Pledging and Tithing
What's It All About?
At St. David’s, we know that financial stewardship is an important component of a balanced spiritual life. Returning to God from that which God has given us is a tangible way to express our faith. When each of us gives as we are able, together we fund ministry within our parish and to the Austin community and the world.
WHAT IS A PLEDGE?
A pledge is an estimate of giving; some call it a statement of intent. Your pledge amount may be changed, increased or decreased during the year, at any time as your financial circumstances change.
WHY SHOULD I PLEDGE?
Pledging allows you to make intentional decisions about your financial giving. When you plan ahead for your giving, you make conscious choices about spending your money in ways that reflect your faith and values.
Receiving your pledge allows our Vestry, the church’s governing board, to do for our parish community what you do for your household: plan wisely for the use our resources in support of the mission and ministry to which God has called us. The Vestry sets a budget based on the total amount pledged to the church. While regular giving that is not pledged is important to the parish, your pledge lets the Vestry plan more accurately for the ministry we can accomplish.
HOW DO I PLEDGE?
Annual giving pledges at St. David’s are made each year. While our annual giving campaign is held in the fall, pledges may be made at any time.
HOW DO I PAY MY PLEDGE?
Paying your pledge is a matter of your personal preference. You may pay weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly via cash, checks, credit card, or electronic fund transfer (EFT). You may initiate your own credit card payments via Paypal or if you wish the church will charge your credit card. You may also pay your pledge with a donation of stock. Many companies have matching funds for charitable donations. Please check to see if your company has such a plan, and let us know.
HOW MUCH SHOULD I PLEDGE?
Determining the amount of your annual pledge is between you and God. The church does offer some guidelines to assist you as you make this important decision.
WHAT IS PROPORTIONATE GIVING?
Proportionate giving is basing your pledge amount on a percentage of your income.
WHAT IS A TITHE?
A tithe is 10% of your income. At its General Convention since 1982, the Episcopal Church has affirmed the tithe is the minimum standard for giving and encourages its members to tithe or be working toward a tithe. St. David’s Vestry has also passed a resolution in support of tithing (see page 2). Both resolutions recognize that many persons choose to divide their tithe among the church and other worthy organizations.
A tithe may sound like an unattainable goal to begin with, but if you start with a certain proportion of your income and increase the percentage each year, you will be tithing in a short time. You could start with 5%, a half tithe. Another option is 2½%, which is equivalent to pledging the first hour’s pay of a 40-hour work week.
JUST DO IT!
Where you start or whether you tithe on your annual or gross income is not nearly as important as simply making your first pledge. As the folks at Nike say, “Just do it!”
QUESTIONS?
If you have questions about financial stewardship or tithing, your clergy are happy to talk with you. Please call for an appointment, 610-3500.
Gifts
Most of us are familiar with the traditional method of bequeathing money or other property to an organization in our will. This is an excellent way to support St. David’s and the chief means by which the Foundation receives contributions. There are other ways to contribute that you may wish to consider, as well. The making of a gift or establishment of a trust to benefit the endowment during your life contributes to St. David’s and may also be a prudent step in your own income or estate tax planning. The most common gifts are cash and stock or other securities. It is possible, however, to make a gift of almost anything of value that you own, including life insurance policies, annuities, and real property. See the parish Gift Acceptance Policy for more information.
Trusts can be structured in many different ways. An attorney or financial advisor can advise you as to how to tailor one to your particular situation and needs. As just one example, it is possible to set up a trust under which you reserve to yourself the income from stocks or other property for your life or for a specified period of time, with the stocks going outright to the Endowment Fund you select at the end of the trust period. Or, you can do the opposite: set up a trust under which the endowment fund receives income from stock or other property for a period of years, after which the stock goes to your descendants or other beneficiaries.
