Diocese of Carlisle

Giving for Life


Giving for Life is a set of seven important Stewardship principles, enthusiastically commended by the General Synod.

Your parish should be following all seven of these principles. If you’re not, don’t worry, contact our Stewardship Officer, John Thompson, who will be happy to provide you with some practical support to put them in place.

John Thompson can be contacted by telephone on 01768 807761 or email stewardship@carlislediocese.org.uk.

Giving for Life PCC Review

You may wish to start with this Giving for Life PCC Review which will help you work through these seven principles:

1. Preach and teach
Although for some church leaders it can seem daunting, regularly preaching on giving in the context of discipleship is really important. It is not the preacher’s job to raise the funds for the church, but rather to nurture holistically generous disciples. For great resources to help with preaching on giving click here.

2. Clearly communicate that giving to the church enables the mission and ministry that flows from it
Many givers are not aware of the impact of their giving. Inspire your church members by communicating clearly the amazing impact your church is having in the local community and beyond in the areas of mission and ministry.

3. Hold some form of annual review of giving
Personal and church finances work on an annual basis, and so it is good to help people review their giving once a year. There are many different ways this can be done. A few great resources are below. Click here for more information. Click here to download an Example Review Letter. Click here to download a Review Brochure.

4. Send an annual, personal ‘thank you’ to regular givers
This values givers, and provides another opportunity to show church members how their giving supports the work of the church. Please let a thank you be a thank you and don’t ask members to review or increase their giving at this point (the annual review is the best time to do this). Also try to change the wording of your thank you each year. Click here to download Giving for Life Thank You Letters.

5. Agree a legacy policy
Legacies can be a much-needed lifeline to churches, however it’s important that PCCs and church congregations understand how legacy gifts will be spent. A legacy Policy is important to achieve this. Click here for an example legacy policy. Click here for a short video from Bishop James on legacy giving. For more information on legacies click here.

6. Claim Gift Aid regularly (including claiming on the small donations scheme)
This checklist will help you work through what’s needed to run a gift aid scheme in your church. Click here for an example Gift Aid Declaration Form. Information on claiming on the Small Donations Scheme is available here. And for more information on Gift Aid click here

7. Use the Parish Buying service
This enables churches to make savings by using bulk buying discounts across the Church of England. For more details click here.