PRE-AUTHORIZED REMITTANCE

The Pre-Authorized Remittance ("PAR") program is a convenient, flexible, and reliable means of ensuring that your givings to the church take place exactly as you wish, in the amounts and allocations that you wish. Those of us in the program like it very much, and are loyal to it. Very few participants drop out of the program, and even then only if financial or family circumstances make continuing impossible - and typically we come back into the program as soon as we can.

What is involved?

"Pre-Authorized Remittance" means that each month a certain amount of money, as "pre-authorized" by you, is removed automatically from whichever of your bank accounts you choose, and transferred to the General Account of our church. Each month, a report of this transaction is supplied to the PAR Coordinator of the congregation, who keeps accurate records of the transaction, and supplies a progress report every four months, and the tax receipt at the end of the year. The PAR Coordinator is the only person who has knowledge of the transaction, and he informs no one but you. Thus this system is at least as secure and private as most other systems of giving in the church.

You are free to allocate the money any way you choose, within three categories.

1. Typically, the main category will be the church's General Account (also called "Local"). This account looks after all ongoing expenses of St. Andrew's Memorial Presbyterian Church, including payroll, maintenance, Christian Education, Worship, etc.
2. Presbyterian Sharing is the money that you give to the national church. This money supports the programs of the national church, including running of the church headquarters, church colleges and seminaries, expenses of the synods and the General Assembly, national church programs of Mission, national church websites, book rooms, publications, etc. Our local church is committed to paying at least $30,000/year to Presbyterian Sharing no matter how much comes in from individual givers. Many people recognize and allow for this policy in making their decisions as to the amount of individual support they supply to Presbyterian Sharing.
3. "Other": As the name suggests, this category can include any particular church program which you wish to support. In the past, the Organ Restoration program was the most popular use of this category. Other programs include Christian Education, the Music programs, Kitchen Renovation, etc. When money comes in from PAR designating a particular program, this "Other" money is allocated by the church Treasurer to that program.

What do we participants like so much about the program?

Convenience: Forget about having to write cheques each week or month, or, if you choose to give in cash, forget about having the right bills to supply. Forget about fussing with regular givings envelopes. If you wish, PAR cards can be supplied to you to hand in instead of a givings envelope, but most participants do not bother with the cards, in that your givings are nobody's business but your own.

Reliability: No longer worry about what happens to your givings if you go on vacation, or about having to make up a givings backlog when you get back. Suppose you are not as mobile as you once were, or your job prevents you from getting to church as regularly as you would wish. No problem. The PAR givings carry on automatically, exactly as you have ordered.

Flexibility: You choose exactly how much money will be involved for each month. You choose exactly the way it is allocated. At any time you may change the amount or allocation of the money, simply by contacting the PAR Coordinator of your congregation.

You already have automatic deductions from your bank account for various utilities, such as insurance, taxes, fuel, or mortgage payments. PAR deductions work the same way. The bank debit will take place on or about the 20th of each month. There is an administrative fee of 50 cents for each donation each month. This fee is charged to the church, not to you. You get full tax credit for whatever givings you provide. The church is happy to pay this charge because, for the church, the PAR program ensures steady, dependable flow of revenue, and a major reduction in paper work and bookkeeping.

How do I set up participation in this program?

1. Decide the amount of your monthly offering, and the allocation that you wish. Remember that, on average, there are 4.3 weeks per month, not 4.0, and if you usually give weekly, multiply the weekly givings by 4.3 to estimate the monthly givings that you wish to provide. Remember that this 4.3 factor is only a guide. There is nothing to prevent you from increasing or decreasing your overall givings by any amount that you wish.
2. Complete the PAR Authorization Card. It tells the PAR people the name of your church, the amount you wish to give, its allocation, the bank and bank account from which the money is to be removed, and your Envelope number. Finally, your signature gives the PAR people the authority to set up the system for you.
3. Include a voided cheque from the account that you wish to use.
4. Submit the PAR Authorization Card, and the voided cheque to the PAR Coordinator for our church. For the past six years, I have been the PAR Coordinator for our church; therefore, I am the one to whom you should pass this information.

Notes:

1. The usual practice is to use your present Envelope number as your PAR Envelope number. However, if you wish to continue to use that number for occasional conventional givings, it is easy to set up a new additional Envelope number for exclusive PAR use. Simply tell me your wish, and I will make it happen.
2. The PAR Authorization Card is available from me, but also from the church office or from the racks in the hall outside the church office.
3. While the PAR Authorization Card is the normal document used in the process, it is the information that is important, not the Card itself. Provided that the information and the signature are supplied, any legible letter will do, along with the voided cheque.

Questions? More information?
Call me at 905-279-9425, or contact me at Email address, jasparling@rogers.com

John Sparling
PAR Coordinator,
St. Andrew's Memorial Presbyterian Church