Gifts to the St. David’s Episcopal Church Foundation qualify for the maximum allowable federal income tax charitable deduction. In addition, gifts to the Foundation are fully deductible for federal estate and gift tax purposes. Your attorney or other advisor can explain the particular tax benefits of trust arrangements such as those described above. All gifts to St. David’s Episcopal Church Foundation are for the benefit of the parish. For those who prefer to make an unrestricted gift, this gift can made to be used at the discretion of the Foundation to assist in the ministries of St. David’s Episcopal Church.
Those who wish for their gift principal to be retained through time so that distributions from earnings will be available in perpetuity may chose to direct their gift to one or more of the endowment funds of the Foundation.
A gift directed to the St. David’s Operating Endowment Fund Agreement provides the church with a flexible gift, one that the Vestry can direct to fill special needs. At present distributions from this fund are helping to pay for our building loan. In the future, distributions from this fund can help us through the extraordinarily difficult times that inevitably occur, as well as providing access to the exceptional opportunities that occasionally arise. This fund is the most flexible of our endowment funds, and one that is highly valued by our church leadership.
The Historic Church Endowment Fund is for the preservation of St. David’s Historic Church, at standards defined in the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the treatment of Historic Preservation Projects. For those who appreciate and value the beauty of our church building and wish to see it preserved through time, this is a meaningful gift.
The Music Endowment Fund provides financial resources that enhance our music, lifting the music program up from a level of “usual and customary” to a special level. For donors who have received great gifts from the music at St. David’s, a gift to the Music Endowment Fund is a way to make exceptional music available to future generations.
The Pipe Organ Endowment Fund, as it grows, will provide a means for maintaining our expensive organs. For individuals who place special value on organ music, this fund offers a specific way to support the music and worship experience at St. David’s.
The Acorn Community Outreach Endowment Fund Agreement, established in 2006 with a gift from Ned Marrow honoring the memory of his wife Dorothy Marrow, provides assistance to those seeking to increase their job skills, living skills, talents and/or spiritual development. Those who wish to extend the mission of St. David’s to the community by furthering the common good in the manner provided by the Acorn Community Outreach Endowment Fund may wish to consider directing a portion of their planned gift to this endowment fund.
The Building and Maintenance Endowment Fund Agreement is in formation. This fund will assist with capital expenses and with key scheduled maintenance needed in a timely fashion to avoid unnecessary future capital expense.
The opportunity for a donor to confer their name or the name of a loved one with their gift to St. David’s forever links past, present and future generations who want to support the vital ministries of our parish. At present, donors giving $25,000 or more to an established fund of the Foundation may name their gift. Those who anticipate having a named gift opportunity should provide the Foundation with their naming preference to assure that this information is available to the Church when it is needed. Gifts will be named in accordance with the naming policy in effect at the time a gift is realized.
Some individuals or families may wish to establish an endowment fund with a new designated purpose. People interested in establishing such an endowment fund should consult with the Foundation before finalizing their gift plan. That way, the donor, the Church and the Foundation can all be assured that the purpose is in alignment with the mission of the Church and that the proposed level of funding is sufficient to achieve the purpose of the donation, with the result that the donor’s intent will be honored over time.
For More Information
Molly Sharpe, in the Foundation office, will be glad to assist you and, as you wish, to arrange for you to meet with the Rector or with a Foundation Director. Please contact her at 472-1196, ext. 133 or by email.
The following thought was shared at a recent annual conference of the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes: “In planning your funeral, you tell the story of your life. In writing your will, you express the values of your life.” A member of the Consortium, St David’s is happy to provide resource information to you about end of life planning (see “Graceful Exits") and estate planning.
The information provided herein in no way constitutes legal advice. Donors are urged to consult their attorney regarding their will and their attorney, accountant, financial and/or tax advisor about their gift plans.
Environmental Guild
Recycling can be seen as another way to care for God’s creation. No doubt you have heard many times that making a conscious effort to reduce, reuse, and recycle our resources is good for the environment, but it is important to remember that these same efforts benefit people as well. With a little extra effort we can leave the world a better place for those who come after us while we continue to serve those around us.
