Options for Giving
Electronic Giving OptionsPaper checks and cash not your thing? We've got you covered.
Automated giving provides convenience for you and much-needed donation consistency for our congregation. Collection basket offerings can fluctuate significantly from week to week due to travel, illness and other circumstances, but when contributions are automated, the church receives funds on a steady, uninterrupted basis. There are three options for automating your giving....just pick the one that works best for you!
We also accept credit and debit cards on Sunday mornings or during the week. Just stop by the Giving Station located at the back of the Sanctuary anytime on Sunday morning. There is a smartphone equipped with a Square Reader and easy-to-follow instructions. Just select the dollar amount for your gift, swipe your card, and receive your receipt via text or e-mail. Please note that these electronic options do incur some fees for the church ($0.25 each time we make a debit through Vanco, a 2.75% fee of anything given via Square, and a 2.9% fee of anything given via PayPal). If you are able to slightly increase your contribution to cover the fees, that's wonderful. "Stewardship? Pledging? What's that?"Churches and public radio are some of the only places you heard the word "pledge" these days. And "stewardship"? What's that?
As followers of Jesus, we've noticed that there is whole lotta talk about money in the Bible. We feel compelled to take seriously God's call to act as stewards of the resources we have. Stewardship is all about the ways we - as individuals, and as a faith community - use our money, our skills, and our time to be the hands and feet of Christ in our community and our world. Members of First Congregational are expected to support our shared work together with their prayers, presence, gifts, and service. Part of this support is financial and most of our members make a commitment each year to pledge a certain amount. That pledge helps our church leaders create an annual budget. This process of pondering our pledges and being encouraged to pray and carefully consider what we can each contribute typically happens in the fall each year and we call it the Stewardship Campaign. We've put together a set of FAQs about Giving to help you understand more about this process. Shop & SupportIf you shop at Dillons, you can link your shopper's card to our church and Dillons will donate funds to First Congregational. Visit the Dillons website and link your card to our congregation (Organization #10145) to get started.
You can also raise money for First Congregational each time you shop at Amazon. Visit this link to set your preferences. After that, make sure you always begin at smile.amazon.com and the church will receive 0.5% of your purchase. Have you considered a legacy gift to our congregation? Contact a member of our Gifts, Investments, & Endowments Committee to learn more about how your gift might help ensure a vibrant ministry through First Congregational for many generations to come. E-mail the church office to connect with us.
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Testimonies about GivingTestimonies from 2021 (on YouTube)
Testimonies from 2020 (on YouTube) Betsey Bean (video) Brent Maner (video) Mike Henry Andrea Chamberlain Sue Gerth Jess Girdler Jim Mock Katrina Lewison Charlotte MacFarland Sue Zschoche Bill Richter Andy Casto Ann Smit Barbara Withee Helpful ResourcesPledge card (printable | online)
FAQs about Giving How do we live our mission? At-Home Discernment Guide for Giving Paper Authorization for Automatic Giving Learn about Qualified Charitable Distributions 2021 Mission Spending Plan |