The Stewardship Magazine Autumn / Winter 2020
THE CHANGE ISSUE How COVID changed everything How can the Church tackle its race problem?
transforming generosity
GIVE.NET Online fundraising for churches and charities from Stewardship
Give.net makes it easy for your supporters or church members to donate online. It’s free to register and there are no monthly or membership fees.
During a recent fundraising campaign, our supporters needed a quick and easy way to donate online. We found give. net to be hassle-free and really easy to use. Being a registered Stewardship recipient meant that our online give.net page was already live and ready to be used. Deborah McMillan, FONiC Trust
Register at www.give.net 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 £72 million 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.
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 We named our Spring edition of Share ‘The Change Issue’, and in the THE editorial I noted how much CHANGE change had come about, ISSUE either through the actions of ordinary but courageous people, or due to circumstances that impacted lives and hearts. The Stewardship Magazine Spring / Summer 2020
The end of Amsterdam’s Red Light District? How we see each other
What suffering taught me about generosity
transforming generosity
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That was written in January, when COVID was in the news but certainly not dominating the headlines. I don’t think any of us had any idea what was round the corner.
In the midst of all the changes and hard work that my colleagues had to endure during lockdown, none of us expected to lose a dear and much valued colleague, Fiona Green, who had been part of Stewardship’s Accounts Examination Team for nearly 12 years. Fiona died after a short illness in July, and leaves behind husband Steve and three sons. It has been a really tough time, especially as we are all working remotely, but one blessing has been a virtual book of remembrance, with comments from staff, trustees and clients. One colleague wrote: ‘Fiona’s generous and kind heart was a gift to this world and will be sorely, sorely missed’.
We decided we needed ‘Change Issue Part 2’, as so much has happened since then. As I write, the pandemic is still impacting people worldwide, and the political and economic fallout continues. I hope that like me, you’ll find the articles inspiring and challenging. Many churches and charities quickly stepped up and made a difference in their community, including Soul Church Norwich (page 6). Jackie, our Treasurer Services Lead, describes how her team responded when the Furlough Scheme was announced (page 10). John Kirkby (founder of Christians Against Poverty) describes the financial impact this crisis has had on many families (page 22). We Need to Talk (page 16) features interviews with Jay Marriner and Ben Lindsay, amongst others, and they discuss the challenges and opportunities following the shocking death of George Floyd and the resulting protests across the globe.
Fiona Green
Generosity and love really are the best gifts I can offer during these times. Bless you Frances Miles Chief Relationship Officer, Stewardship
Like what you read? Use your Stewardship account to lend your support. 3
FEATURES
NEWS IN BRIEF
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NEW-LOOK GIVING ACCOUNTS
News in brief
We’ve been working hard to update our Giving Accounts and help our clients with their giving choices. There are now a number of helpful new features on the account. Giving Account holders can add additional users to their account, such as a spouse, or a trusted family member. Just like the primary account holder, they will be able to view the bank account linked to the Giving Account and the general account settings, as well as managing certain user permissions.
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When the help helped
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When the churches locked down
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When the givers gave
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When the truth is told
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LET’S GET TOGETHER
When the crisis hit
We’ve had to postpone our Fundraising Conference, but we hope to have a date for next year very soon. Keep an eye on our socials for more information.
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Legal and financial
DROP US A LINE
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Consultancy helpline
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Why I give: Kayode Adewumi
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So much has changed since the last edition of Share came out. If your circumstances have altered in any way, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at giving@stewardship.org.uk and let us know if you’re still paying enough tax for us to claim Gift Aid on your behalf, as well as anything else you think we might need to know.
A WAVE OF GENEROSITY We’ve always known that Stewardship givers are unbelievably generous, but we were stunned when we launched our Rapid Response Fund just after lockdown began. Nearly £5 million was donated and administered by our Philanthropy Services team for use by churches, charities and projects seeking to respond to the huge need arising from the outbreak (you can read more about some of them later in the magazine). Our friends at Spring Harvest made the decision to go online and we were honoured to be able to help them cover the cost. Executive Vice Chair, Peter Martin, told us:
24-7 Prayer were another wonderful charity who we were able to assist. Here’s what Brian Heasley, International Director of Prayer, had to say:
“Out of the ashes of what was a disaster with the pandemic, in two and a half weeks we were able to put Spring Harvest online. Without your help, we couldn’t have done this. We’ve had 1.2 million views, engaged with 15 million people and heard some wonderful testimonies.”
NEARLY £5 MILLION WAS DONATED AND ADMINISTERED BY OUR PHILANTHROPY SERVICES TEAM FOR USE BY CHURCHES, CHARITIES AND PROJECTS.
“We are blown away and encouraged to keep running the race and with people like you behind us, we find fresh faith to keep going.” We’ve been overwhelmed by the huge wave of generous giving which has helped us help so many. In the first six weeks of lockdown, we saw all online giving treble compared to the same period last year.
