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Parish Accounts 2019

A summary of the income and expenditure of the parish for 2019 is now available in the narthex - please take a copy for your review and information. A summary of the accounts can also be downloaded here.

Should you have any queries on the accounts that you would like answered, please speak to a member of the Finance Committee, send an email to the finance team or use the contact form on this site and select Finance to submit your question.

Finance Committee

The St Mary Magdalen parish finance committee, which is a mandatory support team to assist the parish priest with the fiscal aspects of running the parish, consists of three lay members:

Mr Declan Moore - Chairman

Mr Chris Croker - Treasurer and Gift Aid co-ordinator

Mrs Linis Dolby

Any member of the finance committee can be approached if you have any questions or concerns about parish finances, or alternatively you can email your query, or use the contact form and select Finance to submit your question.


Meeting Minutes - 22nd March 2019

The minutes of the Finance Committee meeting held November 22nd March 2019 have now been signed and approved for general publication. You can read the minutes on the notice board in the narthex or you can download a copy here.

Parish Accounts 2018

A summary of the income and expenditure of the parish for 2018 is now available in the narthex - please take a copy for your review and information. A summary of the accounts can also be downloaded here.

Should you have any queries on the accounts that you would like answered, please speak to a member of the Finance Committee, send an email to the finance team or use the contact form on this site and select Finance to submit your question.

Meeting Minutes - 16th November 2018

The minutes of the Finance Committee meeting held November 16th July 2018 have now been signed and approved for general publication. You can read the minutes on the notice board in the narthex or you can download a copy here.

Standing Orders

Offerings to the Church may be made using the HMRC Gift Aid scheme. If you would like to make weekly offerings via the collection plate at Mass, and you are a UK tax payer, please register for the scheme - speak to any member of the finance committee or use the contact form. Once signed up, you will be issued with a set of envelopes to use in making your weekly offering.

However, in recent years it has become more popular to make donations by standing order direct from your bank account rather than via the collecting plate at Mass. If you would like to set up a standing order, you can do so using internet banking. Set up a recurring payment to:

St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Parish

Barclays Bank plc, Ipswich, Princes Street branch

Sort code: 20-44-51

Account number: 70777323

Alternatively, you can complete a standing order mandate form. Blank forms are available in the narthex, or you can download a form here.

Complete the form, sign and date it and take it to your bank branch which will then set the payment up for you.

Don't forget, however you submit your offerings, if you register with the Gift Aid scheme the parish can claim back from the Government the income tax you have already paid on your offering. It costs you nothing and it allows the church to claim back 25 pence from the Government for every £1 of your offering.

Offertory Receipts 2021

During the lockdown, and restricted Mass attendance post-lockdown, the parish income through the “collection plate” has been reduced, but we are grateful to those who have switched to standing order payments or have made direct payments on-line to help keep the bills paid! The income year to date is as follows:

January: £1897 of which £1021 was Gift Aided.

February: £1318 of which £965 was Gift Aided.

March: £2232 of which £1502 was Gift Aided.

April: £1625 of which £970 was Gift Aided.

May: £2070 of which £1160 was Gift Aided.

June: £2005 of which £1020 was standing orders paid direct to the parish account and £985 was cash collected at church.

July: £1949 of which £1110 was standing orders paid direct to the parish account and £839 was cash collected at church. Additionally, £200.34 was collected for the Apostleship of the Sea,

August: £2295 of which £1130 was standing orders paid direct to the parish account and £1165 was cash collected at church.

September: £1,900 of which £1,110 was standing orders paid direct to the parish account and £790 was cash collected at church.

October: £1,789.35 of which £1,070 was standing orders paid direct to the parish account and £719.35 was cash collected at church. Additionally £312.70 was collected for CAFOD Harvest Fast Day and £228.35 for World Mission Sunday.

November: £2,120 of which £1,170 was standing orders paid direct to the parish account and £950 was cash collected at church

December: £1,650 of which £1,005 was standing orders paid direct to the parish account and £645 was cash collected at church. The Christmas collection, a personal gift to the parish priest, amounted to £1,153.

Thank you all for your generosity.

Gift Aid

Currently around 10% of St Mary Magdalen’s annual income comes from Gift Aid, the government scheme whereby we are able to reclaim tax at the basic rate of 20% paid by all those parishioners who have signed up to the scheme.

This means that for every £1 that you give under the scheme we are able to claim back a further 25p from HMRC with absolutely no cost to yourself.

Unfortunately our offertory collection has been steadily declining over the last few years and now stands at around £25,000 per annum. Ideally this needs to be nearer to £30,000 to enable us to properly maintain and improve our buildings whether it be the church, presbytery or the hall which is increasingly in need of substantial investment to bring it up to modern day standards. To help the parish close that gap we need to look at ways of increasing our income.

As far as the offertory collection is concerned there are 2 ways in which we can do this:

(1) By asking you to consider increasing your weekly offering, even a small amount can make quite a difference over a year and /or

(2) By Gift Aiding what you already give.

The amount of the offertory collection not gift aided currently totals around £15,000 per year and although we are able to claim back some tax on this there is still a substantial proportion on which we cannot. This represents additional income that the tax man would be more than willing to pay us if you signed a Gift Aid Declaration, copies of which can be found in the church porch or you can download one yourself here.

Here are some frequently asked questions regarding the the Gift Aid scheme:

What is Gift Aid?
Gift Aid is a tax relief allowing charities to reclaim the tax already paid on every eligible donation made by a UK taxpayer. So for every £1 that is given under the Gift Aid scheme, we are able to claim back a further 25p. A £1 donation is therefore worth £1.25 to us and a £5 donation is worth £6.25 to us.

What Do I Have to Do?
If you are a UK taxpayer and pay income tax and/or capital gains tax each year at least equal to the amount that can be claimed back on your donation, then all you have to do is sign a Gift Aid Declaration and you will be given a box of envelopes in which to put your weekly offering. Alternatively, and preferably, you can set up a standing order with your bank.

Does This Mean I Have to Give the Same Amount Every Week?
No, the old system whereby you had to covenant to give a certain amount each week no longer exists. You can now choose to give as much or little as you can afford, obviously the more you give the better it is for our income!

If I Sign Up Am I Under Obligation to Give Every Week?
Again the answer is no, if you are unable to attend mass or feel that you can’t afford to give that week then you are not under any obligation to do so.

If I Set Up a Standing Order From My Bank Account Can Gift Aid Still Be Claimed On My Offering?
Yes, you just have to sign the Gift Aid Declaration.

What Donations to the Church can be Gift Aided?
Only outright donations are eligible to be counted in your total giving, and this includes Mass offerings. Purchases for things like votive candles, repository items or newspapers cannot count nor can things like raffle tickets, or 150 Club subscriptions.

How Do I Sign Up To The Gift Aid Scheme?
There are forms on the table in the church porch. Please take one and when completed return to either the priest or any member of the Finance Committee who are always available if you have any further questions or would like to discuss any aspect of the scheme.

If you would like to join, please complete a declaration form, and hand the completed form to Fr Paul, Fr Luke or a member of the Finance Committee.

Meeting Minutes 12th July 2018

The minutes of the Finance Committee meeting held February 12th July 2018 have now been signed and approved for general publication. You can read the minutes on the notice board in the narthex or you can download a copy here.

Meeting Minutes 22nd February 2018

The minutes of the Finance Committee meeting held February 22nd 2018 have now been signed and approved for general publication. You can read the minutes on the notice board in the narthex or you can download a copy here.