To me, the example of Christ tells us that no good can come without sacrifice, and while we cannot hope to match the good He has done through His sacrifice, there are ways we can change how we live to improve our stewardship of the world’s resources.
The Environmental Guild is working to suggest ways, beyond just recycling, to balance the needs of the St. David’s community of today as well as tomorrow. We hope that some of these suggestions may even help lower the demands on the church’s operating budget by minimizing the need to buy disposable goods and by lowering our use of water. Look for our posters around the church describing how you can contribute to this effort to extend stewardship to all of God’s creation now and in the future.
One such suggestion is for the increased use of reusable items to replace paper and Styrofoam cups, plates, and bowls. Many coffee drinkers are used to bringing their favorite commuter mug to work, why not bring it to church as well? Or use a ceramic mug from Café Divine? Yes, this does increase the need for water to clean the mugs, plates, and bowls, but there is plenty of energy and water used to produce disposable items as well. Let’s not forget that a reduced demand on our municipal landfills can save taxpayer dollars as well as our local environment.
In the end, good stewardship of resources is about caring for God’s gift of creation, and working together, there is much that the St. David’s community can accomplish.
Congratulations St. David’s!!
Thanks to your efforts, the recycling program has increased dramatically in 2008. Just look at the volume of materials you have kept out the landfills this past year:
Ink Cartridges: 500 collected, an 89% increase resulting in providing approximately 7,700 meals to the Austin Area Food Bank.
Cell Phones: 135 collected, a 35% increase. Phones are taken to Safe Place to provide “911” phones for battered women.
Glasses: 344 collected, a 35% increase. Glasses are sent to the Lions Club for distribution to Trinity Center and to other local and overseas needy organizations.
CD’s: 1,229 collected, a 54% increase. These are sent to a re-manufacturer to remove the metals and plastics to be made into other products.
Batteries: ½ to ¾ ton, a 100% plus increase. We are an official City of Austin drop off site, with the hazardous waste department picking up from us monthly.
Pull Tabs: We don’t count the tabs, but the program appears to be growing considerably.
Prescription Bottles: It is estimated that the number of recycled Prescription Bottles was over 4,300 bottles.
Learn how you can help the recycling efforts at St. David’s with your drop-offs and more on why you should use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Stewardship Overview
Stewardship is responsibility for taking good care of resources entrusted to one. At St. David’s, we are being good stewards by taking care of each other and our neighbors through our financial support of our church family through an Annual Giving pledge. Additionally, we are good stewards by giving of our time, talent and energy to the many Ministry Opportunities offered at and through St. David’s. We are all asked to give back joyfully to God in thanksgiving for the abundance He has given us through our pledges of time, talent and treasure! Share your Priceless Joy!!
Each household should base their financial pledge upon a percent of income. Tithing (giving the first tenth or 10%) is a Holy Habit that should be the practice or goal of each member of St. David’s. If it is a goal, one can use increases in proportional giving to grow into this Holy Habit. Just as we grow in faith, we continually strive for growth in our stewardship response to meet this standard of giving.
All adults are also asked to complete and turn in a Time, Talent & Energy pledge card to indicate in which ministry opportunities they are active and interested. Interest in a ministry opportunity will result in contact from the lay leader to get more information about the opportunity and to get involved in it!
For 2007, nearly 600 members of our parish pledged to contribute over $1,470,000 to support our ministries and programs through our annual budget. Other ways members support God’s work at St. David’s are by donations to our Endowment Funds. Gifts to either will produce benefits for years to come. For details, contact our Stewardship Director Roxanne Ruggles at 472-1196.
Stewardship is providing care in many different ways – monetarily and through one’s time, talent and energy. However you practice stewardship at St. David’s, please know that it is recognized and appreciated by all who are affected by it. But, mostly, God loves you for it!