FREE HEALTH CHECKS AND SUPPORT It’s been an anxious year for church leaders, treasurers and trustees so we’ve come up with a completely free assessment tool to help you evaluate the financial health of your church. Head over to our website and click on services. We’re also offering a free quarterly dial-in for church treasurers. Sign up to the dial-in mailing list and you’ll receive the details for each event, including how to join. Here’s what one of our delegates had to say:
“Thank you for your quarterly webinars. I am learning so much from everyone. The courses are just the right length to keep my attention. The papers you provide have all of the relevant topics covered so that I can refer to them later. The subject matter is addressed clearly and is based upon up-to-the-minute legislation and covers really important issues. They are just invaluable and they are free! What a blessing to me and my church.” 5
Stewardship in Action:
Soul Church Norwich
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Henry Kissinger’s famous words “a diamond is a chunk of coal that is made good under pressure” resonate as the UK reflects on the positive ways so many individuals and organisations responded to COVID-19. There’s no doubt the pandemic has transformed the way we all live and work, and churches and charities have been at the forefront of organisations being tested under pressure.
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hurches like Soul Church in Norwich – a church whose mission statement is Love In Action, and which regularly welcomed 1,500 worshippers through its doors on a typical Sunday. Before the pandemic hit Soul Church was running a food programme, using donations from local supermarkets to deliver around 1,000 meals a week in and around Norwich. Unsurprisingly the church saw a huge increase in demand at the start of lockdown. Yet even before it had fully worked out how it was going to respond, it pledged to meet the growing need. Knowing they couldn’t go it alone, Soul Church partnered with individuals and organisations both within and without the local community, including Stewardship. Many donated food, equipment and time, but there were equally pressing financial needs. Providing 30,000 meals a week would cost 70p per meal per person, and Soul Church quickly understood the need to raise money to ensure they could meet demand rather than rely on ad hoc food donations. They needed to set up online fundraising quickly and because they’d previously had
a positive experience in setting up give.net accounts for individuals within the church, they turned to Stewardship again, asking for help in setting up the Soul Foundation online fundraising page.
We really needed the money flowing in quickly and Stewardship enabled that. Katy Cooper, Head of Finance at Soul Church and Soul Foundation, says: “We really needed the money flowing in quickly and Stewardship enabled that – they went out of their way to do everything as quickly as possible – bending over backwards to do all they could to help.”
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Stewardship were also able to help with Soul Foundation’s battle with HMRC to be recognised as a charity. After three months they had got nowhere, but a call from Stewardship to HMRC’s Head of Charity Policy in London led to the application being authorised within twenty-four hours. Both of these financial interventions have clearly been beneficial to Soul Church, helping to support the continued development of their impressive operation.
Now housed in a warehouse made available free of charge, Soul Church shifts three tonnes of food in and out each day, and by the end of June they were delivering: 44,000 meals a week to around 1,650 families, topping up the food boxes with fresh milk, yogurt, eggs and meat.
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We really wondered why we received all this stuff – but God had a plan! Although there have been many fraught moments, Richard Nash (Soul Foundation’s Chair of Trustees) reflects that there have also been moments of unexpected joy and wonder – from having the unusual experience of a passer-by thanking him for delivering a food parcel to a homeless man, to amazement in recognising the detail in God’s provision. “In one of our early food deliveries there was a large quantity of baby food – those ready-to-eat pouches designed to allow babies to suck the food straight from the pouch – and an abundance of Nutella. One of the schools Soul Foundation are partnered with is a Special Educational Needs (SEN) school – and it turned out that both the pouches of baby food and the Nutella were the perfect food for many of these severely-disabled children. The baby food was perfect for older children unable to chew; while, for some of the children with severe disabilities, taste is a key way they communicate – and that Nutella really hit the spot, giving those children moments of pure joy. We really wondered why we received all this stuff – but God had a plan!”
Kevin Russell, Stewardship’s Technical & Advocacy Director, adds: “The people at Soul Church are truly inspirational – demonstrating God’s love in action, being recognised in the community for that – and seeing many souls saved as a result. Stewardship is about releasing generosity and making Jesus known, so there’s a natural connection with the aims of Soul Church and Soul Foundation. It’s been a real pleasure to partner with them and use our financial expertise to help them realise their vision. Different teams within Stewardship have been involved in releasing much needed funds, and there’s more planned!”
And the future? Soul Church intends to continue making diamonds for as long as the need is there and the money available. As Richard says, “The need isn’t going away anytime soon. There’s the clear expectation that the UK will move into recession, and we’ll continue to fundraise via our Soul Foundation page and grant applications.” Find out more about Soul Church at: soulchurch.com and Soul Foundation at: www.soulfoundation.org.uk Learn how Stewardship can help your fundraising by visiting: stewardship.org.uk/fundraise or check out give.net
Soul Foundation 20304119
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Feelings can be hidden more easily when we’re not physically together. We have to be proactive about checking in with others.
