Regular Giving Parish Giving Scheme
We are very grateful to all those who support Blackburn Cathedral with regular giving through the Parish Giving Scheme.
If you would like to support us through regular giving, then the Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) is a simple and secure way of supporting our work and mission.
Regular giving helps to ensure the Cathedral remains open to all for generations to come.
Regular Giving
The Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) is a simple, secure way of giving to Blackburn Cathedral on a regular, monthly basis (or quarterly or annually if you prefer).
It works by making a Direct Debit from your bank account on the first of the month, which is credited to our bank account shortly after.
If you would like to support our mission and maintain our beautiful historic building, you can set up a direct debit through the Parish Giving Scheme.
Our Parish Code is: 030603001
Please see below to learn more about the scheme, what’s involved and how you can start giving regularly.
We greatly appreciate your commitment to supporting Blackburn Cathedral.
Useful information
Most regular payments today are made using direct debits. These can be set up or changed over the phone, online or by letter without needing to visit a bank or use online banking. As direct debits are highly regulated, we are not permitted to set them up ourselves and need to use a third party. The Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) is a partnership between dioceses to enable churches to use direct debits to manage regular donations. As with all direct debits, this is covered by the direct debit guarantee.
Donations are made directly from your bank account on the 1st day of the month (or can be made quarterly or annually) and received by the Cathedral by the 10th of the month. To ensure efficient operation (which minimises costs) it is important that all donations are collected on the same day each month, which has been agreed as the 1st of each month and it is unfortunately not possible to change this date.
PGS reclaim any Gift Aid on eligible donations made through the scheme and pass them on to the Cathedral once it has been received from HMRC, which is usually by 25th of the same month.
The main beneficiary of this scheme will be the work of Blackburn Cathedral. Through your generous commitment, we can be assured of a regular, tax efficient source of income which has the capacity to increase with the cost of living with minimal administration. You will benefit from a system that is secure, confidential and easy to use, while supporting us today and for the future.
There is no direct charge to us for using the Parish Giving Scheme and everything you give is passed to the Cathedral. The annual running costs of the scheme are met by all the dioceses.
The ministry of our Cathedral is supported by our community, who generously give their time and money to ensure that there is a Christian presence maintained at the heart of the Diocese of Blackburn. Regular donations help with cash flow and allow us to plan confidently for the future.
Many people intend to review their giving annually but giving often remains unchanged. When you set up a PGS donation you can choose to make a small inflationary increase each year. This helps your giving keep its value, whilst giving you the security of knowing that you will receive a notification of the increase each year and can change your gift if you wish.
The January Consumer Prices Index (CPI) is used to increase relevant gifts on their anniversary date that year. In January 2023, the CPI was 10.1% so each £10 given in 2022 would increase to £11.01 in 2023 from the anniversary of joining the scheme. PGS contact donors 30 days in advance so if you do not want your gift to increase, or wish to change it to a different amount, just let PGS know.
Giving through PGS will reduce the administrative burden for our Finance team and, if you are a taxpayer, it will increase the speed at which our Cathedral receives the Gift Aid. It will also be easy to change your giving in the future through one of the three methods below, and if you decide to use online giving, you will have a record of all your giving.
As Christians, we give as a sign of our love for God and in response to his love and generosity to us.
'Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.'
(1 Chronicles 29.11)
Stewardship is not about giving so the Cathedral can 'make ends meet' but about generously giving back to God and seeing God’s church grow as it resources for mission and ministry.
'Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.'
(1 Chronicles 29.11)
Stewardship is not about giving so the Cathedral can 'make ends meet' but about generously giving back to God and seeing God’s church grow as it resources for mission and ministry.
Asking these questions may help you decide if you are giving generously:
• Is the amount I am giving away realistic in relation to my income?
• Can I see an element of sacrifice in my giving?
• Does what I give impact on my lifestyle?
• Is my giving a priority from what I receive each week or month, or just what is left over?
• If what I give away was given back to me, would I notice?
• Is the amount I am giving away realistic in relation to my income?
• Can I see an element of sacrifice in my giving?
• Does what I give impact on my lifestyle?
• Is my giving a priority from what I receive each week or month, or just what is left over?
• If what I give away was given back to me, would I notice?
There are two ways to set up or change your gift:
Online: Simply visit the Parish Giving Scheme website.
By telephone: 0333 002 1271 Lines are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.
To ensure that your gift reaches Blackburn Cathedral, please ensure that you use our PGS code which is: 030603001.
Online: Simply visit the Parish Giving Scheme website.
By telephone: 0333 002 1271 Lines are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.
To ensure that your gift reaches Blackburn Cathedral, please ensure that you use our PGS code which is: 030603001.
The Cathedral Church of St Mary The Virgin Blackburn is a charity registered with the Charity Commission in England & Wales. Charity Number: 1207822.
