the stewardship magazine | issue 36
transforming generosity
NEW YEAR… NEW VISION? NEW BUILDING? NEED A MORTGAGE? Our specialist mortgages for churches and Christian charities helped nearly 100 ministries pursue their visions in 2016. If you have a project planned for 2017 which needs loan finance, talk to us.
“It was amazing to have an organisation that considers and understands our vision, faith and journey. Stewardship are different.” Steve Campbell, C3 Cambridge
Watch the story of Cambridge Community Church’s new building at
stewardship.org.uk/mortgages We’re Stewardship. We’ve been helping the UK Christian community to give and to receive since 1906, when we started out as stewards of church properties around the country. We love making giving easy and each year help over 25,000 individuals to give around £60million to our database of over 19,000 charitable causes. By offering practical, tailored support, we are committed to strengthening the work of churches and Christian charities.
And we also inspire greater generosity from this community, thanks to our wealth of resources, courses and campaigns for individuals and churches alike, including the award-winning 40acts. For more than a century we have been driven by our desire to give the wider world the opportunity to encounter Jesus through the generosity of His people and the transformational work of the causes they support. We are Stewardship, and this is what we are about.
Contact us 1 Lamb’s Passage London EC1Y 8AB Tel: 020 8502 5600 Email: enquiries@stewardship.org.uk Web: stewardship.org.uk You can contact the editor by emailing editor@stewardship.org.uk Editor: Craig Borlase Design: adeptdesign.co.uk Stewardship is the operating name of Stewardship Services (UKET) Limited, a registered charity in England and Wales no. 234714 and a company limited by guarantee no. 90305
Editorial Last summer my family had the wonderful privilege of spending extended time with my mother. She lives in NYC so we don’t get to see her face-to-face very often. We were away at the beach and enjoying dinner one evening when my wife asked my mother to tell us a favourite story about my childhood. She cringed. I cringed. My family smiled and waited for a good story. I waited for the disaster about to unfold. She then told a story of one of the most painful moments of my childhood. My wife and children were speechless. They simply could not comprehend what they were hearing. It was not the story they expected because it bore no resemblance to our family’s story. Stories can be painful, but they can be incredibly powerful, liberating and uplifting. My friend, Jeremy Marshall, tells the best stories, and they always point people to Jesus. His story about smuggling Bibles behind the Iron Curtain is my favourite story
of childhood. Another friend, Richard Garnett, shares his thoughts on the importance of stories in communicating the work of churches and charities. I’d urge every leader to take note, and every supporter to pass this issue on to their church or favourite charity. Stories have power. We all have a story. Past. Present. Future. For many of us, our present story is rooted in Jesus and in the joy of knowing Him. But many around us have yet to hear the story of repentance, redemption and reconciliation. When my mother told ‘my’ story, I admit the pain returned, but the pain was tempered by the knowledge that her story was very much rooted in the past. I now live in the present with an eye on a glorious future. My response must be to share a great story. A story rooted in repentance, redemption and reconciliation. Will you join me in trying to tell great, and The Greatest, stories? Michael O’Neill, CEO Stewardship
Like what you read? Use your Stewardship account to lend your support 3
News in brief Restoring life Devon-based charity Restore are working with trafficked women to give them longterm support. Survivors of trafficking currently receive 45 days of government-funded support. Rachel Smith of Restore says: “Survivors are still only coming to terms with what has happened to them and in many cases have not even begun to heal.” When the women are referred to Restore, they are given a safe place to recover for an extra year. With the mission statement ‘Rebuilding the life intended for survivors of human trafficking’, Restore is looking to help even more women in 2017. To find out more visit www.to-restore.org
The Moses Project The Moses Project is a volunteer-led project in Mid Suffolk supporting new families who are struggling to fulfil the financial and practical needs of a newborn baby. The aim is to demonstrate the love of God to those in need through acts of kindness. Founder Rebekkah Dyer firmly believes in making a difference and being God’s witness through helping others. Building relationships takes time, as Rebekkah says. “I pray that as time passes and more baskets are received, the project will become a well-known and trusted resource, helping both mum and baby at an important and precious time.” Through referrals from local professionals, The Moses Project fills baskets with baby and mother essentials for local families in need. Running for just over a year, the project aims to keep on helping vulnerable families. You can find out more on their Facebook page or by emailing themosesproject@outlook.com 4
Features 6
Stewardship in action: legacy giving and 40acts