Giving support in a ckdown What was your first response when the lockdown began? Jackie Fletcher is Stewardship’s Treasurer Services Lead, looking after our Payroll Bureau, Charity Formation and Consultancy Helpline teams. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Jackie and her team worked harder than ever to make sure churches and Christian charities had the support they needed. From praying on the phone with individuals to hosting webinars for multiple denominations, Jackie tells us how Stewardship partnered with many people looking for help.
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When the technical team met remotely on the day after lockdown we knew by then that churches and charities felt like there was no support. Soundbites were thrown out by the government but it wasn’t clear what any of it looked like in practice – and there was nobody else talking about it. We decided to set up a webinar for questions to gauge how best we could support people. Within a week we had got together specialists from our own team, an employment and charity lawyer from Edward Connor Solicitors and an experienced treasurer. That first Q&A was when the enormity of the situation really hit. We reached the limit of 500 participants in one minute and many were still trying to get in.
What were the main challenges that you saw for churches and charities? The first concern was for their people. Questions were: how can we make sure our staff or our congregation are ok? Is it morally acceptable to furlough staff? Secondly, it was the practical issue of how to survive without knowing how long this would continue. “Can you go bankrupt as a church?!” Some people just needed to discuss the situation with someone who understood what they were going through. We did a lot of praying with leaders on the phone. It was so hard for people who felt called to something and then suddenly couldn’t do it anymore.
What do you think is the main thing that treasurers and church leaders can learn from the pandemic? I think it has taught churches not to get complacent; to make sure they are active in their finance management and to ask if they’re really being wise and prayerful with it. Equally, it’s prompted churches to consider how they are looking after people day to day. It’s been great to see leaders not just assuming their congregation are alright but actively finding out their needs. With my team, usually in the office I might notice someone’s slumped shoulders but feelings can be hidden more easily when we’re not physically together. We have to be proactive about checking in with others.
Were there any questions and concerns clients had that surprised or encouraged you? I loved to see so many leaders saying, “We know there’s huge need and we want to help – how best can we do this?” For some churches, they couldn’t put on services but they set up hardship funds and foodbanks or offered online counselling; it was real Early Church stuff. We had a lot of questions around what legal restrictions there may be on charitable organisations changing or adapting their activities. The great thing is that if your objective is to advance the Christian faith there’s loads you can do to witness God’s love.
What did this experience teach you about stewardship in the Church? I think it’s been a time of feast or famine. I know people who are working their socks off and earning yet not spending, and others who have lost their salary or are reliant on one income instead of two. I’ve just finished reading Acts and I’ve been struck by the need for us to share. One challenge for me personally was in not commuting anymore – I had to prayerfully consider, where does that travel money now go? Life is finite and some of us have been confronted with that very suddenly, so let’s hold things lightly.
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Mike Omoniyi
The impact of lockdown was as dramatic as it was swift, especially for charities. Stewardship acted quickly. We launched our Rapid Response Fund on 27th March, aiming to reach isolated and disadvantaged people affected by COVID-19. The outpouring of generosity from our major donors was truly remarkable. We raised and distributed nearly
£5 million to 88 UK churches and charities within 100 days of lockdown. This is the story of two of them. 12
Our God Given Mission Mike Omoniyi runs Our God Given Mission, a Manchester-based charity which helps people to know and preach the gospel. Mike and his team had done their work with virtually no support for five years. “At the beginning of 2020, I was anticipating a difficult conversation about how we could carry on. The Rapid Response Fund means that we can continue with our work.” Mike nearly didn’t apply for the grant. “I’d known about Stewardship for years but assumed that we were too small to qualify for help. I was on a general advisory board with Pastor Agu of Jesus House. He messaged me to say, ‘Why don’t you guys think about Stewardship?’ Shortly after that, Rob Parsons called up and said the same thing. We had a meeting with Stewardship and put in the application. It was providential.”
Our God Given Mission received £22,500 which they’re working to match-fund. “We’ve done everything ourselves and kept going with God’s help. It wasn’t sustainable long-term and we were coming to the end of what we could achieve, but now we can consolidate those five years of work. We’ve employed a full-time member of staff who will work with churches to help them proclaim the gospel to the BAME community and young people. Our partners’ programme offers a range of podcasts and the chance to discuss big issues such as Black Lives Matter and what the gospel says about systemic injustice.” Mike has big dreams. “We want to be able to reach 100,000 people by the end of 2020. We average around 5,000 per month, but with the help of the fund, we’ll hit our target. We just ran a five-day Zoom conference, ‘The Gospel in a Broken World’. Lord Hastings spoke about brokenness relating to Black Lives Matter and COVID19 and we reached out to hundreds. Two of them came to faith on Zoom. That couldn’t have happened without Stewardship and
In the Christian community, however, there’s a sense of hope.
