The Diocese has secured a grant from the Church of England’s national ‘Giving Advisor Fund’. The purpose of the Giving Advisor Fund is to provide financial support so that Dioceses can appoint specialist officers who will help parishes to promote greater generosity and increase fund raising. The Church of England and the Diocese of Sodor and Man acknowledge and appreciate how crucial voluntary income is to supporting the ministry and mission of the church and how challenging it is for parishes to meet the need to constantly raise money in difficult circumstances.
The Archbishops’ Council panel who determine the grants thought the application from Sodor and Man:
- made a realistic assessment of the challenges we face as a small minimally resourced diocese
- outlined a comprehensive approach to improving our financial sustainability by increasing our income by making best use of our assets, applying for grants and exploring enterprise and sponsorship as well as encouraging congregational, visitor and community giving.
- linked our fund raising to the delivery of our strategic priorities of partnership in mission, learning and inhabiting the faith and sustaining ourselves.
- illustrated determination and gave them confidence that we would deliver.
Therefore they awarded the Diocese a grant of £120,000 over 5 years (£24,000 per year) – the maximum amount which the Giving Advisor Fund scheme awards.
In line with the conditions of this grant the Diocese will use the funds to contribute towards the costs of employing a Giving and Income Generation Officer for 5 years to help parishes to consolidate their successes in raising funds locally and to advance their plans and explore new possibilities.
The officer will be available to engage with colleagues, volunteers and community partners in a wide range of both local and island-wide fund-raising activities. Depending on the needs and aspirations of each parish, and the skills and experience of the person appointed this may involve :
- Capitalising on our assets and marketing our churches and church halls to maximise rental income
- Identifying funding opportunities and formulating grant applications to charitable trusts
- Promoting a culture of generous giving as personal discipleship and living the faith
- Supporting church leaders to confidently communicate a scriptural basis for stewardship
- Advising on the technical infrastructure to facilitate planned regular and visitor giving
- Exploring opportunities to develop social enterprises which serve local needs
- Seeking sponsorship through corporate social responsibility and philanthropism
- Training, supporting and providing resources to a network of parish volunteers
Having a dedicated person tasked to focus on helping parishes will greatly increase our capacity in this field and enable us to sustain and grow our ministry and mission across our island community.
Details of the Giving & Income Generation Officer post will be advertised soon on this website, so watch this space. This will include a one-page flyer which we encourage you to display in your parish and to disseminate through your networks to publicise the opportunity. The ideal candidate may be amongst us.
