grants available for repairs to churches

Photo by Sara Korf

In these hard pressed times, and with an unfortunate rise in metal theft, churches in any part of the UK may be interested in grant funding that is available for repairs to their buildings. At the foot of this article, I am also reminding readers of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which aims to reduce the impact of VAT on church repairs.

National Churches Trust Opens its Grants Programmes (UK)

The National Churches Trust, which supports projects at a wide range of places of Christian worship, has announced that it is offering the opportunity to apply for a limited number of grants towards urgent structural repair projects. In 2012 the Trust will concentrate on projects involving urgent repairs to roof and rainwater goods with estimated costs of at least £50,000 (including VAT and fees). In addition, the Trust hopes to be able to provide grants towards installing facilities such as toilets and catering facilities to benefit places of worship and local communities.

Applications can be submitted up to the 1st September 2012.

For more information, visit http://nationalchurchestrust.org/supporting-you/grants/overview.php

Repair Grants

This funding, which is ongoing, comes from the Heritage Lottery Fund, which will be controversial for some. However, for others, it will be seen as acceptable to turn ‘tainted’ funds to Godly use. The programme is designed to help conserve and sustain heritage at risk, through urgent repairs to places of worship. Regardless of where in the UK the church is situated, the following key criteria apply:

• The place of worship must be listed
• The project must be for urgent, high-level repair works

In Northern Ireland and Wales deadlines are either  31 March or 30 September each year. Deadlines for Scotland are 28 February and 31 August. In England deadlines are normally the end of June for Grade I places of worship, and the end of September for Grade II places of worship.

For more information, click here.

Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme

This Scheme similarly covers repairs (including non-urgent repairs) to listed places of worship. The original idea of the Scheme was to effectively refund all the VAT cost of qualifying repair work. However, the Scheme Rules have changed a number of times over recent years with changes both to the types of work that qualify and the level of grant which is likely, now, to cover some but not all the VAT involved. To find out more, visit http://www.lpwscheme.org.uk/

top ten tips for fundraising

Image by Howard Lake. Used under Creative Commons Licence.

You've decided to fundraise for a cause - well done! Now begins the hard work to encourage others to share your vision and support you. Read our top ten tips, and share your own in the comments below.

1. Tell your story

Successful fundraising is all about telling a good story. Invest time letting people know why you are raising money. What will the impact be if they support you? Give them plenty of information about your chosen charity or church as well, so they can really get on board with your chosen cause.

2. Set up a fundraising page

Setting up an online fundraising page is an effective and easy way to get sponsored for your favourite cause. Add photos to make it more interactive and make sure that you keep adding fresh information so people keep coming back for more. Set up your own fundraising page with Stewardship from July 2012. Stay tuned as we bring you the latest information about give.net.

3. Get social with your fundraising

Add a link from your social media pages to your give.net page to make it easy for all your friends and contacts to support your efforts. Don’t forget to upload pictures and regularly update your profile status detailing your latest fundraising activities so that people can follow your journey.

4. Think of creative ways to fundraise

Not everybody is cut out to run 26.2 miles for charity, or for that matter, ride their bike from Lands End to John O’Groats. For creative ideas of how to fundraise, think about setting yourself a challenge based on your hobbies or things that you enjoy. Why not set up a knitting marathon, organise a dinner party, take part in a swimathon or draw peoples portraits to raise money for charity?

5. Don’t forget the Gift Aid

Gift Aid allows charities to reclaim the basic tax rate on donations made. That means that every £1 that you raise could potentially increase by another 25p. If you choose to create a give.net fundraising page, your supporters gifts will have the tax reclaimed automatically, (so long as they are UK tax payers and confirm they are happy for us to do this!).

6. Carry on – even after your event has finished

Once people have seen for themselves the effort that you went to in order to raise money for your chosen charity, they may be even further inspired to donate to your fundraising.

7. Put a link in your email signature

Add a link to your online fundraising page into your email signatures so you can communicate your fundraising efforts every time you click ‘send’. Alternatively, why not add something about your fundraising in your answer phone or voicemail message.

8. Contact your local media

Send a short press release to your local media briefly detailing your fundraising efforts. There may be many people in your local community who will be inspired by your fundraising story and keen to provide some support.

