Open House events are not fundraising events.
We do not charge entry for all of them. Where we do charge, this is largely to ensure that we cover our costs (paying for hall hire, professional entertainers etc.). The same is true where we sell refreshments – we are not aiming to make a profit, just to ensure our costs are covered.
Some people who have attended our free events have expressed a desire to make donations. We are grateful to them for their generosity. In order to make that as simple as possible for everyone, we have opened a special donations page on this website – donations may be made with a credit or debit card. There is also an option to add Gift-Aid to those donations so that we can claim an additional 25% back from the tax man. The link to the donations page is in the top menu of the site (it just says, “Donate”). Or you can click here if you prefer.
Donations received through this online portal are recorded in the church accounts as being made in relation to the Open House programme. They are not restricted for this purpose, but recording them in this way helps us budget effectively and will aid us in making plans for future events.
Obviously, the church has running costs over and above the cost of the Open House programme. The Grade I Listed building needs expensive repairs from time to time and the annual cost of insurance, heating and churchyard maintenance are significant. The cost of ensuring that we have a parish priest also falls to the local congregation to raise. If you would like to contribute towards any of these costs, please visit our church website, here, for more choices, including our bank details for direct transfers, Gift-Aid Declaration forms and Standing Order forms for setting up regular donations.
Thank you for your interest in the Open House programme and for your generosity. It is much appreciated.
Image by Alison Hedger from Pixabay