going forward, the fund has assured our future. We’re also set up on give.net which will help us with our vision.” In parts of the BAME community in Manchester, the mood is pessimistic. “There’s so much happening in the world right now,” says Mike. “A couple of months ago, people were just bankers or estate agents or whatever. Now they’re experts on race! In the Christian community, however, there’s a sense of hope. My pastor set up a church service about tackling racism. We’ve seen a couple of churches pray and fast – they want to change the world, as we all do. It’s been hard – I had an Afro when I started all this! That said, it was a God moment when we met Stewardship and the fund has ensured that we can continue our work.”
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Street Connect 220 miles north in Glasgow, Street Connect works with people struggling with addiction, homelessness, mental health issues, trauma and poverty. Parts of Glasgow and surrounding areas are in the top 5% of the Multiple Deprivation Index and the need is huge. As lockdown started to bite, the team found themselves constrained in the amount of face-to-face work they could do.
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We’ve been able to continue and expand our outreach and support at a time when it’s critically needed and that’s all because of the Rapid Response Fund.
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Staff with the car they were able to purchase.
Andrew Pont is Street Connect’s Business Manager. “We’re all about empowering the local church to reach out to those in need. We run drop-in cafes, outreach and group work and fundraising events. The pandemic changed all that. Thank God for the Rapid Response Fund. It was transformational. The £100,000 we received allowed us to employ new staff and to buy a car. We’ve got projects all over the city and the surrounding areas. It’s a struggle getting around on public transport. Now we can provide support for clients at home and travel more easily.” Glasgow has one of the highest numbers of drug-related deaths in the UK. This has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. Many families are affected by drug and alcohol addiction and they’re suffering. There’s a
direct correlation between the pandemic and the ever-rising statistics on domestic violence, joblessness, addiction and poor mental health. However, the fund came at exactly the right moment to make a difference. “We know that there will be life-transforming moments for individuals because of the fund. We have a couple of flats for clients who’ve been in residential rehab and who need somewhere to stay. They come back totally refreshed and transformed, often getting involved in voluntary work themselves. Several now work with us. “We thought we’d have to reduce our staff hours because of the economic uncertainty. We’ve been able to continue and expand our outreach and support at a time when it’s critically needed and that’s all because of the Rapid Response Fund.” To find out more about Our God Given Mission and Street Connect, you can visit their websites. ourgodgivenmission.com
Left: Founders Ricky and Julie McAddock Above: Some of the people helped by Street Connect.
www.streetconnect.co.uk
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Cast your mind back a few months to June 2020. The UK is still in full lockdown, George Floyd’s death at the hands of the police is still daily news, and people of all ages and colours are joining the Black Lives Matter protests across the world...
WE NEED TO TALK
BY GILL NICHOL
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hese are not the first protests. This is not the first death. Many other black men and women have died at the hands of the police on both sides of the Atlantic, from Mark Duggan and Joy Gardner to Trayvon Martin and Breonna Taylor. But there is something different this time. Perhaps it is the brutal nature of the footage – eight minutes and forty-six seconds of it – that drills into our collective subconscious. Or perhaps it is simply because we’re all on lockdown and the world finally has time to think. Whatever the reason, the crowds are breaking lockdown to echo the French motto and call for Liberty, Equality, Fraternity to apply to everyone. It is a powerful moment. It is also a monumental challenge. Even without the crowds protesting, no one can really deny the existence of racism in the UK. But is there a race problem among British Christians and churches? Is the Church racist? And if it is, can it be fixed? It seems the answer to the first question is clear. Sadly, it’s a resounding yes. Earlier this year Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, described the Church as being ‘still deeply institutionally racist’. This view is echoed by Dr Elizabeth Henry, who at the time was the Church of England’s National Adviser for Minority-Ethnic Anglican Concerns. On her departure from the post she said: “I believe there is a willingness in principle, but not in practice, to tackle racism… for UK minority ethnic people in church and society.” But the issue of race is not solely an Anglican issue, any more than the killing of black men and women at the hands of the police is a uniquely American problem.
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Ben Lindsay, founder and CEO of Power the Fight and author of We Need to Talk About Race, is equally unequivocal, indicating that the existence of racism in church is a given. “I’m not really interested in the debate about racism and whether it exists,” he says. “From the complicity of the Church in the transatlantic slave trade, to the lack of welcome the Windrush generation experienced in UK churches, and to the lack of black and brown representation in leadership in today’s church institutions… the evidence is clear.” What Ben is interested in is something harder to quantify. “I’m interested in how we move forward.” And move forward we must. But how do we do that, both as church organisations and as individuals? Jay Marriner is Chief Visionary of Soliquidas, an organisation founded to explore how faith interacts with life for BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) people. He echoes many of those who have come before him in the AfroCaribbean Church community when he says that “We’ll only see real change when we see the power shift – when the powerful white men heading up church institutions lay down their power and invite me to pick it up.” The Church of England’s first female black Bishop, Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover broadly agrees that structures must fundamentally change. Speaking in the midst of the UK’s Black Lives Matter protests, she said: “I want to see social transformation breaking down structural racism. I want every institution to look at itself… to ask questions like ‘Why have we not got people of all different backgrounds, cultural backgrounds, in leadership within these institutions?’”