9. Say thank you

Don’t forget to thank the people who have supported you along the way. In every fundraising story, there will be people who have provided different levels of support, so don’t forget those who have been generous with their time and talents; not just those gave money. This would be a good time to let people know if you have reached, exceeded or are still working towards your fundraising target.

10. And finally... don’t give up!

Everybody receives knock-backs when fundraising, but the key is to keep going. The more energy and passion that you bring to your fundraising, the more people will be inspired by your cause.

Have you used any of these tips? Do you have any of your own? Let us know in the comments below.

new support for Christian workers

image by Cory Doctorow, used under Creative Commons Licence.

In 2011, we set out to discover how we could support Christian workers more effectively. We conducted two surveys and asked a range of questions relating to personal finances, budgeting, income, savings and lifestyle. It came as no real surprise to learn that Christian workers are living on far less than average income, and are often receiving less financial support than they need.

You can read the full survey summaries and results here:

Christian worker survey summary #1

Christian worker survey summary #2

How we're going to help:

This year Stewardship will oversee a substantial increase in free resources for Christian workers, based on what you shared with us in the surveys. From free training days about support-raising, to downloadable guides about pensions and savings, we’re aiming to equip and help Christian workers so that they can be effective in their calling.

Free training days... if you’re in full time Christian work, we believe you should always feel confident and equipped with your finances and personal support raising, whether you are brand new to the work or long established. But we know it isn’t easy, which is why we now run regular, free, ‘training days’ at our offices in Loughton, Essex.  Designed to cover the biblical basis for support-raising, technical issues such as taxation and practical subjects like budgeting or using social media effectively. You also get a great Stewardship lunch thrown in for free and the chance to have a sneak peak behind the scenes!

One visitor from last year commented:

“It was an invaluable opportunity to meet fellow workers in very different fields – it gave a refreshing perspective on my work; seeing the bigger picture. I’d encourage others to attend.”

Free resources... The first of our free resources is entitled ‘Finance for Living’. In this three-part series, Myles Wilson (founder and author of Funding the Family Business) discusses the key issues of support raising, and asks two vital questions – ‘how much is enough?’ And ‘to ask or not to ask?’. As well as tackling the practical ways to approach finances, Myles looks at the psychological barriers that often prevent Christian workers from asking for support.

Download the Finance for Living series directly from this blog, or head to the Christian worker area of our website to download them from there. Please note, the Finance for Living series is in PDF format requiring Adobe Reader. This is free and can be obtained here.

when the cameras stop rolling...

Image source: National Geographic

This scene from Sindh, Pakistan reveals an unexpected after-effect of the huge floods which hit the area during 2010.

As water levels rose, thousands of spiders took to the trees to escape. Because the flooding had such a devastating effect and has taken so long to drain away, many trees have become cocooned in the spider’s webs. Local inhabitants say that they have never witnessed such a phenomenon before.

It’s fair to say that a lot has happened since this flooding took place in 2010. It can be so easy to forget the hardships faced by those who live through the aftermath of a natural disaster. When the worldwide news teams move on, does our generosity follow them out of the country?

When we feel a personal conviction to respond generously to a particular cause, should we continue encouraging ourselves to remain sincere to that need until we are certain that our personal contribution is no longer required?

And does our personal contribution stop at our finances?

If you can pray, if you can write a blog post or update your Facebook status to raise awareness, if you can hold a garage sale and donate the proceeds, then you can stretch your contribution way beyond that initial donation.

Or, why not go deeper still? Maybe next time you could also search out and follow the progress of some of the charities that are responding, or make your own personal links with a local charity or Christian worker working in the most hard-hit areas.

In that way, you can continue to stand with the cause, even when the cameras stop rolling...

chasing the negative split

Photo by 'through my eyes only'. Used under Creative Commons licence.

If you happen to be one of those serious marathon runners who thinks little of fitting in a quick 10 miler before breakfast, then you’ll probably already know about the negative split. For the rest of us trapped beneath the duvet, an explanation: the negative split means deliberately running the first half of the race slower than the second, giving yourself time to find a pace and then improve on it, planning to have enough in the tank and cross the finish line knowing that you gave everything you had in those final miles. The negative split is the discipline to master if you’re serious about going the distance.

Jesus taught that true generosity is not a matter of who gives most, nor is it a question of easing off once we have given ‘enough’. Generosity plays by a different set of rules. Generosity, it seems, has far more to do with our response to our heavenly Father than the specifics of our finances.

