Sallie Butcher is Priest in Charge of three parishes in Wyre Forest West, at the edge of our diocese between Kidderminster and Tenbury Wells. At the end of 2019, the three PCCs all agreed to sign up to the Parish Giving Scheme, but moved at different paces to get the scheme established. As a result, their finances during 2020 faired very differently.
Sallie said: “One of my parishes moved quickly once it was agreed that we should sign up to the Parish Giving Scheme (PGS). They decided that word of mouth was the best approach and spoke to all existing donors to explain the benefits of being part of the scheme. As a result, virtually all their regular donors were signed up before the start of 2020. The second parish were a bit slower. They were keen to have a launch in church so only one or two PCC members transferred their giving across. The third PCC didn’t take it forward at all. They were worried that PGS would involve more bureaucracy and people would find it difficult.”
When the pandemic hit in early 2020, the three PCCs found they were in different places with their finances. Sallie continued:
“The first PCC knew exactly what money was coming in each month. They had an even income stream and as a result were able to budget effectively through the difficult times. This made things fair easier, particularly for the treasurer. They’ve actually paid more in parish share this year than in 2019 – it’s been PGS that’s enabled them to do that. The other two PCCs both struggled, having to wait until the church was reopen to receive 12 weeks’ worth of giving envelopes at once and having virtually no money coming in at all at other times.”
“It’s really highlighted the benefits of moving to the scheme and shown that there really are no downsides. One of our treasurers looks after two of the parishes and he’s really noticed how much easier the PGS makes life for him. The PCCs have been talking to each other about how it’s been going and we’re now slowly getting more people signed up to the scheme…although that’s obviously more difficult at the moment.”
Alongside the Parish Giving Scheme, Sallie’s churches have also been finding other ways to make it easier for people to donate with a Goodbox donation plate for contactless giving, QR codes in all the churches and online giving links on their website and Facebook page.
