Giving Cards for Standing Orders

The practical and theological advantages of giving by Standing Order are compelling. However, they are often outweighed in the minds of both planning groups and donors by one consideration: there is nothing to put on the offering plate when it comes around!

In churches where the collection plate is not passed around this is hardly a problem. But for the majority of churches this is a real issue. It is artificial at best and misleading at worst for standing order givers to find a spare £1 to put on the plate to avoid embarrassment. More than that, when the gifts are offered to God in accompanied by the beautiful words of King David (Yours, Lord, is the greatness.) people want to feel that their own gift is represented there. As Archbishop Rowan William reminds us, "What we do with our money proclaims who we think we are – whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not."

So the issue of the offering is a very real one; fortunately a solution is at hand. Increasingly churches are making use of simple, homemade giving cards that can be placed in the collection plate. These cards, sized similar to a business or credit card, contain a simple statement that the gift is made by Standing Order. An example of how such standing order cards might look is provided but churches are encouraged to elaborate this basic design:

• use a picture of the local church
• print in colour where possible
• change the bible promise each month

At St Luke's church in Formby giving cards are available at the back of church for those who give by Standing Order. These cards are then reused each week. The alternative is for the local church to provide each Standing Order giver with home produced cards, one for each week of the year just as with planned giving envelopes.

We would be delighted to receive suggestions for designs of Standing Order cards that might help other churches by email to the Resources Team.