Vestry Stewardship Statement
Stewardship Report (2009 Second Quarter)
View Our 2010 Stewardship Campaign Videos
Make Your Pledge (an estimate of giving)
As Christians, we are called to active response in gratitude to our God. Our grateful response to God includes the offering of our time, our talent, and our treasure.
Each member household makes a pledge of financial support. A pledge is an estimate of your giving for the coming year in support of the ministry and mission of St. David’s.
We ask all members to join St. David’s Vestry in working towards a tithe—returning 10% of our income to God. Stewardship Statement of St. David’s Vestry
Use these simple steps to determine the amount of your pledge:
- Do the math and see what percentage of your income you are currently giving.
- Does your giving reflect the depth of your gratitude to God for all that you have and all that you are?
- As you are led by God, seek to increase your pledge by 1%, 2% or 5%, moving toward a tithe.
To submit your pledge online, please click the Pledge button above. If you prefer, you may download a PDF of the 2010 Pledge Form. For questions, contact .
Offer Your Gift
To make a payment toward your pledge or a one-time gift to St. David’s, please click the ‘Give’ button below. This will take you to PayPal where you can enter the amount of your gift. Please be sure to let us know how your gift should be recorded (i.e. pledge payment, memorial, etc.) during the checkout process.
For more information, contact .
St. David’s Endowment
Honor our history. Enrich our present. Anticipate our future.
With a gift to St. David’s Episcopal Church Foundation, forward thinking individuals who love St. David’s can leave an enduring legacy. The gift principal is invested and never spent when directed to an endowment fund. As the funds of the Foundation grow, distributions from earnings are made. These distributions support the purposes for which the endowment funds were established.
Today, net assets of St. David’s Episcopal Church Foundation are over $6 million. The funds of the Foundation got their start on December 19, 1941 when the Rev. Charles A. Summers opened the first meeting of the St. David’s Endowment Trustees. By 1967, the endowment of the Parish had grown to a net worth of $238,453. Distributions from earnings are used in accordance with the purposes for which the endowment funds were established. The annual distribution now exceeds what the funds’ net worth was twenty-five years ago.
In 1993, St. David’s Episcopal Church Foundation was incorporated to provide ongoing, consistent oversight to the endowment funds. These funds have been professionally invested and managed for more than a quarter of a century by nationally recognized firms, and this continues to be the case, with RBC Wealth Management, Inc. providing local monitoring. All the funds of the Foundation are managed and invested together and collectively referred to as our endowment. St. David’s Episcopal Church Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) organization, is governed by a nine member board of directors, including the Rector and Senior Warden. As of December 31, 2008, the assets were valued at $4,187,489.
Going forward, we have the opportunity to build the Funds of the Foundation to a level where they can provide meaningful, needed enhancements to St. David’s Episcopal Church – enhancements that will be important to our parish’s ongoing vitality and ministry; enhancements that are beyond the reach of annual operating revenues. A gift to St. David’s Episcopal Church Foundation is a wonderful way simultaneously to be part of our church history and of our church future.
Immediate gifts may be made by sending a check directed to: St. David’s Episcopal Church Foundation, 304 East 7th Street, Austin, TX 78701. If the gift is an honorarium or memorial, please note who is to be honored or remembered and where an acknowledgment should be sent. A record of memorial gifts is kept in St. David’s Book of Remembrance on display outside the Historic Sanctuary.
Planned gifts through bequests and other gift provisions are welcome. These gifts are vitally important to building the endowment of St. David’s. People who make a planned gift provision for St. David’s Episcopal Church Foundation or who establish a named gift of the Foundation are members of The Sumners Legacy Society.
The 2009 Annual Report from the Foundation, St. David’s Investment Policy and the parish Gift Acceptance Policy are available for your review. Also see information about Leaving Your Legacy.
For More Information
Molly Sharpe, in the Foundation office, will be glad to assist you and, as you wish, to arrange for you to meet with the Rector or with a Foundation Director. Please contact her at 472-1196, ext. 133 or by .