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CHURCHES NEED TO GRAPPLE WITH THE RELATIONSHIPS, NOT JUST THE VISUALS.
The structures of racism must be dismantled. The unconscious racism that lurks underneath must be heaved to the surface, acknowledged and addressed – and then, and only then, can a systematic shift start. This kind of deep-rooted change is hard work, but neither Ben nor Jay believe it is beyond us. “Churches often have images of a white Jesus coupled with Eurocentric versions of worship,” says Ben. “The illustrations and context of sermons are not relatable to the minority culture. Think about how you contextualise the Bible for the community that’s around you.” Jay adds: “It’s not just a case of making sure there are more black faces on the church website… it’s about the leadership listening better, caring better, enabling minority groups to be fully involved in shaping the direction of the church.” Many churches in the UK are taking a fresh look at themselves, asking how accessible, how diverse and how inclusive they are. These are good questions, but they are not the only ones that need asking. Churches need to grapple with the relationships, not just the visuals. How included do people feel? Do those who don’t look like the majority feel they truly belong? Are their voices heard? Are they taken seriously when they make a comment or take a decision?
I’M INTERESTED IN HOW WE MOVE FORWARD Ben Lindsay 19
Ben believes real culture change can only start when organisations and individuals commit to what he calls a ’Triple A Analysis’: Audit, Awareness, Act. “We need to audit ourselves and our organisations,” he explains. “Are we looking at issues through a racial justice lens? Are we anti-racist in our strategy, in our actions, in our hearts?” Then there’s awareness. “Are we actively creating safe spaces where black and brown people can be very honest about their experiences in society and the Church?” Finally, we act. “Once all the information has been gathered, what are you going to do to move forward? The answer might be very specific to your pathways to leadership, or your mission, or your worship style… but whatever it is it needs to be intentionally anti-racist.” Ask almost any non-white person in the UK and they’ll tell you that thoughtless, casual racism abounds, both inside and outside the church. Jay recalls a time when he was talking with a senior white clergyman and shared his hopes that his children would go on to higher education. The clergyman looked puzzled. “You’re not thinking of sending your kids to uni, are you?” Jay says it was merely “a throwaway comment, typical of the ones that black people receive all the time.” I have my own experience when I was hosting a church meeting at home and my (black)
Ben Lindsay (Power the Fight) 20242478 20
husband came in with a tray of drinks. One of the women present immediately assumed he was the cleaner. Ben calls these instances “a hundred thousand micro-aggressions”, and often we choose to simply laugh them off. But it’s not funny. Enough is enough – it’s time to change, and that means those of us that form the white majority, whether in leadership roles or not, must consistently check our privilege. Of course there are good things happening too. Jay points to the race and social justice activism which so many younger church members participate in, and across the UK there are significant numbers of Christians and churches engaging externally on everything from gun and knife crime to inter-faith initiatives. Jay is hopeful that the glass ceiling will be smashed, but believes that what is happening now is best described as “laying the foundations for those behind us”, that it’s the younger generations who will be the instruments of significant change. Has the death of George Floyd been a kairos moment for the Church? The jury is still out. But what is clear is that, because of his death, many more conversations around race justice are happening. People of all colours and backgrounds appear to be waking up to the realities of racism. Let’s not lose the moment. Let’s not be satisfied with just writing another report or reading one more article before moving onto the next big thing. Change requires action – and the time to act is now. Ben Lindsay’s book, We Need to Talk About Race, SPCK, 2019, is widely available. Power the Fight powerthefight.org.uk Soliquidas soliquidas.com
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WE'RE LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS FOR THOSE BEHIND US Jay Marriner 21
BIGGER BARNS…
COVID’s impact on the lives of people living in poverty is undeniable. But for John Kirkby, founder of Christians Against Poverty (CAP), the last few months have thrown up more than a few surprises. 22
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ike everybody in the country at the end of March, CAP had to move fast and adapt when lockdown started. They already had a remote working system in place for their thousand-strong team of frontline workers, but a key part of their way of working – face-to-face visits in the homes of the people they were helping to break free from debt – was brought to a sudden and abrupt end. Endings aren’t always what they seem. Soon CAP workers discovered that they weren’t the only people keeping away from the families. “The debt collection industry stopped within days, just like the rest of the country,” explains John Kirkby. “Suddenly there were no bailiffs knocking on the doors, no courts ordering repossessions, no credit card or loan collections. If anything, the effect on people who were in debt was a relief. The
threats were all lifted, and remained lifted for months.” While the sudden pause of debt collection was welcome, many living with poverty found their urgent and immediate needs increasing. They were hungry and they were struggling to pay their bills. But yet again, CAP had a ringside seat and was able to see the remarkable ways in which those needs were met as local communities unleashed their generosity. “The whole UK Church responded in an amazing way. Donations flooded in and churches and foodbanks were able to serve so much more food than usual. And at CAP we were able to release significant amounts of money to help meet vital needs, helping people to keep their phones in credit, their electricity on and food on the table.”