Faith the facts Charity think tank NPC has recently published an in-depth report on the contribution and impact faith has on the charity sector. Entitled What A Difference A Faith Makes, the document examines the definition of a faith-based charity, explores how faith influences charities and their work and unpacks the strengths and challenges experienced by faith-based charities. The report concludes with a summary of NPC’s key findings and their recommendations for the future. Stewardship was privileged to be involved in the production of this important and far-reaching piece of research. You can read the report here: thinknpc.org/publications/ what-a-difference-faith-makes/
Raising the game Third Sector have published a five-page report, The Future of Fundraising, on the way new and emerging technologies could change the way we give. Including an analysis of crowdfunding, online charity shops and contactless donations, the paper maps the trends which could affect charitable giving in the future. Check it out at thirdsectorinsight.com
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Ten steps towards better communication
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Jeremy Marshall: how generosity shaped a life
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Legal and financial
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Consultancy helpline
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Why I give: Chine McDonald 5
STEWARDSHIP IN ACTION
LEGACY GIVING ACCOUNT At Stewardship, we’re driven by our passion for encouraging and supporting generosity. One service which gives everyone a chance to make a difference is the Stewardship Legacy Giving Account. Nicola Johnson, one of the managers on the Giving Services Team, has been administering legacies at Stewardship for a number of years. We asked her to tell us how it works. 6
The flexibility and experience of the Legacy Giving service ensures that every client is able to state their wishes and trust that they will be carried out. “We make it really easy for our clients to carry on giving, both during their lifetime and beyond. They can leave a single legacy gift to Stewardship in their will, then provide us with what we call an Expression of Wishes, which lets us know how they would like us to distribute that legacy when we receive it. This gives them the flexibility to change how their legacy gift is used, as life goes on, by amending their Expression of Wishes as often as they like with no additional costs. Some clients even choose to leave their legacy gift to Stewardship without specifying charities they would like to support. In essence, they give us discretion to use their legacy to further causes selected by us, in the areas of evangelism and discipleship, as well as Christian expressions of mercy, justice and generosity. Account holders are also able to nominate one or two people to manage the account and make donation requests both during and after their lifetime.” Nicola sees some inspiring stories unfold in the course of her work. “One couple bought a second property in a city location, many years ago, in order to help others who might need it. It had cost them a few thousand pounds back then, but over time its value has increased significantly and now it’s worth a fortune! When they spoke to me they were still stunned by the increase in
value. They plan to give about half of the value to Stewardship as their legacy, which is unbelievably generous. “Another client left a legacy to Stewardship for various charities in his home town. He split his Expression of Wishes, allocating half to his local charities and the other half to Stewardship to administer, trusting our judgement to use his gift where it was needed. That our clients trust us that much is very humbling.” Many Stewardship clients build up a giving pot during their lifetime and view their charitable gifts as part of their living legacy. Others believe that their legacy starts after their death. The flexibility and experience of the Legacy Giving service ensures that every client is able to state their wishes and trust that they will be carried out. Nicola is clear on why Stewardship is different. “People can trust us to carry out their wishes and on the rare occasion where this isn’t possible (when, years after the giver’s death, a recipient no longer serves kingdom causes) our clients trust that we will allocate the funds wisely. We keep up to date on the statuses of the charities we support and we have an excellent and informed overview of charitable giving. We save our clients money and time and cut down on hassle.”
For more details about the Stewardship Legacy Giving Account, please visit
stewardship.org.uk/giving/legacies 7
Stewardship in action
In 2016, over 100,000 people took part in Stewardship’s multi award-winning Lent campaign, 40acts. One of them was 23-year-old Luke Hamilton, who oversees Youth and Young Leader Development for Alpha UK. 8
“I’d known about 40acts for a while. Thanks to the great social media presence and people I knew getting involved, I decided it was time to take the challenge myself.” Luke had gone down the more traditional Lent route in the past with little or no success. “I’d start with great intentions and by around day three, I’d slip up or forget. I’d then throw in the towel and vow to do better next year. What I really loved about 40acts and what spoke to me was that it’s not one continual challenge and it’s not about giving things up. It’s about playing out the real meaning of Lent in my everyday life. And it’s fun! How often do you hear people saying they had fun giving something up for Lent?” 40acts is designed to be accessible and engaging. “It was exciting to wake up each morning and get the daily challenge on my phone. I loved the thought-provoking content alongside the challenge, as well as the varied links. The traffic light system also really worked for me.”
it’s not about giving things up. It’s about playing out the real meaning of Lent in my everyday life. And it’s fun!
