Parishioner Responsibility
From a spiritual perspective, we are called upon to be generous and joyful givers of our time, talents, and treasure, to support God’s church. Giving to support missions we believe in gives us joy and makes us feel more connected to our parish. There are many opportunities to serve and get involved.
From a practical viewpoint, stewardship is a shared responsibility and duty that we undertake to care for and maintain our parish and its missions. It is the combined energy and financial support of families and individual members that make possible all that we are and do as a parish. Pledges and gifts provide roughly 75% of the funds for our annual parish budget.
Members of the Episcopal Church are expected to support their parish through generous pledges of their time and talent (through volunteering) and treasure (through financial pledges). You are not required to pledge to attend services and participate in parish life, but you are expected to support your fair share of our parish expenses and operating costs, in proportion to your resources.
We all receive many requests from worthwhile charities and organizations—but remember that St. Andrew’s depends on a relatively small number of pledges (275 to 300) for most of its budget. Please give St. Andrew’s a high place in your annual giving and make a pledge that feels to you like a major gift!
This is a very personal decision, but there are guiding principles. The Biblical tithe of 10% of income is a worthy goal, and some members joyfully reach this pinnacle. At St. Andrew’s, we suggest an initial goal of 2% of income, and encourage you to move up in increments of 1% of income towards a full (or fuller) tithe. Our average gift in 2023 was approximately $4,300 per household.
New Member Questions
Yes, all members of our community make pledges. Gifts should reflect both a household financial capability and could also reflect where you are in your journey with St. Andrews. Perhaps new members want to start with a smaller pledge/gift and then as your relationship with the church grows, so can your financial support. Every pledge, regardless of size is important to each Stewardship campaign.
We certainly hope that St. Andrews becomes your church of choice. Part of committing to a new church is committing to its financial well-being. Please give something to each church you visit in your search, including St. Andrews. We want all spiritual communities to thrive.
Definitions
A pledge to St. Andrew’s is a financial promise and commitment to support our parish and its missions in the coming year. Your pledge is an act of faith that connects you more deeply to our church. Many find spiritual joy in making a generous pledge to support God’s work through the church. While pledges guide our budget for the year, they can be adjusted, up or down, if your circumstances change.
Pledges indicate your intended financial donation to the parish for the coming year. They convey a level of commitment that strengthens our bonds with the parish, and they are needed by the wardens and vestry in their responsibility to plan appropriately for the year ahead. Pledges to St. Andrew’s are non-binding; thus you can pay your pledge from a donor-advised fund or a charitable gift fund. Gifts, while welcome and appreciated, usually cannot be foreseen, or relied on for planning purposes.
Financial Perspective
We do have several endowment funds which are like savings accounts. As good stewards of the endowments, we strive to preserve the principal for future needs or emergencies and use only a small draw (4½% of average principal) each year to offset a portion of our annual expenses.
No, we don’t—for St. Andrew’s, it’s actually the other way around! Your pledges or gifts go directly to our parish, and we are then charged an annual assessment to help fund the diocese, supporting it and the missions of the Episcopal Church throughout the world. This assessment (about $176,700 in 2023) is the second largest line item in our budget. Episcopal churches are usually financially independent, raising most of their operating funds from members. Unlike some churches, we are not funded from the top down.
Taking Steps to Give
There are three easy ways to make your pledge:
- Drop your pledge card in the offering plate.
- Click here to make a pledge online on this website or go to the “2024 Stewardship” tab and click the button at the top of the page.
- Mail your pledge card to the church office.
Timely pledges are essential for prudent budgeting and planning for the coming year. Please make your pledge by Commitment Sunday, November 5, 2023.
Yes, pledges and gifts are tax deductible. However, payments for events, books and other physical items, and internment in the memorial garden are not tax deductible and will not be reflected in your giving statement.
Realm is the system that St. Andrews employs to support and connect our community. It provides church news, a means of communication for groups/ministries, a calendar of events, a directory of parishioners and tools to give. Members can download the Realm app on your phone, or use the Realm function on our website. Once you are on Realm, you simply click on “give” button/icon and follow the prompts. It’s really quite friendly.
You can choose from checking, savings, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover accounts.
When on the Giving tab in Realm, click +Give. You can select the amount, the fund (from the drop-down) and select the date for your gift. If you wish to set up recurring payments, click on the Give Multiple Times tab to set up a monthly payment. Through Realm, you can donate to your stewardship pledge, flowers, discretionary funds, memorials, or seasonal events.
Yes. Our service provider, Vanco Payment Solutions, is designated as a PCI (Payment Card Industry) Level 1 Compliant Service Provider. That means that customer transaction data is managed under the highest security standards in the industry.
No, there is no fee to you for using the Realm giving option. The church pays a small processing fee. When making your donation using a credit card, you will have the opportunity to help cover the cost of that fee if you choose.
Yes, if you created a recurring payment when you set up your gift, you can change the amount, date or cancel the payment at any time. Simply log in and make your change. If you need help making a change to your giving, contact Joanne Butler.
Please contact Joanne Butler for information on the process to donate a stock through St. Andrew’s Vanguard account.
Yes, all online contributions will be credited to your account and will appear on your quarterly statement along with any other donations. If you wish to have your quarterly statement emailed, you can go into Edit on your profile page and change the “Statement Delivery” setting under Personal Information to “email” or “email and mail.”