Church funds hit by change in giving habits

THE Church of England has recorded a fall in planned donations for first time in 50 years as it says millennials are not giving money in the same way as previous generations.

Money given through direct debits and standing orders has fallen for the first time since records began in 1964, it was revealed yesterday.

John Spence, chair of the Archbishops’ Council Finance Committee, told its governing body, the General Synod, that in 2016, income coming from planned giving fell by 0.4per cent.

Figures for 2015 show that a total of £337.5million was given to the Church this way, suggesting that there was a fall of around £1.35million in 2016.

The donations formed around a third of the money collected by parishes in 2015, which Mr Spence said rose by 1.8 per cent overall because of other sources of funds.

He warned that young people were not replacing older churchgoers in donating money to the church, which was leading to a dent in income.

“An 81-year-old is eight times more likely to go to church than an 18-yearold, and that’s having its impact on finance,” he said.

The debate over the Archbishops’ Council’s budget for 2019, which sets out the national church’s spending priorities, also heard from members who were concerned that millennials were not donating to local churches.

Julie Dziegiel, who sits on the same finance committee and is treasurer of a parish in the diocese of Oxford, said: “We need to address the issue of giving by our millennial generation, the future of our church – but they are saddled with student debt and looking at being unable to afford to buy a house.”

Mr Spence said the church was introducing initiatives such as contactless collection and text giving in an effort to appeal to young people.

He said contactless collection at services “can be very useful for churches that have significant numbers of visitors or when people come for weddings or funerals”.