One of the highlights for Luke was on Day 10. “The theme was Spur On, so my friend Tim and I headed over to Trafalgar Square. We gave out chalk to passers-by and invited them to write encouraging words on the pavement. They took up the challenge with great enthusiasm and there was a real buzz, attracting everyone from tourists to policemen(!)” On a personal level, doing 40acts helped Luke to grow his generosity. “It took that challenge to make me realise that I should be encouraging others daily, not just in Lent. I had so many fruitful conversations during 40acts which taught me more about what it means to be generous and how to play out that lifestyle. The extra benefit of me doing the campaign was that I’ve now started reflecting on what comes after 40acts, and on my ongoing generosity.”
TAKE THE CHALLENGE & DO LENT GENEROUSLY! Sign up your family, church, youth group or as an individual for 40acts 2017 now. Visit 40acts.org.uk 9
(DON’T TELL)
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TEN STEPS TO HELP CHARITIES GO DEEPER WITH DONORS, AND CHURCHES OPEN UP TO MILLENNIALS.
Last autumn Stewardship hosted a day of workshops for charity and church fundraisers. One of the highlights was hearing our good friend Richard Garnett speak passionately about the ways in which charities can strengthen their relationships with donors (and imagine a world without the charity newsletter). His advice was too good not to put in Share, especially when combined with the insight of another friend of Stewardship’s – Rev Al Gordon. After years at Alpha, Al’s latest God-scripture adventure has taken him deep into the heart of hipster London. Together, Richard and Al see a clear route towards a bright future for charities and churches willing to make the leap…
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ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM According to former actor turned communications consultant, Richard Garnett, in the world of charity communications there’s one sin that outranks them all. It’s not the use of Comic Sans, the misplacing of apostrophes or an over-eagerness on social media that tips over into spam. No. The greatest sin of all is this: the sin of explanation. “There are so many charities who believe that communication is explaining every little thing that they do,” says Richard. “There are two falsehoods to that. Firstly, that I have the time. Increasingly I don’t.” Charities need to remember that the average human attention span has dropped to eight seconds in the last decade. “Secondly, the brain doesn’t hold onto theoretical explanations.” Too much information can actually mean supporters will remember less, not more, of what charities tell them.
RICHARD GARNETT COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT present.me garnettandsimpson.co.uk
The average human attention span has dropped to eight seconds in the last decade. 11
We have a desperate desire for story and increasingly a desire for relationship.
2 UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF STORY
In Made To Stick, authors Chip and Dan Heath suggest that neuroscientists now believe that when we read a story and imagine it, we adopt many of the qualities of the protagonists. So as we listen to or read the story of the Good Samaritan, we nurture our more loving, selfless instincts. The act of imagining one of Jesus’ parables is in itself a form of discipleship. “The church has hijacked that,” says Richard. “It assumes that discipleship happens when we explain those stories in sermons with three points and a lot of abstract language. But I think the world is screaming for relationship and stories. Just look at people’s consumption of box sets. We have a desperate desire for story and increasingly a desire for relationship.” It is no surprise that the charities who tell the best stories are the ones with the most passionate supporters.
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USE THE BIG PLATFORMS TO GO SMALL Thanks to the internet, charities have a potential audience that is truly global but can too easily get sidetracked pursuing more and more followers. The real beauty of the internet is its power to share stories, create relationships and conduct a dialogue. “The internet makes it possible for a CEO of a small charity to have a WhatsApp group for supporters and then load up a fortnightly one-minute video,” says Richard. “It doesn’t have to be plasma screen quality, just a quick clip that shows where you are, who you’ve helped and that says thank you. It’s not complicated! You can do it easily from wherever you are and the more rough and ready it is, the better. It’s personal and it’s connected and it invites a response.”
The real beauty of the internet is its power to share stories, create relationships and conduct a dialogue.
