KEY TASK 2 : Link giving with mission & MINISTRY

The second of the four key tasks is to ensure that givers are aware of where their money goes.  

On one level we encourage people to give wholeheartedly as an offering to God, and this can suggest that they should not be overconcerned about where the money goes.  On another level, however, it is good stewardship for individuals to give to where they can maximise the impact of their giving. Thus it's vital to communicate why givers should give to your church, what your vision is, and where money is spent. 

There are two reasons for this why it is so important. 

Firstly, the wider charity sector shows the church how to link donations with charitable outcomes. Giving a certain amount of money will buy a goat, plant some trees, enable a community to build a well, etc. Donor decisions on which causes to support, and how generously to support them, have been shown to be strongly influenced by how the charity is seen to use the money given to it. 

The second reason is that our giving of both money and time resources the mission of God in the world, both locally and further afield. Our primary reason for giving to support the Church should never be that the heating bill won't be paid unless we give, or even that the Parish Share has gone up. The principal motivation for giving should be that we are helping to resource mission and ministry. As a result, parishes are encouraged to consider reporting on where the money goes in these terms, as well as in broad financial categories. For many parishes the cost of ministry will be the largest single item of expenditure. It is vital that church members understand the relationship between 'Parish Share' and the provision of front line local Christian leaders across the diocese; but also that these costs are taken through to outcomes. Examples might include : 

•  X grieving families comforted, 
• teaching of Y children and young people through school assemblies, 
• the provision of a spiritual place for the community 
• Z visits to the church by tourists

There are a number of ways that you can do this : 

• The Annual Parish Meeting - alongside the traditional presentation of accounts, it is also good practice to link through to what the spending has achieved in terms of outcomes.
• Producing a simple leaflet to educate church members about the vision of the church and the costs of reaching that vision.
• Thanking givers annually (this is another of the four key tasks) .
• Including outcomes in any material that is used to ask members to review their levels of giving.