The Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) continues to offer financial stability and administrative ease to a growing number of churches across our diocese during uncertain times. 
In January 2020, the Diocese of Leeds became the 28th diocese in the Church of England to join the PGS. Nine months on and there are now more than seventy of our parishes registered for the scheme, with some having at least 50% of their congregations giving regularly through the PGS.
The feedback, from those having registered, has been extremely positive with Nick Davies, PCC Treasure of Upper Wharfedale & Littondale, asking, “What’s not to like about the Parish Giving Scheme?"
"We get inflation-linked donations; we receive regular gifts from donors, whether or not they have been able to attend the service; we get Gift Aid reimbursed straight away without any extra paperwork and there are fewer bank statement entries for me to reconcile.”
The Parish Giving Scheme provides an easy mechanism for donors to continue giving regularly to their church, which has been especially valuable throughout the last few months when COVID-19 has made giving more diffieult for churches.
Stewardship Officer, Janet Edmond, who manages the scheme for the Diocese, said, “Within the first three months of launching the scheme we had over 50 parishes register for the PGS. This represents more than 10% of all parishes in the Diocese."
"When lockdown hit in March, parishes continued to register for the PGS realising that it was a great mechanism for giving that would help maintain regular income for their church, despite congregations being unable to attend services."
"There’s never been a better time for our parishes to join the Parish Giving Scheme, and I'm always available to offer parishes more information and get them started on this journey.”
Although government social distancing measures have presented a challenge to parishes, many are finding creative ways to introduce the scheme to their parishioners. Watch a video from Bolton Priory here, where the Revd Nicholas Mercer shares their experiences and learning.
[VIDEO::https://youtu.be/p4-P_BN3Tug]
The PGS comes with many key benefits, including the option for donors to automatically inflate their giving annually, thus helping to support their church today and for the future. Over 60% of donors in the Diocese of Leeds have so far opted in to increase their giving in line with inflation each year, helping to address the issue of so-called static giving.
Parishes taking part have often seen increased levels of giving through the PGS and the administartive support it offers can help when it comes to treasurer succession planning.
Discover more about how the PGS can benefit your church by visiting our dedicated pages on the Diocesan website here. PGS information webinars will also be taking place in November. Please email janet.edmond@leeds.anglican.org for more details or call Janet on 07376525684.