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ASK LESS OFTEN THAN YOU THANK So is it wrong for charities and churches to ask for supporters to act generously? Is it ever right to use guilt to highlight the inequalities of this world? “It’s entirely right to ask for support,” says Richard, “but it’s the ratio that has to be right. To have five thank-yous for every one ask seems to me valid and right. Guilt is absolutely valid because if I lived next door to a Ugandan orphanage I would be infinitely more generous than I am now. It’s absolutely within the right of the charity to take me to that place and say ‘What are you going to do about it?’”
To have five thank-yous for every one ask seems to me valid and right. 14
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BE INTERESTED IN MORE THAN JUST YOUR OWN STORY More information has been produced online in the last two years than in the whole of human history combined. We’re overrun with people and organisations telling us what they want us to hear. But are they listening to us? “So many charities believe that what they’re saying is the most interesting bit of information you’ll have heard all day. It’s not. But that doesn’t stop the charity CEOs from telling us to give them our money and listen to their latest update on their work. They might believe they’re communicating but they’re not, for the simple fact that they’re not making the time and effort to listen.”
Are charities interested in a relationship with their supporters, or just their money?
Are charities interested in a relationship with their supporters, or just their money? If you’re involved with a charity, when was the last time you asked any of your supporters what they wanted prayer for?
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AL GORDON
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RECTOR OF HACKNEY stjohnathackney.org
GET YOUR AIM RIGHT Al Gordon, Rector of Hackney and former Global Vice President of Alpha International, has learned a thing or two about communication, especially having refreshed the presentation of Alpha in 2014. “Alpha had already made a huge impact but we are aware that demographics change and that each generation needs to explore and understand the Gospel in a fresh way. Often organisations make the mistake of focusing on the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of their message, at the expense of the ‘why’ and the ‘who’” The ‘why’ was easy enough, for as Al says, “Alpha wants to see as many people as possible explore the meaning of life.” But the ‘who’ was another matter… Charged with making Alpha work better for twentysomethings, Al and his team decided not to try and tailor their communication to appeal to every one of the myriad subgroups within the age range. Instead they created everything with just one person in mind; a 24-year-old, urban, secular, independent-thinking, digital native. “If you throw 100 balls at 100 people at the same time, nobody catches anything. But throw one ball to the furthest, hardest to reach person from you, and if you can get the ball to them, there’s a good chance you'll be able to communicate to everyone else between you and them.
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But throw one ball to the furthest, hardest to reach person from you, and if you can get the ball to them, there’s a good chance you'll be able to communicate to everyone else between you and them.
We sat down and thought, how do we reach them? That’s the adventure we are on as a team.
EMBRACE CHANGE (OR DIE) “When we find something that works the temptation is to double down on success,” says Al. “Short term it’s a brilliant thing to do, but in the long term it’s death. You start running around the same track and soon things wear thin. You have to keep moving, explore the unknown.” That much was clear to Al when last autumn he took up the role of Rector of Hackney, taking on the duties at the quirky gig-venue cum parish church that is St John at Hackney. “It’s in the most dynamic and creative part of London, with a population growth of 20% in the last 10 years, most of whom are in their twenties. It’s full of creatives and world-view shapers, the unreached people, the ones who would love to come but who don’t know anyone who’s a Christian. We sat down and thought, how do we reach them? That’s the adventure we are on as a team.”
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PRAY They did all the things you’d expect – created a new website, developed a new comms style that would not feel out of place when you put it in the coffee shop or when you put it next to the gig flyers – but more than anything, they prayed. “That’s the key thing,” says Al. “We often forget that’s the most important ‘how’ of all. So before Christmas we prayer-walked, prayed over every flyer and put one through every letter box in the parish. In the end we had over 2,300 people queuing to come to our carol services.”
But more than anything they prayed.
SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE As Al was watching people leave the carol service he overheard a couple of young men in their twenties discuss it, saying: “These guys have really got their brand together”. “It was interesting because I hadn’t really made the link in my mind between the way we communicated about the service and the way we communicated during the service. But it reminded me that the church has always been interested in the visual arts, whether it’s been holding up the communion wafer to help people understand that God loves you and is drawing near to you, or the cross on the outside of the church. In a sense Christianity is the oldest and most successful brand on the planet. All of us are in the communication business. We are announcing the good news and so to care about how we communicate is to care about the kingdom of God.” 18
Christianity
In a sense Christianity is the oldest and most successful brand on the planet. All of us are in the communication business.
TM
10 REMEMBER WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT
Where you have a slick branded church without any warmth of relationship, people instinctively feel that they are being marketed to.
