Generous Giving

We are delighted to be working with the national Church of England to give out 70 contactless giving devices to churches in Devon this year. Applications have now closed but you can read more about the scheme here.

All you need to know about stewardship

Click on the buttons below for information and resources in each area…

	Preaching Generosity Isn’t the generosity of God is at the heart of any good sermon? But finding the words to go with it can sometimes feel a daunting task. To assist with planning and preparing to preach on generosity we’ve pulled together some helpful resources. The Diocese of Rochester has a catalogue of sermon starters that follows the lectionary, and on our facebook page you’ll find 200 word sermon starters for any time in the year. Click here to find out more.
	Parish Giving Scheme The Parish Giving Scheme is a direct debit system that helps parishes in the Diocese of Exeter to manage their regular donations. This page has lots of information on how to get set up and get the most out of the scheme.
	Digital Giving Digital giving provides a safe and easy way for people to make gifts in our churches through contactless devices, QR codes and online giving. Ideal for those one-off situations such as visitors at key festivals or occasional offices such as baptisms and weddings, contactless giving can also be used for fundraising, taking payments, and for when regular givers want to top up their regular gifts.
	Getting Your Church Building Connected You don’t need to have a landline to have WIFI internet in your church building. You can use a WIFI Mobile Router instead. The big four mobile data networks (O2, Three, EE and Vodafone) account for 99% of all coverage in the UK. Download this guide on how to check which provider offers the best service to your church, plus some ideas on the hardware you’ll need. You can also download our new 4G Router Setup guide.
	‘Legacies’ and free ‘Will’ writing Service for the CofE October, November and January are popular months to write wills and make legacies. This page contains information on legacies and signposts you to resources that can help you encourage legacy giving in your parish and will be updated regularly. Legacy Giving on average accounts for 60% of most UK charitable income, however for parish churches nationally this is much lower at 17%. To redeem your free will, just enter the voucher code ‘COFE’ when you visit https://farewill.com/cofe
	Love your Church Inspire donations with the new ‘Love Your Church’ resource. Click here to begin.
	Generosity Week 2023 Generosity Week 2023 will run from Sunday 24th September to Sunday 1st October although you can celebrate generosity at any time. As in previous years, there will be resources and guidance available on the Church of England’s Generosity Week page. Please share your stories and celebrations of Generosity Week and examples of generosity with us: email mission.resources@exeter.anglican.org. Generosity is at the heart of faith, we believe in a generous God and our own generosity is a testament and hallmark of our faith in action. The ministry and mission of the church of England is largely funded through the incredible generosity of those who give to it.
	Meet the Funders Day 2023 Advice, links and presentations from the Meet the Funders Day on Wednesday 29th March 2023 for parishes to explore grant funding opportunities for large and small projects, to start to understand the process of applying and to consider impact and outcomes for all. Speakers were from The Benefact Trust, The National Churches Trust, The Heritage Lottery Fund, and the Church Grants database team.
	Friends Groups A Friends Group is a group of people who have an interest in the church building and in helping it to flourish at the heart of its community. Some people may be interested in the heritage of the building; some may value it as the place where they were married or had their children baptised; others may be keen to explore its potential to serve the community in new and different ways. All will value the building and its place in your community. This toolkit from Growing The Rural Church takes you through the process of setting up a Friends Group, and explains the various ways of constituting your Friends Group.
	Church Grants Database The Church Grants website is a searchable database of hundreds of UK trusts and foundations, all of which have funded church or Christian projects before. You will need your parish code which your treasurer should have or contact mission.resources@exeter.anglican.org. The Church of England also provide a list of funders for work in a wider variety of areas. Including conservation, preservation, heritage and restoration; environmental and sustainability projects; community projects and improvements to church facilities. You can find the lastest list (April 2023) here. Ecclesiastical Insurance update a list of other funders here. Information from our recent Church Grants webinars: Raising Grants from Major Donors (20th July 2023): webinar recording and presentation. Raising Grants from Trusts and Foundations (25th July 2023): webinar recording and presentation. Raising funds from Crowdfunding (14th September 2023): webinar recoding and presentation.
	Surprised by Generosity A 7 week course go deeper into the biblical themes of generosity, and how to live generous lives in light of God’s generosity toward us Click here to begin
	Resources More information that can help you resource the mission and ministry in your parish.