Why do we give?

As Christians we are called to give generously.  Paul wrote to the church in Corinth ‘On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income’ [1 Cor 16.2] Your amazing contributions, in terms of both your time and money, have a huge effect on lives locally and beyond.

Time & Talent
Our talents are part of what we have received from God and we can choose to grow our generosity in giving them for the service of others. Volunteers at Sunnyside Church do amazing things and make a big difference to our church community and beyond.  Please sign up on our Volunteer! Page.

Treasure
The vast majority of money we receive comes from you. We receive no government, lottery or local authority funding. What small extra income we do earn, comes from the use of the church for certain services and from hire of the hall.

Why give regularly to Sunnyside?

We ask every church member to give regularly to support the work of our church, because
we, the church members, are responsible for:
• Paying our staff: they underpin our youth and children and families work, our administration and our worship
• All our day to day running costs
• The upkeep of our buildings and grounds
• Contributing our share to the running costs of our Diocese of St Albans

Our Church Finances

The parish share
Every parish pays an annual amount to the diocese (in our case St Albans). This covers overhead costs of the diocese and the training of clergy and lay readers. It also covers the cost of our vicar (salary and pension) and maintenance of the vicarage. In the case of better off parishes, such as ours, there is a small contribution to the running costs of poorer parishes.
Staff costs
Sunnyside staff include a youth worker, a children and families worker, a worship leader, an office manager, caretaker and bookkeeper. They are paid for by the church.
Running costs
This is our regular expenditure and includes the maintenance of our buildings and grounds, utilities, office supplies, insurance, and other expenses.
Income
Our income breaks down as follows:
Regular giving 88%
Occasional donations and other income 7%
Hall rental income 5%
You can see that we rely very heavily on regular giving to cover our running costs.

Gift Day
In addition to regular giving many church members contribute to our annual Gift Day in May. This usually raises nearly £50,000, all of which is given away to charities both locally and overseas (see our Friends and Connections). This is quite separate from our regular giving to support the work of Sunnyside Church.

Proportional Giving

We encourage all our church members to adopt proportional giving. Giving a percentage of our income is a fair standard of giving for everyone

Why is proportional giving important?
It is the scriptural way to give. (the Old Testament ‘tithe’ is 10%)
It is the fair way to give (whether our income is large or small). All members of the Church of England are asked to aim at giving a minimum of 5% (5p in the £) of their take-home pay, or net income, “to and through” the church. We are also asked to give a similar amount to other work that helps to build God’s kingdom, which Gift Day encourages. If you are already giving ….

Use the table below to work out what proportion of your net income you are currently giving to the church. For instance, if your net income is £2,000 a month and you are currently giving £40 a month you are giving 2% of your net income. Can you increase that percentage? We are asked to aspire to 5% of our net income.

Working out how much to give

We do not want anyone to give more than they can reasonably afford. The table above will help you to work out what is affordable given your income, your personal circumstances and the Church of England recommendation of 5%. The important thing is that your giving is proportionate to your income and that it is a prayerfully considered, regular, budgeted commitment.

What we ask you to do
• Pray about your response to what you have read.
• Consider carefully and prayerfully what is an appropriate proportion of your net income to commit to supporting your church.
• Choose your method of giving: Parish Giving Scheme or standing order. Then fill in the appropriate form(s). You can find out more about the Parish Giving Scheme and download the appropriate forms by following the links below. If you set up a standing order online or by phone, please notify the treasurer by email: treasurer@sunnysidechurch.org.uk and include what reference you have used to identify your standing order.
• If you are not already registered with Sunnyside for Gift Aid, fill in a Gift Aid Declaration form, if you are a taxpayer.
• Send completed forms to the correct address as indicated on each form
• Consider leaving a legacy to Sunnyside when making your will. Click here to find out more about legacies.

Confidentiality
Your decision as to whether or not you make a commitment to give regularly to Sunnyside, and the amount you give remain confidential to the treasurer and assistant treasurer. No-one else, including us, will know how much you give.

Any Questions?
If you have any questions about regular giving, or anything else relating to Sunnyside, and how it is run, please feel free to talk to one of us.

(Electoral Roll officer)

Peter Hyatt (Giving officer)
07967 804698 hyattpr@gmail.com

Forms and further information
For details of the Parish Giving Scheme contact the church office:
office@sunnysidechurch.org.uk or Peter Hyatt our Giving Officer

For a copy of our standing order form click here.

For a copy of our Gift Aid Declaration click here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for considering your regular giving commitment.