Slick branding might seem like a shortcut to success, but churches and charities can encounter serious problems if they pursue it at the expense of building relationships with people. “Millennials are turned off by the idea of organised communication, even though ironically they're very good at it. The older generation are a bit more cynical about the ‘McDonaldisation’ of church. For all of them the same is true: that communication without relationship leads to cynicism. But communication with relationship leads to real community and change. Where you have a slick branded church without any warmth of relationship, people instinctively feel that they are being marketed to.”
So all those Alpha posters on buses weren’t the secret of Alpha’s success? “No. Most people come to Alpha because they’re invited by a friend. The poster on the bus is just a reminder. It’s not the thing that’s made them come.” 19
S U O R E N E A G Y E N R U JO 20
hen you’re 10 years old and the summer holidays begin with your parents packing the maroon Austin 1800 with your three sisters, your family tent and fifty Russian Bibles, it all seems perfectly normal. You assume that every family spends August driving behind the Iron Curtain, visiting underground churches, supporting persecuted pastors and trying to smuggle as many of those Bibles as possible past austere-looking border guards.
With a childhood like that, it takes years before you realise that your experiences are unique. But by then it’s too late. The seeds of faith, risk and generosity have been sown. For Jeremy Marshall, the lessons of these early childhood encounters continue to be felt today. “Some borders were harder to get Bibles through than others, but once we were through we faced an even greater challenge of finding the churches. Their pastors had often been sent to a forced labour camp and they faced constant harassment at the hands of the authorities. They were trying to keep hidden and it would take forever to find the houses they were meeting in. But we were never too late; their services went on all day. “People were surprised to see us. My father did it off his own bat, with no official mandate, no support from any big organisations like Open Doors. Lots of people told him he was bonkers to do it – especially with the family in tow – but he was willing to take a risk and he knew that one person really can make a difference.” Photo credits: Jeremy Marshall
He was willing to take a risk and he knew that one person really can make a difference. 21
“I went to work for Credit Suisse, spent 15 years living in Switzerland and the US, and eventually became the chief executive of a private bank. I carried on visiting many of the people my father and I spent time with behind the Iron Curtain, but I’ve never felt that these two elements of my life were opposed. If you get a good job and earn not too shabby an amount of money, and if then as a chief executive you get some kind of platform and people become interested in what you have to say, it’s an opportunity to do good.” Even a person with limited financial means. Jeremy’s father was a pastor of an evangelical free church in Hemel Hempstead. “He had no money at all. When I started work in 1984 I was earning £6,000, and he told me my salary was higher than his. But while he had no money, he did have enthusiasm and time. Generosity is not just about what we do with our finance; it’s about taking risks.” With a first-hand view of dynamic faith in action – both through his parents’ lives and the examples of the Christians they travelled to support – Jeremy received a rich vibrant, tangible illustration of Hudson Taylor’s observation that faith which does not require us to take a risk is no faith at all.
Generosity is not just about what we do with our finance; it’s about taking risks.
What kind of future might such childhood experiences lead to? A missionary? A minister? Not in the strictest sense of the words. But in many ways, the mission field is exactly where he has ended up: Jeremy went to work in the City. 22
As an active member of the UK Church, (he is the chairman of Christianity Explored) Jeremy has a clear perspective on our current condition. “We Christians in the West are risk averse and very comfortable. The Church can do a better job engaging, mobilising and telling Christians who have money to use it, yet the Church is often reluctant to talk about money, even though Jesus talked a lot more about money, work or possessions than he did about prayer. “We’re accountable. Money is an acid test for how we think about life. I feel like I’ve been given an awful lot and I’d better do something useful with it. So I don’t see a career in the City and a desire to do good as in any way contradictory, but a chance given by God. And like all chances that God gives, when we meet Him I believe He will ask ‘What did you do with these gifts?’”
Thoughts about being face to face with God have a little more resonance for Jeremy these days. Almost two years ago he was diagnosed with cancer and given eighteen months to live. With God’s help, he says, he’s “beaten the curve” so far. Cancer has given Jeremy a lot of opportunities to share his faith. “Sometimes people have impression of Christians as superhuman, holy people, but making ourselves vulnerable is helpful when we share our faith. It’s not easy being ill – it’s terrible and I’d much rather not be ill. But when we go through suffering God uses it to speak to others – and us – of who He is. It can be an opportunity for witness.”
