"Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)
There are several different ways to give at St Bart’s:
On Sundays
Every week at our Sunday services there is an opportunity to make a financial offering.
You can use the planned giving envelopes provided to give via cash or cheque. Simply place your offering in the box at the back of the church.
Cheque
If you wish to give by cheque, please make it payable to 'PCC of St Bartholomew Otford'.
Online Direct Transfer
You can set up a regular or one off direct transfer via your personal online banking. Log on to your online banking and request to set up a donation to be made to St Bartholomew’s Church, Otford PCC:
Sort Code: 40-52-40
Account Number: 00022994
Please use your surname and initials as your reference when making a transfer, and email stewardship@otford.net to let us know you have set up a new transfer.
Standing Order
You can download our Standing Order Form here. Please return to the church office when completed, in an envelope addressed to ‘the Treasurer’.
Alternatively, you can set up your standing order with your bank yourself, but please do let us know that you have done so by emailing us at stewardship@otford.net and use your surname and initials as the reference, as above.
Give Online via
Gift Aid
Whichever way you give, please fill out and return a Gift Aid Declaration available here if you are a UK taxpayer. This enables us to claim back 25p from the taxman for every £1 given.
Higher Rate Gift Aid
Gift aiding your donation allows the church to reclaim the basic rate tax that you pay at 20%. Higher rate taxpayers can also claim back the additional higher rate tax either through your tax return or by asking HMRC to amend your tax code. For St Bart’s to benefit, it is important that you add the additional tax reclaimed to your giving – we can only claim basic rate tax back ourselves.
Payroll Giving or 'Give-as-you-earn (GAYE)'
Many companies allow you to give directly at source from your salary, reducing the tax you pay, and increasing your giving to include the tax benefit. This saves administration time for St Bart’s, and St Bart’s will also receive the benefit of any higher rate tax without it needing to be claimed back through your tax return. Some companies operating GAYE giving will also 'top up' your charitable giving. It’s worth asking your employer about this. (Do check whether any administration fees associated with GAYE make this the right choice for you.)
Matched Giving
Some larger companies, as part of their corporate responsibility programme, also have matched giving schemes, so that when you give to charity, the company makes a contribution as well. This effectively increases your donation for free.
Giving Through Your Own Company
If you run your own business and choose to give through your company rather than as an individual, this is deducted from your profits before calculating your tax liability, so will reduce the Corporation Tax due. This is true whether your donation is in the form of money or goods-in-kind. The tax saved can then be added to your giving.
Interested in Leaving A Legacy?
It may seem a long way away, but remember that giving after your death can be tax free too. Gifts to charity in a will are tax exempt and can be used to bring an estate below the threshold for inheritance tax. If you give more than 10% of your estate, it will reduce the inheritance tax rate too. You can give items of value, such as jewellery, as well as money. Details of how to plan for legacy giving to St Bart’s are included in our leaflet “Legacies and Wills” available to download here.