PARISH
FINANCE COMMITTEE
The Parish Finance Committee
is responsible for the effective running of the Parish Finances.
The Committee meets every two
months and considers all income and expenditure matters on behalf of
the Parish, with particular attention being paid to the financing of
all major projects and building works.
The committee liases with the
Diocese and the Parish Fund Raisers to ensure that we have funding and
cash flow for Parish Initiatives.
The
committee are responsible for Gift Aid (obtaining money from the Inland
Revenue), Planned Giving Envelopes, Standing Orders and the Accounts
for the Parish. Once the major building projects are complete the committee
will be considering the development of a Parish Business Plan and Budget.
OFFERTORY
GIVING
Our parish is supported by the
parishioner’s donations at mass, and by donations for mass intentions,
weddings, baptisms, funerals, special appeals and one off donations
and legacies.
The Parish has established an
approach to our giving that helps us maximise our income and be as simple
as possible for our parishioners.
We
would like all new and existing parishioners to have a Box of Offertory
Envelopes, which we deliver to your home each March, or in the rest
of the year for new parishioners a box of envelopes will given to them.
These will have a unique number for each set of boxes that relates to
your name. The unique number allows us to record donations made in a
confidential manner and then make a claim from the Inland Revenue for
28p for each £ donated from the taxpayers in our community, as
we are a charity. So if you gave £100 we could claim back £28
for example.
How
is this done?
Quite simply. If you have an
income from paid employment, a pension or from investments on which
you are paying income tax or if you have paid capital gains tax we can
claim back 28p for every pound given provided that a very simple Gift
Aid Declaration Form is completed, these are available from the back
of the Church or from the contacts named below. The only condition is
that you must have paid the tax in the first place.
If you are a higher rate taxpayer
there is also an additional benefit for yourself, as you can claim the
difference between the higher rate, which you have already paid on your
income and the basic rate which the church will have claimed back for
yourself via your Self-assessment tax return.
Please remember that signing
a Gift Aid Declaration Form does not commit you to a set amount of giving
and should your financial circumstances change you can reflect that
in the amount you donate to the parish.
We also encourage parishioners
to consider setting up a Standing Order from their bank to the parish
and we will provide the forms and details for those who are interested.
Even if you have a Standing Order our experience has shown that a lot
of our parishioners contribute to special collections or have given
donations separately and we would therefore give you a set of envelopes
for your use with its unique number so that we can record your giving
and then we can claim the income tax back from the Inland Revenue.
The
combination of Offertory Envelopes with their unique number, a completed
Gift Aid Declaration Form and a Standing Order have helped the parish
to develop an important part of our income so that we can continue to
develop the community that is Our Lady of Lourdes Parish.
How
to contact us.
For further information on any
of the above points can be obtained from Keith Fernett 8530 2263 or
Michele Murphy on 8556 7917, by request to the presbytery or to the
parish office by email on wanstead@dioceseofbrentwood.org and we will
provide the forms, offertory boxes and any information that is required.
OFFERTORY
COUNTERS
VOLUNTEERS
to count the Offertory collection - three or four times a year only
. Please contact the Parish Priest or Willie Burns 0208 989 8029.
RETURN
TO PARISH GROUPS
