Stewardship Warns of Time Running Out for Churches and Christian Charities Affected by Closure of Virgin Money Giving

STEWARDSHIP, the UK’s leading Christian philanthropy charity is urging church and charity treasurers to respond to a major change in online giving as of the end of November.

Thousands of charities, including many churches will be impacted by the shock announcement last month that Virgin Money Giving will close its donations and fundraising platform on 30th November 2021. It is thought that many treasurers will not be aware and need to take action to ensure online donations continue.

Daniel Jones, Stewardship’s Chief Generosity Officer says:

“Online giving and fundraising has grown exponentially in recent years, with additional surges during Covid-19, so we’re encouraging churches and charities who currently rely on Virgin Money Giving to make sure they have alternative arrangements in place in good time before November 30.

“Our church and charity team have been supporting many treasurers to get set up with an alternative – the good news is that in many cases these organisations have already registered with Stewardship to receive donations from our giving account or philanthropy services, so within minutes we can help them create their own online donation page at stewardship.org.uk, and have their supporters create fundraising and sponsorship pages when needed.”

Virgin’s announcement comes at a time when many churches and charities have already reported drops in income via the pandemic, and so treasurers need to act now to secure their online giving.

Stewardship says that the speed with which Virgin Money Giving plans to end operations will come as a surprise to many, but as the only Christian platform offering online donations for use by other charities and churches, it stands ready to help those affected by the move.

Treasurers needing more information should call 020 8502 5600, or visit stewardship.org.uk/fundraising-churches-charities.

ENDS

For further information/interviews:

Daniel Jones, Chief Generosity Officer: 07899 952075

Paul Eddy, PR Consultant: 07923 653781

 

Editor’s Notes:

A quality JPEG headshot picture of Daniel Jones is available on request to Paul Eddy, via [email protected].

FACT File:

Stewardship is believed to be the oldest ‘Donor Advised Fund’ DAF in the country, and is currently the 2nd largest by income next to the ‘Charities Aid Foundation’ (CAF).

Stewardship is the 11th largest charity in the UK (by voluntary income) as reported by Charity Financials’ Top 3000 Charities Directory 2021.

Philanthropy services are a range of services for families with complex financial needs looking to Stewardship as an alternative to setting up a family charity. Our Philanthropy team was awarded Philanthropy team of the year by STEP in 2020.

Stewardship helps the Christian community in the UK to find, support and build the causes that they care about.  The charity, founded in 1906, currently helps over 40,000 Christians to connect and give over £100 million to over 6,000 churches, 4,500 charities and 2,500 individuals in Christian work.

Each year it provides training, resources and professional services to directly support over 1,500 small to medium sized Christian charities and churches in their financial stewardship and governance, including processing around £5 million per month through its payroll services.

 

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