All churches in the second round of the Give To Go Green have successfully completed their fundraising, raising some £80,000 for projects to help churches reduce their carbon footprint.
The 11 churches all reached, or in some cases exceeded, their fundraising target, raising a total of £81,337 in six weeks of targeted fundraising.
These churches will receive a total of £76,620 in match-funded grants to fund carbon cutting projects, including insulation, solar panels, LED lighting schemes, and draught and weather proofing.
Each church taking part in this round of Give To Go Green reached their fundraising target, taking donations through digital giving mechanisms, through an online giving page or using a contactless device.
Churches held a variety of events, some making the most of the harvest and Advent seasons to reach out to the wider community.
Dr Fiona Ellam, Churchwarden at St Thomas’ Greetland that took part in round 2 of Give To Go Green, said: “As a small church we needed to raise a challenging £70,000 to repair the West Window.
“We were successful in being offered matched funding up to £10,000 by the Give To Go Green Grant.
“We hoped we could raise £5,000 and set up a fund-raising group.
“We planned the six weeks around two established fundraising events and decided to do one event per week.
“A tabletop sale set us off with little input from ourselves apart from bacon sandwiches and tea/coffee (quick trip to the supermarket halfway through!).
“Members of the congregation agreed to lead on events, and we had a cheese and wine, film night, wreath making, and our annual Dickensian Fayre and Carols and Brass concert.
“Our parish hall users helped us with one group putting on a dance show for us and another group donating money.
“We have facilitated a BabySong activity for 10 years and this group gave us a donation as well as doing a raffle.
“The local school ask parents to contribute as they left the nativity performance.
“We had a Parish gift day, canister collection and a local company, Sheards agreed a donation.
“People gave of their time and sometimes resources freely as part of their support.
“We had a weekly prayer meeting and a Parish prayer to help us ensure that all we did was prayed for.
“We also had to massively update our publicity strategies (still a work in progress).
“Amazingly at the end of the six weeks the total came to £10,646.70.
“This has been matched funded by £10,000 from the Give to Go Green grant to give us £20,646.70.
“We feel blessed and very grateful for the support in raising this sum in just six weeks.
“Thank you to Give To Go Green for the incentive to challenge ourselves, for match funding and learn that with God all things are possible!”
The third round of Give To Go Green is starting soon, with applications open until Sunday, March 16.
Churches submitting an application before Sunday, January 26 will be able to begin the project sooner.
Churches can apply for up to £10,000 in match funding to support carbon-cutting projects, and will be supported in fundraising during a six week targeted digital campaign.
Reach out to Stewardship Officer, Beth Vickers-Smith, to find out more.
The Project pack and application form can be found on the Church of England website here.