When we go through suffering God uses it to speak to others – and us – of who He is. 23
It can also be an opportunity for some straight talking (not that Jeremy shied away from that before the diagnosis). “The big danger in the UK Church is complacency. I absolutely include myself in this. It’s vital that we don’t stop sharing our faith. The culture is shifting and we often feel embarrassed or that it’s culturally not acceptable to share our faith. Some church leaders seem to lack clarity on the Gospel, and some are embarrassed to claim the exclusivity of Christ in a multi-faith environment. But we’re not free to water down our beliefs in order to make it more acceptable.”
It’s wonderful and right to want to alleviate poverty, but in my view the amount of money and effort the Church is putting into evangelism is comparatively far too small. The swing in some churches away from overt evangelism towards a gospel, oriented ONLY around social justice, also strikes Jeremy as worrying. “The Church has its priorities wrong. It’s wonderful and right to want to alleviate poverty, but in my view the amount of money and effort the Church is putting into evangelism is comparatively far too small. The two reinforce each other, but we must not lose the importance of sharing our faith.” While falling ill has not prompted a sudden outburst of generosity, it has brought into focus a lot of the lessons Jeremy has learned from a lifetime of ministry travel.
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“By living in such comfort we’ve become used to something that is atypical, and that has lots of dangerous consequences. If you look at the early Church, it was when people saw Christians getting thrown to the lions (and remaining calm as they died) that the seed was planted in people’s minds. Many became Christians that way. Suffering is a bad thing and it’s good to avoid it; we should not go looking for it, but the Bible says it’s the normal experience for Christians. We all will suffer. We all will die, so we shouldn’t be surprised when it happens. As Peter says, we should not think it strange when you are persecuted. But that’s exactly what we do. “So we feel helpless, that the current is going against us, that things are going from bad to worse. Maybe that’s true, but it’s up to God. The key challenge for us is that we do what we can while we can. We must work while it’s still day because the night is coming and we must help people who are lost. Individuals can make a difference.” His views on generosity (and many other aspects of the Christian life) are shared via his blog. He’s open and candid about his health and equally open and candid about the challenges facing each one of us. And when he writes about the need for all of us to take risks, he does so with an unshakeable belief that God is in control. “It’s like the French General Foch during the First World War. When the situation was at its most bleak he wrote ‘My centre is giving way, my right is in retreat; situation excellent. I shall attack.‘ “Is that us in the Church? Are we answering God’s call to go on the offensive (in love) and share our faith?”
The key challenge for us is that we do what we can while we can. We must work while it’s still day because the night is coming and we must help people who are lost. Individuals can make a difference.
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Legal & financial
THERE’S MORE THAN ONE WAY... ‘There’s more than one way to skin a cat’ goes the saying. A less grotesque, more humane equivalent might be ‘There’s more than one way to bake a cake’. Even better, how about this: ‘there’s more than one way to leave a legacy to charity’. Perhaps it doesn’t roll off the tongue quite so well, but it’s absolutely true. The first and most obvious way is to include a specific legacy to charity in one’s Will. A less obvious way is to give the legacy to one’s executors / trustees, leaving them with discretion to distribute this to a charity or charities of one’s choice, or perhaps in accordance with an expression of wishes from the person writing the Will (that is, the ‘testator’). A further and lesser known option is for all, or some, of the beneficiaries of the Will to agree to effectively re-write it post death using a Deed of Variation. A further alternative is for some or all of these options to be combined in a Legacy Account with Stewardship. 26
Specific legacy to charity
Stewardship Legacy Account
A specific legacy has advantages. For example, it is certain who will benefit. But what if the testator has a change of heart during their lifetime, or if a charity or charities included cease to exist, or don’t really need the money? The only option is for the testator to write a codicil or a new Will, with all of the attendant cost and effort.
The Stewardship Legacy Account makes use of all of the advantages set out above, but without the disadvantages. You can set the account up and fund it during your lifetime, it can be funded by a legacy gift on death, or from a Deed of Variation by one or more of the original beneficiaries redirecting part of their legacy to Stewardship. You can nominate one or more people to manage the account and make gift requests to Stewardship after your death. Equally, you can give Stewardship an expression of wishes setting out how you wish the funds to be used. If you need to change this during your lifetime, this can be done quickly and easily. Alternatively, you can give Stewardship discretion to use the account to further causes selected by us in the three areas of evangelism and discipleship, mercy and justice, and generosity.