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But that’s not all. “The collection tsunami is on its way. I worked in the finance industry for 15 years and they haven’t changed much. So, you watch these landlords go. The one good thing is that the courts will be so overloaded they won’t be able to cope with all the eviction requests. That will slow it down a bit, but there’s going to be a scramble as businesses fight to get their repossessions in fast.”
These two changes combined to create a unique opportunity. With the threat of debt collection temporarily lifted and the basic needs met, CAP workers saw the potential to work hard and bring real change to people’s lives. “It’s been phenomenal,” says John. “We’ve got thousands of clients and usually we see nine or ten of them go debt free each day. But over the last six months and during lockdown, there were days when we had up to twenty-five families going debt free… in one day – more than at any point in our history. We’ve even seen around 700 families go debt free during the crisis.” While the numbers of people ringing CAP for help has remained relatively low compared with normal even as lockdown lifted, John is under no illusions about what lies ahead. “One million, two million or maybe four million unemployed? And the vast majority of them will be among the poorest, those in the leisure industry, people with insecure jobs or on zero hours contracts. The discardable. That’s on its way to a street near you.” 24
While the discussions and disagreements about COVID strategy are varied, we can all agree that we’re facing a time when charities like CAP will need all the help they can get. Yet funding is clearly under strain. Despite seventy per cent of CAP’s funding coming from regular sources, mainly donors, the future is challenging. “People are giving. We wanted to raise £80,000 in our April mailshot. We hit that in 24 hours and are now approaching £500,000. People are sending us money, trusting us to use it well. It’s the best mailshot we’ve ever had! Even though we’re very financially stable, were grateful to receive support from Stewardship’s Rapid Response Fund, and our donors have stuck with us – giving us the least attrition ever – our income is expected to be down over £500,000 over the next 18 months and the impact on next year and the years to come could be huge. That’s why we were particularly grateful for the support we’ve received from Stewardship’s Rapid Response Fund. “We will lose money from major donors, people whose businesses have been devastated. And with no churches or events to speak at we’ve not been able to generate new regular donors either. So we’re facing a
long-term impact at the precise time when we’re looking to change our service delivery. We know our current service can’t handle the need that’s coming. Our resources will drop in the next three years even though the demand is going up.” Despite this, John is optimistic. “Innovation often comes out of challenge. If you don’t have to find a new solution, why would you?” As much as the pandemic has forced us to examine the strength of our relationships, and to re-evaluate our assumptions about the future, John also believes that it has acted as a litmus test of our attitude to money, as well as a great opportunity to prepare for what’s next. “What has this pandemic revealed? Do you manage your money well? Have you saved up? Do you live within your means? Maybe you’ve done a proper budget for the first time in your life, which is great – make sure generosity and giving are in the heart of it because our nation’s going to need generosity moving forward, as well as for you to get involved locally.
“And there’s not going to be a V-shaped recovery for the poor of this nation. They’re facing an L. So don’t store your wealth away. Get your barns emptied, because you don’t want to die with a barn full of stuff. The needs are vast, huge, and we need a rising up, not just of the practical people on the front line, but also of people who give away what they’ve stored. Even the Charity Commission is telling organisations to release their reserves. We’re being told and I’m telling everyone I can: ‘Don’t wait for a bigger crisis to empty your barns.’ The crisis is here and it’s not going to go away any time soon. So come on everybody!” To find out more about Christians Against Poverty, visit capuk.org
CAP 20029154 25
COVID-19 has forced many of us to confront the fragility of our lives, the uncertainty of our circumstances and the eventual reality of our deaths. Recent months have taught us to acknowledge with King David that our lives are but a breath and so it is in vain that we bustle about and heap up wealth in this world (Psalm 39:4-6). Jesus commands us not to store up treasures on earth, where moth, rust and even pandemics destroy, but to store up our treasure in heaven, that our hearts may also be there (Matthew 6:19-21). As you consider what should happen to your earthly wealth after your death, you might want to consider leaving a charitable legacy.
