The Parish Funding Programme

An assessment by the Vicar

We are now in a position to give an indication of what has been raised as additional funding as a result of the Parish Funding Programme. Officials from the Diocesan Department of Mission, Evangelism and Parish Development had told us that an increase in regular giving in the order of 40% was generally thought to be a good result. In our case it was a 50% increase, so we can be quite pleased about that.

There were fifty increased pledges, eighteen new ones, and twelve one-off donations. The additional figure produced by the increased pledges came to £2,900, but this is supplemented by a tax recovery of £866 through Gift Aid, making an actual figure of £3766. The new pledges totalled £5292, and with the Gift Aid facility this will eventually rise by £1484 to £6776. The twelve one-off donations came to £4045, and with Gift Aid of 1059 this becomes a figure of £5104. In addition there was a further £500 which was not Gift Aided. This makes in total an increase of £16,146.

We were, of course, secretly hoping for the magic figure of £30,000, but being realistic we knew that such a massive increase was probably very unlikely, and we must now accept the financial situation as it now is. The new Parochial Church Council has recently met, and in a general discussion of our objectives for 2005 the Council has decided on a specific plan of action. There will, first of all, be a Parish Finance Review Committee set up, and this will review parish income and expenditure in the light of the results of the Parish Funding Programme. The Committee will prepare a report for the Council, suggesting areas in which saving might be made and income increased. The report is to be made to the PCC in November this year. It will be an exercise in budgeting and prioritizing. In addition there will be a more systematic way of keeping the principles of our ongoing Christian Stewardship before our eyes. We must be prudent in our parish husbandry.

All in all, we can be pleased by the seriousness with which this whole matter has been approached by one and all, as well as by all the hard work put in by the Parish Funding Group under Mr Richard Rothwell. There has been a very positive approach to it all by the general congregation as a whole. It has been a landmark in our self-awareness as a parish, and we can now start to look ahead not with complacency, but with a clearer understanding of where we stand financially. The enterprise may have been long overdue, but now it has happened, and our position in terms of ongoing routine financial support is certainly now considerably healthier than it was only a few months ago. It has all been very worthwhile, and I am grateful to all who have responded in the way that they have, out of love for God and his Church.

W.R.H.