RAISING FUNDS TO BUILD THE NEW DEANE CHURCH HALL
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6)
We are about to enter a momentous and exciting period in the life of our church community, and at no time have the above verses from Proverbs been more relevant. During November we expect to open our charity shop (the Deane Church Shop) on Wigan Road, and Bolton Council is expected to approve our plans for the new church hall. Also this month, all members of the church are being asked to pray and think about what financial contribution they as individuals can make to the new hall project, and at the end of the month we will each be asked to pledge our donations over the next three years. Finally, in December the PCC will decide, as a result of the total sum pledged, whether to plan to begin work on the new hall in the second half of 2009.
We are indeed stepping out in faith as we embark on this project, and we can only succeed by putting all our trust in the Lord and relying on His guidance.
The plans for the hall are currently being displayed in church. The facilities will include a main hall and associated outside walled area, three smaller meeting rooms, a foyer/café area, kitchen and store rooms. It will provide space for church activities such as Sunday school, youth groups, Ladies' Guild, toddler group, bereavement counselling, funeral teas and wedding receptions, as well as being a venue for a wide range of community services and activities. A business plan is currently being prepared which when approved by the PCC will form the basis for our external grant applications.
How much will it cost?
It is estimated that the completed building will cost £550,000, plus architect, planning and other fees of £50,000. To raise such a sum seems an impossible task, but assuming that we can obtain funding from grant-awarding bodies to match our own contribution, about £200,000 from the congregation should be sufficient. Raising even this amount from one congregation seems an insurmountable task, but God has given us all so very much, and if we all give as much as we can then all the small amounts build up quite quickly. We need to raise this amount over a three year period, and in that context, even £10.00 per month is a significant figure.
It is very encouraging to be able to report that individual members of the PCC have so far pledged to donate about £56,000 (including Gift Aid). If other members of the congregation were able to give on average at the same rate over three years (about £2,500 per person), we would comfortably reach our target.
Here is a breakdown of the current financial position:
| Approximate amount needed for the Hall (including fees) | £600,000 |
| Amount raised and/or spent to date | £63,000 |
| Amount pledged by members of the PCC (inc gift aid) | £56,000 |
| Amount now required | £481,000 |
| Estimated amount from charity shop | £ 75,000 |
| Estimated amount from general fundraising | £ 10,000 |
| Estimated amount from congregation * | £200,000 |
| Estimated amount from grant bodies and external funds | £196,000 |
| £481,000 |
* What might £200,000 look like from the congregation?
| 1 person gives a lump sum of £25,000 (Gift Aided) | £ 32,000 |
| 2 people give lump sums of £10,000 (Gift Aided) | £ 25,600 |
| 5 people give lump sums of £5,000 Gift Aided) | £ 32,000 |
| 8 people give lump sums of £1000 (Gift Aided) | £ 12,240 |
| 2 people give lump sums of £1000 (without gift aid) | £ 2,000 |
| 20 people give a lump sum of £500 (Gift Aided) | £ 12,800 |
| 10 people give a lump sum of £500 (without gift aid) | £ 5,000 |
| 10 people give £50 per month for three years | £ 21,780 |
| 10 people give £30 per month for three years | £ 13,068 |
| 20 people give £25 per month for three years | £ 21,780 |
| 40 people give £10 per month for three years | £ 17,424 |
| 20 people give £5 per month for three years | £ 4,356* |
| TOTAL | £200,048 |
*It has been assumed that 75% of these items have been gift aided.
How shall I register my personal pledge?
A pledge information sheet (which gives information about the types of pledges) and a pledge form may be downloaded by clicking here. In order that the PCC can decide in December what action to take, we are all asked to return our completed pledge form by Pledge Sunday, 30 November 2008). Although the PCC will need to know total levels of donations, individual pledges will be confidential and known only to the PCC Treasurer. It will also be possible to make totally anonymous donations, as explained in the pledge information sheet. The pledge form can be handed in at church, or can be e-mailed to les.kilsby@deaneparish.co.uk
Ideas for Personal Fundraising
Some ideas to help you save money and give to the Church Hall fund.
- Be creative in planning your annual holiday - house swap, borrow camping gear from friends, hire a youth hostel with other families. It will be a wonderful change and give the difference to the appeal. This kind of alternative holiday might raise in excess of £750. Or if that is too much of a sacrifice, consider a one week holiday instead of two every other year.
- Put a 'spare change' money box by the front door and empty any loose change in there once a week.
- In your 'Will', give a proportion of your estate to the church/hall. It is quite common for Christians to give about 10%.
- Rather than the monthly family takeaway, have a 'Baked Potato and Beans' supper. £20/month = £307.20 in a year with gift aid
- Children - have confectionary only once a week and give the remainder to the fund. You might be able to give £50 over the year.
- Give unwanted items to the Church Charity Shop. All profits from the Charity Shop are for the Hall fund.
- Replace one bottle of wine in the supermarket trolley with a bottle of soft drink. Over a year with gift aid this would equate to over £200.
- 'Eat in' instead of out with friends. Put on a 'bring and share' or each guest pays £10 towards a meal another person is making. Give the remainder you would expect to pay to the fund. If 10 friends join in, this kind of evening could raise about £200 even with food and some drink costs taken out. (The food will probably be much better than a restaurant as well!)
- Miss a sporting event, such as a Bolton Wanderers match and give the money you would have spent. Perhaps arrange to watch the match on TV with friends and make it into a social occasion.
- As a family talk about reducing how much money you spend on Christmas/birthday presents one year.
- Use www.easyfundraising.org.uk to purchase internet items from shops such as Amazon, Waterstones, Next and M&S (there more than 600 altogether). These stores give about up to 2.5% of the purchase price to a 'charity of your choice'. It costs you nothing - just go through the easy fundraising website to the store you want to shop with. We have registered ourselves as a charity on the site as 'Deane Parish Church, Bolton'. Or use www.quidco.com another site where the purchaser receives a percentage of the sale (up to 10%) and then give that money to the Hall fund. Again this costs you nothing. Other cashback sites which operate in the same way as quidco, but with some different retailers, are www.pigsback.com and www.greasy-palm.co.uk
PLEASE INCLUDE THE HALL AND CHARITY SHOP IN YOUR REGULAR PRAYERS, TO ASK OUR LORD TO GUIDE US, BOTH INDIVIDUALLY, AND AS A CHURCH FAMILY.
Download the pledge form from here 
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The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of St Mary the Virgin, Deane, Bolton
Registered Charity Number 1133864