LEGACIES: LET YOUR GENEROSITY LIVE ON 26
How do I leave a legacy? In order to leave a gift to charity, you will need to make or update your will. The formalities for making a valid will are strict and so it is usually best to use a solicitor or will writing service. Your charitable gift might be a specific amount of money (perhaps indexed for inflation), a percentage of your estate or the residue remaining after payment of any legacies to individuals. Charitable legacies are free of inheritance tax. In addition, if you leave at least 10% of your estate to charity, the rest of your estate will benefit from a reduced inheritance tax rate of 36% rather than 40%.
How we can help - Stewardship’s Legacy Giving Account Stewardship can make it easy for you to remember charities in your will. Your will can include just one gift to Stewardship, rather than separate gifts to different charities. You can then complete a Legacy Giving Account Application Form to let us know about your legacy and tell us how you would like it to be used. In your Expression of Wishes, you can: c ask us to distribute your legacy gift to your
favourite causes (immediately or over a period of time) c appoint a friend or family member as
your successor to request donations from your legacy c entrust your legacy to Stewardship to
distribute at our discretion. Don’t forget to let us know what should happen to any balance remaining in your lifetime Giving Account, Donor Advised Fund or Philanthropy Fund on your death. The Legacy Giving Account offers flexibility, as you can make changes to your Expression
of Wishes at any time without the hassle and cost of amending your will. It also offers discretion: your will becomes a public document after your death, whereas your Expression of Wishes remains private and could even request that any donations from your legacy are made anonymously.
Charity will schemes Charity will schemes enable you to have a simple will drawn up free of charge by a local solicitor. In return, you will be asked to consider making a donation to one of the charities which supports the campaign. October 2020 is the next Free Wills Month (freewillsmonth.org.uk). This scheme is open to anyone who is aged 55 or over or wishes to make a mirror will with a spouse who is over that age. Will Aid (willaid.org.uk) takes place each November and has no minimum age limit. Will Relief Scotland (willreliefscotland.org) takes place each September and raises funds for four Christian development charities. For more information about Biblical, legal and tax considerations in making your will, please see our briefing paper Legacy giving: where there’s a will there’s a way available at stewardship.org.uk/legacies Here you will also find the Legacy Giving Account Application Form, which includes a template for your Expression of Wishes.
Rachel Steeden Rachel Steeden is our in-house legal advisor, working with the Philanthropy Services team to serve Christians making large charitable gifts.
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Ask Steve
Professional advice for churches and charities So closer financial monitoring will be with us for a while yet. Rolling cash flows; frequent (monthly) comparisons to budget/ revised forecasts; closer scrutiny of donor giving; and a deeper understanding of all income sources should be data readily available. Trustees may still need to take action, and timely and meaningful financial information will be an important component in their thinking. During the COVID-19 pandemic our church has monitored its financial position more closely than normal. We are hopeful that we have now weathered the worst of the storm. Can we return to running our finances as we did pre-COVID? Whilst in the UK we appear to have some control over the virus itself, the scale of the economic consequences are just coming to light. Only as the Government’s furlough scheme winds up are we beginning to understand the true financial impact COVID has had on our congregations; our donors; and on those that rent our buildings. So now is not the time to drop your guard. As the government’s support schemes draw to a close churches will get a clearer idea of whether: c Their donors have been adversely
impacted by unemployment or are perhaps facing reduced employment/ income
c Investment returns will adversely impact
their donors’ pension income
c Those organisations that rented space
(pre-COVID) are likely to want to rent again and to what level
c Other income streams temporarily
suspended by COVID are likely to start up again
Some churches may also have to factor in to their finances Government loan repayments or tax catch-up payments where advantage has been taken of those schemes. 28
Our accounting year ended on 31 March 2020, not long into the lockdown. We draw up our accounts on the accruals basis – should we mention COVID in the accounts or wait until next year when we know the impact? COVID will feature in this year’s accounts! There are three issues to consider. The Trustees’ Annual Report (TAR); post balance sheet events (PBSE); and in extreme circumstances ‘going concern’. In accruals accounts, the TAR should include a COVID section briefly covering the impact on: c The organisation’s activities c Staff, volunteers and beneficiaries c Finances and reserves
If the impact is minimal, then say so. Although not a formal requirement for receipts and payments accounts, it would appear strange that such a far-reaching event does not warrant a mention.
