Church of England renews push for increased giving

Fundraising | Celina Ribeiro | 5 Aug 2009

The Church of England has repeated its call for members to give away 10 per cent of their income as donation levels remain stubbornly under target.

A renewed push to get members to donate 5 per cent of their income to the Church and a further 5 per cent to other charities and missions was launched with the release of a report titled Giving for Life at the National Stewardship Convention earlier this month.

While the Church has asked its members to give away 10 per cent of their earnings for decades, giving to the Church remains below expectation at 3.2 per cent of parishioners' average net income, or £600m per annum. However, this is significantly up from nine years ago, when average donation levels stood at 2.8 per cent.

A spokesman for the Church of England told PF that “although the level has been increasing, it is nowhere near in line with recommendations successive reports have made”.

“It is a bit of a bitter point that we still have a way to go,” he added.

The report estimates that boosting giving further to 5 per cent of net income would increase its coffers by £300m.

In the report, the institution denies that the push for more giving is a response to any new financial pressures on the Church, but says that releasing the report during the recession makes its directions more “helpful”.

Who's Who: Celina Ribeiro

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