Financial Giving

Visitors to the church are under no obligation to give.

As a church, we rely entirely on the generous giving of our members and regular attenders. We do not receive any funding from other organisations or the government (beyond Gift Aid tax refunds).

Our main areas of expenditure are the costs of paying for our minister and the running our buildings. We are also paying off a loan for our new back hall (opened in 2006).

In our 2011 budget, 15% of our general income has been allocated to support other work and organisations, including:

• Home Mission (Baptist Union)
• BMS World Mission
• Spurgeons College
• Tearfund
• Youth Cafe
• and smaller amounts to various other organisations

Ways to give

Regardless of the way in which money is given, you can chose to give under the Gift Aid scheme. See below for details.

Sunday offerings

An offering is taken during most Sunday services. Giving cash is anonymous. Cheques should be made payable to 'Basingstoke Baptist Church'. We cannot take credit or debt card payments.

Regular Standing Order

Some people give regularly (weekly, month, quarterly) by standing order. Please see the Treasurer for a standing order mandate.

Completed mandates should be returned to the Treasurer.

Gift Aid

Gift Aid is a tax efficient way of giving in the UK if you are a UK taxpayer. It allows the church to reclaim the standard rate tax you have paid on any money you give. At present it boosts your giving by 25% - there is an illustration below.

Because it is necessary to identify money you have given under Gift Aid, total anonymity cannot be maintained. However, only the Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer will have access to records of giving. Cheques and standing orders clearly enable identification of giving. If giving cash under Gift Aid, it needs to be placed in an envelope (normally through the Sunday morning offering) that bears your name or an identifying mark. The Treasurer can provide envelopes and will advise on the marking of envelopes.

Please see the Treasurer about Gift Aid. You will first need to sign a Gift Aid declaration.

Please note that if you stop paying enough tax to fully cover Gift Aid claims, you need to let the Treasure know, so that Gift Aid reclaims can be stopped.

Illustration of how Gift Aid works

Example	£100	Your gift
	£25	Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) pays to the charity the basic rate tax that you have paid (or will pay)
	£125	Total value to the charity of you gift

If you are a higher rate tax payer, then you can reclaim the higher rate tax that you paid on your Gift Aid giving. You will need to submit a Tax Return.

Anonymous Gift Aid

Anonymous Gift Aid giving can be achieved if you chose to give via a third party such as Stewardship.