Discretionary legacy to executors Here the deceased is trusting their executors to make ‘good’ decisions on their behalf. This may or may not prove to be right. What if one or more executors pre-decease the testator? And what if, with hindsight from beyond the grave, the executor appointed in younger life is no longer the best person to have chosen? The testator also needs to be careful to ensure that the expression of wishes does not legally become part of the ‘testamentary disposition’ (ie part of the Will). Drafting and legal procedure is important. Failure to get this right can mean that the expression of wishes cannot be changed without a codicil or a new Will.
Deed of Variation Any Will can be varied by (all or some of) the beneficiaries after death. If certain formalities are complied with, it takes effect for all purposes including inheritance tax as if the deceased had written the varied Will themselves. But why do this? A common example that we see is where Christian beneficiaries desire to redirect their inheritance, to ‘tithe’ or gift some or all of it to charity. Done properly, this is a valuable tool.
For more details about the Stewardship Legacy Account, please visit stewardship.org.uk/giving/legacies.
Tax benefits Legacy gifts to charity (including to Stewardship) are exempt from Inheritance Tax. If 10% or more of the estate is given to charity, the rate of tax on the rest of the estate reduces. For further thought, we have produced a very useful free Briefing Paper that explores leaving a Will from a biblical and practical perspective.
Visit stewardship.org.uk/share36 for more information, plus full links Kevin Russell, Technical Director
@KevnRussell
For the very latest news, subscribe to our free Sharpen email bulletin by visiting our website stewardship.org.uk You can also check out our Blog and Events pages for technical updates on law, accounting and tax stewardship.org.uk/blog and /events 27
Ask Steve Professional advice for churches and charities Stephen Mathews heads up the Stewardship consultancy helpline team, a specialist service offering expert knowledge to churches and charities.
One of our employees has been accused by a partner organisation of financial impropriety. Whilst we consider this accusation groundless, we want to know what we can do to best protect our assets and so help avoid future allegations. A. Putting aside the allegation of impropriety, a key
duty for charity trustees is to safeguard and protect the assets of the charity. This protection goes beyond the more obvious tangible assets of cash, equipment and land, to include intellectual property, staff, and the reputation of the charity. Even in quite small charities, the trustees are unlikely to be on hand to oversee every aspect of the work and so the best way for the trustees to discharge their duty is to put in place an operating framework which has adequate policies, procedures and controls as are necessary to protect the charity’s assets. When considering what such a framework may look like, there is a balance for trustees to draw between protecting its assets, but at the same time not stifling the charity and allowing those with day to day responsibilities sufficient discretion to be able to run the charity efficiently. An operating framework is likely to include: Policies (eg child protection, conflict of interest, antimoney laundering etc); Operating procedures (eg payment authorisation, banking arrangements etc); Insurance (eg employers’ liability, all risks cover for moveable assets etc); Staff welfare (eg job description, contracts, staff handbook etc); Physical security (eg safe, property alarms etc). Above everything else, the trustees can, by example, set the tone for the charity, applying high standards of integrity, honesty, openness, and transparency for others to follow. 28
It has been suggested that we make use of debit and/or credit cards in the church as a matter of convenience for small purchases. What potential issues should we be aware of? A. Firstly, purchases made using debit or credit cards are no different to any other purchases and should be subject to the same controls and processes. Debit or credit cards are often a convenient way to make small purchases, but at the same time, and often inadvertently, can bypass some of the standard payment controls that normally operate. When thinking about whether to use cards and also how to amend your payment control processes, bear in mind: To tap into the convenience aspect, cardholders, regardless of who they are, should be able to make small purchases (set a pre-agreed limit) without obtaining prior authorisation. Larger purchases should still require prior authorisation; After receiving the monthly itemised card bill, all items (regardless of size) should be “post authorised” with any identified issues being addressed immediately; The number of cards issued should be limited. Deciding factors include: c The size of the church or charity; c The number of sites over which it operates; cT he number of staff or volunteers who regularly work away from the organisation’s main centre; Sensible and appropriate card limits should be set, able to cover normal transactions but not excessive; Cards should be stored securely and PINs should not be shared or revealed; Finally, because of the high interest rates, credit cards should not be used as a convenient form of borrowing.
