Like any other Parish, ours could not function to any great degree without the generosity of parishioners. Likewise, many of the recipients of our second collections are only able to achieve success because of the financial support received.

The offertory donations received can, of course, be enhanced because of existing Government Regulations which allow for income tax to be recovered from the Exchequer for donations made by tax-payers to Charitable Trusts. The Leeds Diocese is one such trust as are most of the recipients of second collections.

So, if you are a tax-payer, the Diocese is able to claim back the tax on all donations made by you subject, of course, to you completing a Gift Aid Declaration. Such a declaration is a simple exercise. You provide your name
and address and date the form. You do not have to give personal information such as employer, salary, pension source, National Insurance Number nor do you have to sign it. As opposed to the old style covenants of a few years ago, you do not have to promise to donate a specific amount per week or month. It is that simple.

Your donations are then made by numbered envelope or standing order and the amounts are duly recorded. The work to claim the money back is completed by Mary and Brian and after the end of a tax year you will receive a letter showing the total amount you have donated throughout the year and the income tax which has been recovered. Only Mary and Brian are aware of all Gift Aid confidential information which is securely stored.

The vast majority of offertory donations, envelope or otherwise, are made by cash payment but with some cheque payments also made. There are relatively few, perhaps fifty parishioners, donating by Standing Order. Many of you will be aware that Banks make charges for cash / cheques paid in by Churches. To save some costs, most of our outgoing payments are now made electronically but if we are to reduce our bank charges, which vary between œ90 and œ140 per month, we do need more parishioners giving their donations by way of a Standing Order. This can, of course, be arranged for a pay-in date to suit individual circumstances. In such cases, envelopes are still available so as to cover second and other special collections.
Thank you for your generous and continued support.

If you require further information about Gift Aided donations or you wish to donate by Standing Order, please contact Mary Gairn (2645260 -Parish Office) or Brian Smith.