Why should I give?

God created the world and everything in it.

We are stewards of His resources, not owners. “No-one claimed that any of his possessions was his own.”
(Acts 4:32)


Christ Church cannot operate without your gifts.

Donations from the church family account for over 95% of our income. We do not receive any grants from the Church of England – in fact we make payments to the Church of England to cover the cost of our Vicar, Curate, and other Diocesan costs.


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How can I give?

Regular Donations

Monthly donations via Bank Standing Orders are the easiest, cheapest, and most helpful for most of the church family and the church. Regular support helps us plan for the future development of our ministry.


You can set up a standing order via online banking or by completing a Bankers Order and sending it to your bank. Please contact Leza at finance@cc-vw.org  for the CCVW bank details. Leza will arrange for us to claim Gift Aid on your donation, if appropriate.


One-off Donations

There are 4 ways of making a one-off donation:


a) Click on the button below. You can make a payment via debit or credit card. The payment processor takes a commission of 2.2%+20p on your donation.


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b) Make a transfer to the CCVW bank account via online banking. This is best for large donations (over £200) as we pay no commission. Please email finance@cc-vw.org for CCVW’s bank details.


c) Contactless giving unit. This is located inside the entrance of the church. You can make payments via debit or credit card. You can also pay for church events and books at this terminal. We pay commission of 1.1% for debit cards and 1.3% for credit cards on your donation.


d) You can also give in cash or by cheque via the Collection Basket inside the entrance of the church. Cheques should be payable to 'Christ Church Virginia Water PCC'. If eligible, please use a Gift Aid Envelope to enable us to recover another 25% in tax relief for UK taxpayers.


Church members are encouraged to use our database on ChurchSuite (For details on how to access your ChurchSuite account please contact Leza at finance@cc-vw.org). ChurchSuite enables you to view a record of your giving in each tax year. You can also complete an online Gift Aid Declaration and make one-off donations (we pay 2.2%+20p commission on these donations).

Questions you may be asking

  • How much should I give?

    In the Old Testament, God called His people to give 10% as their "tithe"; additional freewill offerings were over and above this. In the New Testament, we are under grace not law. In 1 Corinthians 16:2, Paul does not give us a % figure, but he recommends giving should be relative to income ”On the first day of the week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income.”  How much you give is a matter for prayerful consideration between you and the Lord.

  • Can Gift Aid be claimed on my giving?

    As a registered charity, we are able to reclaim basic rate tax (20%) on all donations we receive from you if you are a UK taxpayer. This equates to 25% of the gift you give us out of your taxed income. So, for every £100 you give us using this scheme, we can claim back another £25 from the Government, at no cost to you. If you pay tax and have not already done so, please complete a Gift Aid Declaration 

    and send it via post or email to finance@cc-vw.org.

    If you pay tax at a rate higher than basic rate, further tax relief is available to you on your charitable donations if you complete an HMRC Self-Assessment tax return.


  • What if I am a US/UK dual taxpayer?

    If you are a US/UK dual taxpayer, please be advised that Christ Church is registered with the CAF American Donor Fund, enabling you to give tax-efficiently claiming Gift Aid in the UK while still benefitting from a tax deduction in the US. Click here for more details contact Treasurer at treasurer@cc-vw.org.

  • What about confidentiality?

    Only you, our Church Finance Team (Rod Whitehead and Leza Sack), and our auditors will have access to information about how much you give and by what means. They will, of course, keep this information confidential.

Legacies

We hope that you have come to view your church family as your extended family, and it is natural to remember your family in your will. For many churches legacies are a major source of funds which allow them to share the good news of Jesus with future generations.

 

The high cost of care for the elderly means that we are nervous of giving away our savings while we are alive, in case they are needed for care costs. Hence when we die there may be significant sums available to give away. 

 

All legacy gifts to charity are tax free, whereas any other amounts in your estate (above a tax free allowance) are subject to inheritance tax at 40%. If you give 10% or more to charities in your will, then the tax rate on the entire estate falls from 40% to 36%. 


Legacies don’t just happen when you die. You may receive a legacy. Several Christ Church members have chosen to give some of their legacy to Christ Church. It may be best to do this through a Deed of Variation where you vary the will of the donor to include a gift to Christ Church, since this may reduce the inheritance tax payable, rather than through gifting the money you receive. If you are a higher-rate income tax payer, there is no need to do this as you can save 40% tax when you make a donation.


The church has only been able to afford several large capital items thanks to legacies. Some items currently on our wish list awaiting funding are below. If you would like to fund a specific item, then please don’t specify this in your will, because if the item is already funded when you die, then we would have to return the money. A letter to your executors setting out your wishes as to how the money be spent is best.


1) Funding to support our Ministry Trainee program. When funding is available, we offer young people the chance to work part-time for the church while they pursue a theological training course, as a way to find out whether they want to become a full-time worker for the gospel.


2) Replacing the chairs in our church. These chairs are getting old, and we would like to buy lightweight stackable chairs that would make it easier to re-configure the church space for all the different events that take place during the week. This will cost £13-16,000.


3) Church Modernisation. We have a draft plan to re-model our reception area to create a proper office space for staff, upgrade our toilet facilities and several other improvements. The total cost of these improvements would be £500,000.

 

Our legacy leaflet contains other helpful information such as the formal wording for your will, an example codicil (easier and cheaper than changing your will), and names of recommended solicitors and financial advisers. Please contact Rod Whitehead, our treasurer (treasurer@cc-vw.org) if you have any questions.

Annual Pledge


Every year in November the church family are invited to make a pledge as to how much they hope to donate to Christ Church the following year. This is not a promise, just an indication of what we hope to be able to do, by God’s grace. These pledges allow us to estimate our income and so help us to plan what level of staffing & activities we can afford.


You can find our most recent Pledge Leaflet. The leaflet gives details on how we plan to spend the money you donate.


You can submit your pledge via ChurchSuite – this reduces the work for the Finance team, and you can also see a record of your giving. See this easy step-by-step-guide on how to do it. If you prefer you can still complete the pledge form in the pledge leaflet and give it in at church or send an email to finance@cc-vw.org with details of your pledge.



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