As you will know, the pandemic has been a disruptive and financially trying time for charities. In our case, Holy Trinity does not receive any outside support from bodies such as the Archdiocese or the Patriarchate, so we as a community are solely responsible for all running expenses, including major costs such as our priest’s salary and Oxford accommodation. We normally provide these through the generosity of individual donors, and through our volunteer-run fundraising efforts. However, when health advice and regulations closed the church or reduced the number permitted to attend services, we faced acute financial difficulty as cash donations dropped off or stopped completely. Even more damaging to our budget was losing about £10,000 in income after fundraisers had to be cancelled, notably two cycles of the Parish concert, food fair, and summer barbeque.
The Parish Council has worked hard to offset income losses through back-claiming Gift Aid, increasing online donations, reducing some expenses, and accessing relevant support schemes. Plans are also now underway to resume our traditional fundraisers in 2022, but the accumulated deficit is concerning, and we have decided to appeal directly to the community in an effort to cover the immediate shortfall. We know that, in addition to charities, the pandemic has also been a difficult time for many people’s personal finances. However, if you have the ability to support us on a more regular basis, the most effective way is to set up a monthly standing order. These regular offerings support all the important activities of the community as well as stabilising financial planning for both parties. If you already have a standing order in place thank you, and please consider increasing the monthly amount if you can. To set up a standing order or to amend the one you have, please get in touch by emailing our treasurer.
You may also print and fill in the standing order form, then sign it and send it to your bank. If you’d like to apply Gift Aid to your donation — which allows us to claim an additional 25% from HMRC at no extra cost to you — fill in the Gift Aid form if you are eligible, tick the box at the bottom and return a copy of the completed form to the Treasurer for our records. (The Gift Aid form does not need to be signed.)
If you are not yet ready to commit to a monthly donation, you can still support our community with one-off donations through PayPal: https://paypal.com/gb/fundraiser/charity/3247518.