Donating to the Church
Standing Order is the church’s preferred method and has certain advantages:
• Usually free of charge for Parishioner and Church and it minimises bank charges.
• Easy and quick for you to set up (online is best, or by phoning your bank, or by completing a paper copy, which can be emailed or posted to you.
• Useful for making regular recurring offerings (weekly/monthly/any other frequency).
• Giving by standing order is enormously helpful to the church and allows the Treasurer to plan ahead.
• It makes administration much easier by not having to open, count and record envelopes and keep them for 6 years.
• It is more secure than taking cash to church.
• Standing orders mean no more last-minute desperate searches for cash to put in the envelopes!!
Church Bank Account details
Name of Account: Killyleagh Parish Church
Church Bank Account number: 46290005
Church Sort Code: 98-08-60
Reference (if asked): your own name
What is a Standing Order?
A standing order is an automated method of making a donation to a Parish, where a person instructs their bank to pay their Parish a fixed amount of money at regular (fixed) intervals. The payer (the person making the payment) controls the standing order; they set it up themselves, and choose the amount and frequency. Standing orders are created to cover a set period of time (e.g. every month for a year), or until they are cancelled.
Any person with a current account can set up a standing order, either online, over the phone or at in person at a branch of their bank.
How do I set up a Standing Order?
The first step in setting up a standing order requires the payer to contact their bank to request it. With some banks and building societies, standing orders can be set up online or over the phone. The payer then completes a standing order form (paper or online) and gives it to their bank. This will include details of the account number and sort code of the Parish Account being paid.
Or the church can give or email you a form to fill out and you give it back to the FWO Secretaries, the Treasurer, Church Wardens or Rector. We’ll take it from there.
Standing Orders – their use
A good example of the use of a standing order would be a Parishioner setting up a standing order to make a monthly/weekly donation to the Parish. The amount would be the same each month/week and would be sent from the parishioner’s bank account to the Church Account at the same time each month/week, either until the specified length of time runs out or the parishioner cancels the standing order via their bank.
How does a Standing Order work?
From the point of view of you, the giver, one of the major attractions of standing orders is the level of control they offer. As the donor, you are the only person who can cancel a standing order. You can do so at any time, either in branch, over the phone or via online banking. The payment will be stopped immediately, and no further payment will be taken unless you reinstate the standing order. Only you can do this. But it’s important to inform the Parish too.
What about bank charges?
Banks don’t usually charge anything to the payer or payee (Parish) for setting up or using standing orders. In fact, Standing Order is the most cost-efficient way for you to give to the church, because the church pays less bank charges and doesn’t have to pay for envelopes for your offering to go into.
How long does a Standing Order payment stay active?
When setting up a new standing order with your bank, you’ll have the option to specify a duration for the regular donation. This can be monthly, weekly, or whatever you prefer. If you set an end date, the standing order will stay active until that date, or until you cancel it manually via your bank (which you can do at any time).