Which brings us back to the idea of the race. If we see generosity as a one-off event only to be engaged when we feel sufficiently guilty, we won’t be fit for purpose. We were made for more than just ‘doing our bit’ or offering ‘the least we could do’. We were created in the image of an overwhelmingly generous God, so is it any wonder that we should feel the urge to give? Forget all you’ve seen of the way the uberwealthy live - with their high gates and privacy glass. What we have should not isolate us from the world around. Instead, it should draw us closer to others.

But what about those negative splits? This innate urge to give needs training. Just as discipline and preparation matter for the serious runner, so it can help us to be deliberate in our acts of generosity. Spontaneous giving is good - just like the quick burst of pace that is called for by unexpected changes in the race - but aren’t the best givers among us the ones who have woven generosity into the fabric of their lives? Don’t we want to be part of a community of generous givers that keeps on going, keeps on giving, keeps on growing?

That’s why 40acts matters so much this Lent. Sign up and you’ll be joining with thousands of others who are choosing to make generosity a priority, not just a passing fad. Each day of Lent the 40acts email will offer a challenge that will bring you closer to your community and your environment, strengthening your generosity for the years to come. Join us, and together we’ll get better at being generous.

the underground world of generosity

For those who regularly travel on the London Underground, tubes can sometimes feel a tad unfriendly. There’s nothing like spending your commute squeezed into someone else’s back to ensure you arrive at your destination a little flustered. 

However, over the past seven months, The London Underground have been displaying a series of posters by the artist Michael Landy, inspired by people’s stories of nice things that have happened to them whilst travelling on the tube as a result of the generosity of others. Here’s just a few of the countless stories Landy has received so far:

“I was made redundant on my birthday. I was feeling pretty deflated and the staff at Pimlico noticed my change in mood. Imagine my joy and surprise when they presented me with a massive chocolate birthday cake! That gesture really gave me back my sense of self worth. I took some back the next day with cans of pop for them at break times. Our tube workers are everyday subterranean heroes. Thank you.”

“I lost my gloves on the Central line. A good three months later I was about to get off the Tube at Mile End and a passenger said, "I think these are yours?". They were mine and they were/are special gloves to me. As I was getting off I only had a second to say, "thank you". I have not seen him since, but he had taken those gloves on to the Tube every day for 3 months hoping to reunite them with me. A true act of kindness that I still say a BIG THANK YOU for.”

 “I was on the way to a party where you had to be smartly dressed when I realised my shoes were dirty. I was frantically trying to brush them clean with my hand and noticed the woman opposite me rummaging in her bag. She whipped out a brand new suede brush and asked "could this be what you need?". It was exactly the thing. I walked off the Tube with clean shoes and a big smile! I wonder what else she had in her Mary Poppins bag!”

“The underground, such a public place to be hit by private grief. I just couldn’t help the tears. I had to get off the tube, onto the platform and aim for a seat. A stranger in the rush asked me “are you ok? Can I help?” She had already.”

“As I leapt through the closing train doors at Finsbury Park, my left foot was caught and one shoe fell off onto the platform. I sat down, one shoe missing as the train pulled away. ‘I’ve just bought these’, said a woman opposite, opening a Russell & Bromley bag. ‘See if they fit’. They were perfect. The woman gave me her address so I could return her brand new shoes. Which of course, I did.”

What is striking about these acts of generosity is their simplistic nature. None required much of the giver, but open eyes and a giving heart.

As we approach the period of Lent, many people will be looking at those things they may want to give up. Here at Stewardship we are challenging people to go one step further this year and to not only give something up, but to give something out to others as well in an act of generosity. 

Over 40 days, we will challenge people to take part in 40 simple acts of generosity. Will you join the 40acts movement? Sign up at www.40acts.org.uk or visit www.facebook.com/40acts for more info.

To read more stories of kindness on the underground, please visit the TfL website here.

charity campaign of the month: 'Flour-ish' by Spark+Mettle

To kick off our new charity campaign series we ask: how do you turn baking into an alternative fundraising drive? This month, Spark+Mettle's 'Flour-ish' caught our eye and made our mouths water. Read on to find out why.

About the charity

Spark+Mettle is a start-up organisation who help people to - you guessed it - flourish. They give less-privileged young people an opportunity to unleash their potential and harness it to a fulfilling career through their training programmes and resources.

