Stewardship Resources

Pre-Authorized Giving

BENEFITS OF PRE-AUTHORIZED GIVINGS

     As the Rev. Keith Nethery has pointed out in the last newsletter, it is time that we assess the value that we place in our spiritual life at St. Stephen’s. Over the past many years, we have become very much reliant on the generous income that we generated from the London Bridge Day Care that occupied our Rectory and Basement. However, the Day Care has now re-located into their new facility, leaving us with a reduction in income of over $40,000 per year.

     Because we have become somewhat complacent over the years, we at St. Stephen’s have slowly become a parish with one of the lowest per person annual giving’s, when compared to other Churches our size in the diocese of Huron (see table 1). This has encouraged us to enter into a Stewardship Program to help us become aware of this problem, and to seek solutions so that we can continue to worship in a healthy, vibrant Church.

     The first and easiest way that we can help in this effort is to adopt the Pre-Authorized Givings Program. Simply by filling out one of the two attached forms, you can arrange to have your Church offerings deducted either once or twice a month directly from your Bank Account, or have the money deducted from your VISA or Mastercard (a popular feature for those who collect air miles or points). You have 3 dates to choose from when having the debit go through your bank account, the 10th, 21st, 25th. You can contribute on either 1 or 2 of these dates but not all 3. Credit Card deductions must occur on the 15’th of every month (be sure to notify us of expiry date changes).

     The Diocese of Huron administers this program at no cost to us, and it encourages regular and consistent givings, whether you miss a week or two during vacations, etc. It is a very easy way to help our parish, and simplify your Church contributions, with no major personal hardships. It is also important to know that it is very easy to change the amount of givings if your personal financial situation changes. Also, special “top-up” donation can be made at any time, either using special envelopes such as Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, etc., or your existing envelopes.

Table 1: Attendance/Givings for medium size Churches in Diocese of Huron

Respectfully submitted,The Wardens

CHURCH	Number of identified givers	Average weekly attendance	Annual Envelope givings$ (000)	Average annual per person givings	Other income$ (000)
St Stephen's Memorial, London	146	110	113	$1,027	$27
St Andrew Memorial, London	162	77	104	$1,351	$31
St John's, Cambridge	174	120	135	$1,125	$63
St George's, Blue Mtns	120	106	142	$1,340	$19
St James, Ingersoll	148	119	150	$1,261	$31
St Martin's, London	193	96	123	$1,281	$39
Canon Davis, Sarnia	147	84	161	$1,917	$13
St Mary's, Windsor	123	103	220	$2,136	$0
Trinity, St Thomas	121	102	100	$980	$67
Bishop Cronyn, London	194	104	176	$1,692	$60
Grace Church, Brantford	158	110	135	$1,227	$62

PRE-AUTHORIZED GIVING AUTHORIZATION FORM

     To download a PDF version of the Pre-Authorized Giving Authorization Form, please click on the following link. It will open a new window will will feature 2 pages - one for Pre-Authorized Giving through your bank, and the second for Credit Card Giving. Print the page that you want, read it, fill it out, attach any required void cheques and drop it off to Laura in the St. Stephen's office.

http://www.diohuron.org/administration_finance/preauthorized_giving/am_preauthorizegive.pdf

     Authorization Forms or forms to make changes to your current Pre-Authorized Givings are also available at the Church - through the office or at the main entrance, where you pick up your Sunday Bulletins.