Accruals accounts are likely to include a COVID-19 PBSE. As the virus was circulating in March, organisations with a 31 March 2020 year-end date may have experienced an adjusting (changes the numbers) PBSE or a non-adjusting (no change to the numbers, but requires disclosure) PBSE. Our resource ‘COVID-19 and the Annual Accounts’ on our website provides examples of both types. Finally, where COVID has so badly impacted an organisation to the extent that it might not be able to continue into the future, then the trustees must consider whether the organisation remains a ‘going concern’. Where there are doubts, these should be expressed in the TAR together with the actions taken to mitigate them; in the most severe (very rare) cases, it may be that the accounts should be compiled on a different basis.
guidance in this area (https://www.gov.uk/ claim-gift-aid-online) provides clear steps in making a successful Gift Aid claim. Having good Gift Aid administration in place is important for the smooth operation of the scheme. The key aspects are as follows: c Securely store valid Gift Aid declarations
from each person making donations. Refresh these every three to five years to capture changes in HMRC’s wording and changes in people’s circumstances
c Make sure there is a good audit trail from
gift to bank, clearly identifying the donor (bank standing order, cheque, envelope system etc)
c Provide regular opportunities for donors
to inform you of changes in their tax situation. It is their responsibility, but regular reminders may save some tricky conversations down the road
c Ensure that Gift Aid claims are properly
completed
c The spreadsheet attached to a claim is
completed in full
c The claim is submitted by the person
authorised to do so with HMRC
c Where Gift Aid Small Donation Scheme
Whilst we have been unable to meet as a church, our cash flow has suffered due to lost offerings. To help bolster cash flow, we want to make sure that we are making the most of the Gift Aid scheme, doing what we can to ensure Gift Aid claims are settled promptly. What advice would you give? Gift Aid is a valuable resource for many churches and the general government
Subscribe to Stewardship’s consultancy helpline service, visit stewardship.org.uk/ consultancy 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
(GASDS) claims are included, that the amount claimed per building does not exceed the £8,000 building limit
c Gifts from limited companies, which do
not qualify for Gift Aid are not included in any claim.
Gift Aid and GASDS are significant income streams for many charities and so it pays to promote and administer schemes well so that the maximum benefit is obtained.
Stephen Mathews Stephen heads up the Stewardship consultancy helpline team, a specialist service offering expert knowledge to churches and charities.
Visit stewardship.org.uk/briefing for links to all the briefing papers mentioned 29
WHY I
GIVE Kayode Adewumi
Charity founder and estate agent, New York City, USA
When Kayode Adewumi, his wife and two sons arrived in New York City in 2017, they were living in a homeless shelter. Their son, Tani, then just six years old, showed an interest in his school’s chess club, but the $330 joining fee was more than the family could afford. Once his mother explained their living situation to the school, the payment was waived. One year after he started learning to play chess, Tani won the 2019 New York State Chess Championship aged eight years old. Tani’s story attracted over $250,000 of donations to his family, which was used to start the Tanitoluwa Adewumi Foundation.
Kayode, what were you taught about generosity when you were a child? Growing up in Nigeria I was taught so much about generosity. Both my parents were very caring people, and my father was especially kind. So we always had people living with us, and even though many of them came as strangers my dad treated them as if they were his own family. 30
What’s the best example you’ve seen of generosity in action? There was a time when I was in High School when a wealthy businessman decided to give thousands of dollars to every university to encourage students to play sports. I read about him and talked about it with my Dad. At first I was amazed that someone would have so much money and choose to give it away like that, but later I loved the impact that such giving could have. A whole generation of students were given an opportunity that wasn’t open to them before.
What biblical passages inspire generosity in you the most?
You never know how God is weaving things together to be part of His plan.
Malachi 3:8-10 reminds us how important it is to give our tithes and offerings. It also tells us that God loves to pour out his blessings on people. And then there’s the widow who gave just one penny. Jesus saw her and loved her for what she gave.
alone did it. And I know that we should always do our best – give our best today, don’t save it for tomorrow, you never know what lies ahead.
What do you know now about giving that you didn’t know ten years ago?
You can’t satisfy every need. You can only do your part. And some people will criticise you when you give – they will say that no matter what you do you could always do more.
We have received so much in the last year, and we have been able to give. What I know now is that God does things the way He wants to do them. When you are generous to someone, or when someone is generous to you, you never know how God is weaving things together to be part of His plan. But He is! Five thousand people decided to show generosity and support the campaign that got us out of the homeless shelter. How can I know them? I can’t! But God does, and He worked His kindness through them. God
What’s the hardest thing about giving?
And the easiest thing? Praise God! Remember that He is a giver, and He is the one to whom you are giving.
You can find out more about the Tanitoluwa Adewumi Foundation at: tanitoluwaadewumifoundation.org
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Tax Effective Giving For Dual Tax Payers
If you have tax liabilities both in the US and in the UK, and want to make a difference to the causes close to your heart, Stewardship America enables you to give with the benefit of tax reliefs in both countries.
THE BENEFIT S TAX EFFECTIVE
SIMPLE
FLEXIBLE
Your giving can be eligible for both UK Gift Aid and for a deduction from your US taxable income.
A single place for all your giving in support of churches and charities in the UK, US and around the world.
Fund your account with cash, shares or proceeds from investments. We’ll process them all for you.
stewardship.org.uk/america
america@stewardship.org.uk
020 8418 8896