Follow up visitor training

A training session for follow up visitors www.givingingrace.org

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• • • Giving in Grace is a stewardship programme which will increase giving to our church Literature goes out to the congregation; responses come in and some request additional information.

Each visitor makes a small number of personal visits to church members with the information that they have requested

Follow up: What do we need to do?

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• To express thanks for their response and communicate that others have responded • To value by our visit the response made by others • To build relationships and to encourage people in their giving • to answer questions where we can - and find out the answers if we don’t know

Why personally visit church members?

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• We each visit just 5 or 6 people • We are visiting church members not total strangers • We are visiting people who have asked for information and are expecting a call • We are not asking for money or a response: they have done that already

Be encouraged!

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• Reading: Luke 19:1-10 o o o Not fundraising from others but generosity as part of following Jesus Not balancing books and budgets but of resourcing ministry and mission: we need a weekly increase of £ xxx Our personal visits help express thanks, build relationships and grow our church as a community of generous givers

About Giving in Grace

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The impact of Giving in Grace

6 • • A growing rural village in Cheshire: £192 p/w; 20% increase in planned giving • A suburban church near Winchester: met a £20,000 per year shortfall in income Rural town: £400 pledged increase per week • Small, deprived new town estate in Lancashire: £59 p/w; 50% giving increase • An East midlands town: £500+ weekly increase

An overview of programme elements

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groups Preaching

Exodus Matthew Luke 2 Corinthians

children

Prayer

socials visiting

Literature

Letters Brochure Response forms

Leadership

: Planning group and church council

• • • The literature: o o o o Brochure Letter Response form Mail and reply envelopes They can ask for more information o o o o o Weekly giving envelopes Gift Aid declarations Standing orders (DD?) Legacies Charitable giving accounts Our task is the personal follow up of requests for further information

The follow up task

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• • • • • • Arrange a time to visit, allowing 15-30 minutes per visit Read through the leaflets and forms to be familiar with them Know roughly how much the giving pledges to the church amount to at the point you visit Ensure you have what the person has asked for e.g. a box of envelopes Make your own personal response Pray – for you and them!

Preparing for your visit

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• • • • • • Say thank you for their Giving in Grace response Explain you are bringing the requested information Answer any questions or help, but only if asked, with filling in forms Build a good relationship Affirm the weekly giving target for the church and that it is being met by a generous response and will allow us to balance the books and sustain and grow ministry Thank for their hospitality

At the house

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• Any questions about the presentation or from the visitor handout?

Refreshments

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• Weekly envelopes • Gift Aid declarations • Standing Orders (or Direct Debits) • Legacy information • Charitable giving accounts

Don’t assume; explain!

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• If you are confident to do so why not role play a visit at this point you may wish to

Role Play

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Weekly giving envelopes

14 • They are a sign of commitment and willingness to support our church • They help us to remember for the weeks you are away: it is OK to bring more than one envelope • New envelopes each year is an opportunity to review our giving • Envelopes enable us to Gift Aid if we pay tax

Standing Orders (Direct Debit?)

• • • • • • The default position is that we give even if we forget They help us make giving to God a priority, what the bible calls the ‘first fruits’.

They put giving on a par with our other financial decisions They make church administration easy and help with cash flow and planning They are just as confidential as weekly envelopes They enable us to gift aid if we pay tax 15

Gift Aid Declarations

• • • • • • For tax payers who pay enough tax to cover the Gift Aid on their giving to all charities It is easy and confidential and costs us nothing more than our gift A Gift Aid form has to be completed & signed just once If we stop paying tax do tell the gift aid secretary Higher rate tax payers can get additional tax relief by declaring it to HMRC People on tax credits also benefit 16

Leaving Gifts in Wills

• • • • • Legacy gifts can unlock ministry and mission but this is a sensitive area so exercise care Ideally a dedicated legacy officer should deal with all such requests A legacy pack brochure or pack should be prepared in advance for these requests Deliver the pack but don’t get drawn into conversations about the details Never advise on leaving a legacy nor on the contents of a will 17

Charitable Giving Accounts

18 • • • • • Dedicated accounts for charitable giving with gifts taken by Direct Debit from current account Regular, one off and anonymous giving which is tax efficient where possible Gifts made by BACS and the account holds money not yet gifted Range of accounts: students, families and major donor www.stewardship.org.uk/give

• • • Giving in Grace helps the church resource ministry and mission and Christians grow in the grace of giving The goal is not just to secure the gift but to grow generous givers Our personal visits help express thanks, build relationships and make our church a community of generous givers

In conclusion

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