1.99 was giving over 40 per week. Half of all your 2.50-4.99 2.00-3.49 Gift Aid donors were giving less than 7.33 per week. 6 5.00-7.49 3.50-4.99 7.50-9.99 5.00-7.49 4 10.00-14.99 7.50-9.99 2 15.00-19.99 10.00-11.99 20.00-29.99 12.00-14.99 0 30.00+ 15.00+ 12 Number of TEPG Givers Other Planned Giving (OPG) Average or Mean OPG gift is 3.41 Median or middle OPG gift is 2.88 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Number of OPG Givers Given vs. Givers (TEPG + OPG) The top 10% of your planned givers give 37.8% of all the money given through planning giving. The top 20% of your planned givers give 58.2% of all the money given through planning giving. About the 'Given vs. No. of Givers' chart In many churches a small number of people give a large proportion of the total giving to the church; this chart shows how and to what extent your church is dependent on a small number of givers. 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Total Given vs. Number of Givers 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 % Number of Givers 2015 10% Marker 20% Marker Giving in Grace 2015 www.givingingrace.org 6
Section 4: financial conclusions The situation we currently face If nothing changes by the end of 2015 the money we have in the bank will be almost gone and in 2016 we will have to drastically cut the support we give towards providing Christian Ministry and mission. Unless we change, our church will become unsustainable. From our financial analysis Our pattern of income and expenditure shows (section 3a) Our levels and use of reserves shows (section 3b) Summary: Large deficits for the last three years. Action we need to take: Run a focused stewardship campaign to increase giving, particularly by those giving less than 2 per week. Summary: By the end of 2016 we will have nil reserves. Action we need to take: Spend from Restricted funds first whenever possible. Average TEPG giving p/w 11.31 Median TEPG giving p/w: 7.33 Our planned giving profile analysis shows (section 3c) Open plate giving (data taken from the budget) Our accounts show our mission giving (grants) as Average OPG giving p/w: 3.41 Median OPG giving p/w: 2.88 Summary: Roughly 60% of our planned income is from just 15 people, and 20 people are giving less than 2 per week. Action we need to take: Teach about generosity and encourage the very low planned givers to give more realistically. Summary: Open plate provides about the same level of donations as OPG. Action we need to take: Encourage irregular givers to join planned giving scheme and increase giving. 0.1% of our direct giving income in 2014. Our first priority must be to increase our corporate mission/grant giving. Giving in Grace 2015 www.givingingrace.org 7
Section 4: financial conclusions Do we need to recruit members to our planned giving scheme? Could or should we promote standing order (or Direct Debit) giving? Are we making the most of Gift Aid? Are we geared up for the Small Donations Scheme? What other income streams can we work to develop e.g. legacies, trading income, a friends group? Do we have too many loose plate givers? There is scope to increase the number of planned givers. Do we need more stability in our planned giving and is SO (or DD) appropriate to our context? Only three people currently use a bank standing order. Use of SOs should be promoted. Are we promoting and recruiting? Yes, Gift Aid Secretary is regularly promoting Gift Aid. Is our vestry or office practice redesigned to benefit from the new Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme? Gift Aid Secretary is trying to get Vestry Counters to use new record form, with mixed success. New community groups have already been signed up to hire our facilities in 2016. This will bring in an extra 8,000 in trading income. The financial challenge For the coming year the cost to fund the ministry of this church, including our planned developments is: We estimate our total income - without any increase in giving - to be: 1,482 each week 1,289 each week An increase in giving is a key element of sustaining and developing our ministry. We believe that we need to increase our giving by: 195.50 each week We anticipate increase in income from other income streams to total: nil each week Giving in Grace 2015 www.givingingrace.org 8
Section 5: the church budget This budget is a simple plan anticipating expenditure and income for the coming year and sets the financial target for resourcing ministry. The required increase in giving is in the Gift Array below. 2014 2015 2016 Actual Estimate Plan Expenditure Common Fund/Parish Share 34,412 36,495 37,000 Grants to other charities 50 125 125 Minister's costs 4,574 4,709 6,000 Mission costs 1,937 2,000 3,000 Church Running cost 18,850 7,716 7,750 Church Maintenance 6,049 2,215 7,000 Trading costs 8,748 26,807 9,000 Fundraising costs 600 250 1,500 Organist/Salaries 2,637 1,830 2,200 Admin/Governance costs 490 157 500 Addititonal Plan items Increase to mission giving 3,000 Weekly Expenditure 78,347 82,304 77,075 1,482 Income Gift Aid Donations (TEPG) 25,307 27,728 28,500 Tax Refund 15,382 6,932 7,000 Other Planned Giving (OPG) 6,201 4,614 5,000 Open Plate 5,619 5,280 5,500 All Donations 1,016 8,428 3,000 Fee Income 1,924 2,113 2,000 Trading Income 2,755 1,272 10,250 Income from Grants 0 1,500 0 Bank Interest 529 361 300 Fundraising 2,917 1,943 4,000 Weekly Other income 1,058 12,102 1,500 Income 62,708 72,273 67,050 1,289 Weekly shortfall Surplus/Shortfall -15,639-10,031-10,025-193 Additional income to fund Plan Items Other new income 1 0 Other new income 2 0 Overall Weekly shortfall Additional income 0-193 Target for Gift Array is 193 Giving in Grace 2015 www.givingingrace.org 9
Section 6: the Gift Array This Gift Array offers a range of possible financial responses for people to choose from which respects the diversity of those we are asking to help meet our stewardship challenge. The Gift Array addresses not only any operational deficit in church finances but also those mission plans included in the budget found within this case statement. This many Giving this much Total This total of people extra a week 195.50 7 1.00 7.00 would help us to: 13 2.00 26.00 19 3.50 66.50 Meet our bills and obligations without worry 7 5.00 35.00 4 6.00 24.00 Incease our mission giving to help others 3 7.00 21.00 2 8.00 16.00 Install boiler and create coffee area 55 Total 195.50 Giving in Grace 2015 www.givingingrace.org 10
Section 7: questions for consultation This final section of the case statement invites our church leadership to prayerfully consider and comment on the content of the case and to affirm advocacy and personal support for the Giving in Grace programme. Do you feel that the strengths and weaknesses and opportunities in section one reflect where the church is now and could be in the future? Do you have any thoughts on the stewardship reflections in Section 2 of the case statement? Do you have any particular comments on the data presented in the financial analysis section of the case statement and the conclusions drawn? Is the budget realistic and is the financial target in the Gift Array realistic and achievable? As a church leader do you feel you can personally commit to Giving in Grace and make your own giving response to the financial challenge identified in the Gift Array? Giving in Grace 2015 www.givingingrace.org 11