About the campaign

The third Monday of January is typically heralded as Blue Monday (the most depressing day of the year), so Spark+Mettle enlisted the help of Delia Smith, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Prue Leith to create a website full of recipes designed to help people 'flourish' and beat the blues. We really liked the Toffee Apple Cake. You can also use a text-donation service to donate to Spark+Mettle's work. Visit flour-ish.org.uk to find out more about the campaign.

If you think your charity campaign is worthy of a mention in next month's blog, or you've seen one that made you look twice, drop us a line at enquiries@stewardship.org.uk or leave a comment below.

3 mission minutes with... Petra

To kick off our first '3 mission minutes with...' series, we spoke to Petra Wainwright from El Refugio Ministries in Colombia about the challenges and joys of working with underprivileged children, being held at gunpoint, and South American chocolate:

When did you first join El Refugio ministries?

I came to Cartagena in Colombia after several years working in other countries on a more short-term basis training and language learning. All that preparation led me here in January 2010. El Refugio is a children’s project in one of the poorest neighbourhoods of Cartagena in Colombia.

What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the start?

I was very blessed in the way God led me into full-time mission through various short term missions: each one gradually lasting for longer and in different cultures which meant I had a gradual introduction into life as a missionary. So I can’t really remember ‘starting’ as such. But I would thoroughly recommend anyone thinking of life as a full-time missionary to spend time on short-term mission at first, if possible in a similar locations to that which you feel called to long-term.

What’s the most inspiring story to come out of the ministry so far?

It is hard to think of an inspiring story, working with children from a community with so many social, economic and cultural issues such as we do at El Refugio. During my 2 years or so here we have had some children and families who have made small breakthroughs and they to us are big! Kener is one young boy whom I call to mind: he is in the middle of a family of 8 siblings, mostly boys, the older ones all left school early with no encouragement to study from the family. Kener has many behavioural problems which caused him to fall behind at school and he was expelled without being able to read and write. Last September we had a teacher working with us who was able to take a small group of children who were not at school and teach them the basics of literacy; Kener was one of this group. After a tough beginning, all of the kids got used to a class environment and with lots of encouragement and creativity in the teaching we saw Kener start to make rapid progress in his studies and to show a lot of intelligence. After time, encouraged by his own achievement he also began to improve in his behaviour, even telling the others to behave as he wanted to study. Unfortunately though, he has begun to slip away with the pressure of his elder brothers to join in their life of crime.

Assuming you already have a bible, what’s the one thing you couldn’t do without while in Colombia?

My laptop. I was unfortunate enough to have my laptop stolen at gun-point at the beginning of the year but thankfully God provided a new one brought over from England in May by my Mum. However, during the months I was without one I realised how important it is, not just for work purposes, but also for social needs: watching DVDs, communicating with friends and family and even being able to attend my home church through their live streaming. I have also been blessed with a near constant supply of Cadbury’s chocolate which is also a definite need! Latin chocolate just isn’t as good!!

What’s the largest challenge you’ve faced so far?

Personally the largest challenge was the armed robbery: having a gun pointed at you is not something you overcome easily. However God was faithful and through the experience He was able to bring about a resolution to my biggest ministry challenge which was with our youth. As I have mentioned, this community put a lot of pressure on their children to drop out of school, become involved in sexual promiscuity, drinking, drugs and gangs. So starting our first youth group was a challenge because these young people are very much at the edge of the temptation to follow that path. Also, youth in any culture can be very difficult to please. I found myself in a position where the youth didn’t respect me or my authority; they would laugh at me and misbehave or have a bad attitude. The robbery took place during a youth group meeting in front of all of them, and since then they have all changed their attitude and now have a lot of respect for me.

How have you found the experience of raising your own support?

Raising support was very difficult for me in the beginning, issues such as my British reserve coupled with the fear that others will react negatively, expecting that you should get a paid job and not ’live on handouts’. Also while I was training it was hard for people to see the purpose in what I was doing. Since actually being in ministry it has become easier to raise support and when I came to Colombia in 2010 for the first time I had enough support to pay my basic needs. After going back to the UK for Christmas 2010 armed with videos and stories, I was able to increase my support to a level where I am now comfortable.

What’s your favourite part of Latino culture?

I love the openness of the people here, despite their problems the people I work with are so open and friendly and they accept me for me. The same goes for the team I work with who are mostly Colombian. I also love the liveliness and colour of the culture with the music and dancing.