Our church is in the process of appointing a new trustee. What do we need to do? A. Great churches and charities need great trustees; so there are really two aspects to this question. First, what should you look for when seeking a new trustee and second, what are the practical steps of appointment once you have found one? Good trusteeship is a combination of working to ensure that the charity is effective in meeting its purposes but at the same time ensuring that it is well governed with risk properly understood and managed. Trustees require enthusiasm, passion, a level head and sometimes a thick skin. They have overall responsibility for governance and, together with other leaders, will help set the feel, ethos and direction of the charity. Once you have found your person that fits the bill, there are some practical steps: Before appointing, point them in the direction of CC3 – The essential trustee (a Charity Commission guidance http://bit.ly/1yA5KU2); Consider any potential conflicts of interest that may arise; Appoint them in accordance with your governing document which may be quite specific (eg a vote); Induct them properly; allow them time to understand your leadership ethos and working method, even for people who have been involved with the charity for some time; Add them in the “change your charity’s details” section of the Charity Commission website; If structured as a company, complete the Companies House form AP01 and add them as a director. A church or charity with a dynamic, vibrant, and competent trustee body is more likely to be an effective organisation.
Visit stewardship.org.uk/blog for links to all the briefing papers mentioned Stephen Mathews, Head of Accountancy and Consultancy Services. Subscribe to Stewardship’s consultancy helpline service, visit stewardship.org.uk/consultancyhelpline Subscriptions for churches and charities start from as little as £50 per year. If you have a question you would like addressed in a future edition of Share, please write to us at editor@stewardship.org.uk
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What were you taught about generosity when you were a child? I’m of Nigerian descent and Nigerians are full of hospitality. We give abundantly and generously, whether that’s in sharing what we have with our neighbours and family when times are hard or putting on lavish banquets for weddings, funerals, Christenings or even just getting a good grade in a school exam! Add the Christian concept of cheerful giving and this pretty much sums up what I was taught about generosity when I was young.
Who has made the biggest influence on your giving? It would have to be my parents. At times of feast and famine they have remained committed to giving generously – even when it hurts. I watched them tithe throughout my childhood, even at times when I thought God wouldn’t have minded if they’d used that money for something else. It’s their commitment to faithful giving in spite of external circumstances that has been the biggest challenge to me.
WHY I
GIVE Chine McDonald
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What do you know now about giving that you didn’t know ten years ago?
What biblical passages inspire generosity in you the most?
I know that we don’t just give so that we can get something in return. I’m much more aware today than I was a decade ago of how vast the world is – the millions and millions of people who are suffering and living in levels of poverty I could not even begin to imagine. I know that I am one of the richest people in the world and therefore have a responsibility to give to help those who need money much more than I do.
1 John 3 captures the spirit of God’s generosity to us and how we should therefore approach our giving. ‘See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!’ In addition, in 2 Peter 1:3 we read that God through his divine power has given us ‘everything we need for a godly life’. God has not held back. And neither should we.
What’s the hardest thing? The hardest thing about giving – whether it’s financial or time or resource – is trusting that there will be enough left over for me! As a woman in particular, I’m aware that I may be prone to giving and giving and giving of myself. I think we need to give from a place of security that all our needs are provided for by God.
And the easiest? The easiest thing about giving is knowing the impact that even a small amount can have on those who need it. Selfishly, I love that feeling you get when you give to someone who needs it most – whether that’s through giving to help the world’s most vulnerable children around the world or buying the homeless person at the station some hot food. I think we’re wired to feel warm and fuzzy after an act of generosity because it reveals something of the character of God.
I think we’re wired to feel warm and fuzzy after an act of generosity because it reveals something of the character of God. What’s the best example you’ve seen of generosity in action? My friend Chris Duffett, who is a city centre chaplain, once told me of an amazing car boot sale he organised at his church. The items were donated by members of the church and when customers arrived at the car boot sale and asked how much the products were, the church volunteers were able to say: “For you… free.” What an amazing example of enabling people to understand the free gift of grace given to us so generously by God.
Chine McDonald is head of Christian influence & engagement at World Vision UK. She was formerly director of communications at the Evangelical Alliance. She is a writer and speaker on issues of gender, race and faith and author of 'Am I Beautiful?' – a book exploring body image and faith among Christian women. Chine sits on the boards of the Church & Media Network and the Sophia Network. @ChineMcDonald
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