If people want to support you, how can they do that?

People can support me through my Stewardship Account. (a/c number 2009 0351)

Where do you see the ministry being in 5 years?

It is my vision to expand the current ministry to work with girls who have become involved in sexual exploitation. It is estimated that there are 2000 underage girls being used in prostitution, mostly sex tourism, in the city of Cartagena.

Thank you for taking the time to speak to us! Any final thoughts?

I have a very good friend and supporter who supports not only me but another missionary. He has often said that when he hears missionary stories he feels like he should also be on the field doing something, but doesn’t really have a call to mission. It is something I believe God puts in the hearts of all his people, to “go into all the nations” however, it is my belief that he calls some people to “go” and some people to “enable”. Someone once said it is like the bees and flowers: the bees travel around spreading the pollen, but if there weren’t any flowers to pollenate what would the bees do? My friend is a flower that gives in order that I and others can fly around spreading God's love. The mission supporter is a very important person in the life of a missionary and is often undervalued. I have 16 very special people who give me a little of their income each month so I can fulfil my calling and I hope I never undervalue or dishonour them in any way. I know many missionaries, especially Latinos who work with me here, who are not so fortunate. More Christians at home need to realise that this is a very valuable and much needed way of fulfilling God’s great commission.

Follow Petra's story on Twitter: @Petrat76

El Refugio Website (Spanish)

church events - the legal requirements

Churches up and down the UK run many thousands of events every year. If you're an event organiser, did you realise that there are legal considerations to take into account?

The Churches Legislation Advisory Service (CLAS) has just produced a very helpful free 9-page checklist,  covering various legal requirements and matters that need to considered when a church plans an event. It includes considerations such as Safeguarding, Health and Safety, Insurance, Food Safety, Alcohol Licenses, and more.

Stewardship works closely with the Churches Legislation Advisory Service. They are an ecumenical membership organisation that seeks to communicate with and influence Government on legislation  and other matters which directly affect churches, and to act as a channel through which Government can consult the churches as a whole. They also comment on the impact of proposed legislation, as well as acting on churches/church ministers’ behalves to seek to cure anomalies and bring about a regime that is as fair as possible. To find out more about membership of CLAS, click here.

To obtain your copy of the Occasional Events checklist, visit the CLAS website and select the ‘Publications’ tab. From there, you can download the document.

ministers in debt... tackling the taboo

"As a chartered surveyor in Local Government, I enjoyed a good salary and loans with preferential rates. Then God called me into the ministry. Living by faith in Bible College was somewhat different!”. Restructuring debts and taking on a second job, whilst working for the church, seemed like the only option. “We ended up using credit cards to buy groceries, we felt we had no other choice; we chose more debt rather than allow our children to go without.”

This is how Julian’s story begins; one of a number of Church ministers who have found themselves reaching out to Christians Against Poverty’s debt counselling service in recent years. And Julian isn’t alone. Our own anecdotal research suggests that debt amongst senior church leaders and ministers is rising, with many feeling forced to suffer in silence.

“Being in debt is a massive taboo subject especially for a church leader – who can you confide in? You worry that your ministry will be affected if people in your church learn of your struggle and not everyone has a family friend they can turn to.”

Which is why this week we are celebrating the launch of CAP Money Ministers - a new, confidential service for senior church leaders experiencing personal debt issues, working in partnership with Christians Against Poverty.

Mike O’Neill, Stewardship’s Chief Executive, adds “We often hear from church leaders who lack confidence in their own finances and in their ability to speak confidently about money with others. That’s why we are so thrilled to be partnering with CAP to launch CAP Money Ministers; a service which we hope will release hundreds of church leaders from financial worry and, in doing so, free them to do the same for their congregations."

For Julian, the lifeline came when a friend referred him to CAP, who quickly worked to turn his situation around.

“The great thing that CAP did for us was to give us hope: hope that we could sort out the debt, hope that it wouldn’t last forever. There is a way out of debt.” Read the rest of Julian's story here.

Anyone can struggle with their finances and fall into debt, particularly in the current economic climate; those that lead churches are no exception. Even those leading churches, who are expected to be perfect all the time!

If you are in a ministerial position and need help with money management, contact CAP Money Ministers’ confidential helpline on 01274 760780, or click here to find out more.