Ways To Help
There are many ways to donate to the church. You can set up automatic online giving or bring donations into the office. You can also donate your time and talents by filling out an opportunity sheet. Scroll down to learn more.
If you would like to donate to specific causes, you can designate your funds to those specific causes rather than the general funds. You can donate to the Operating Reserve, Capital Improvement, ELCA SWMN Synod Account, KDIO Broadcast, Memorial, to our Monthly Emphasis Funds and more.
MONTHLY EMPHASIS
- January – Technology Fund
- February – Service Trip Scholarship
- March – Big Stone Lake Area Food Shelf
- April – SW MN Funding Initiative
- May – Global Missions – Companion Synod South Africa
- June – Someplace Safe
- July – Families in Need
- August – Baptism Chests
- September – Endowment Fund
- October – Jaycees Project Christmas
- November – God’s Work, Our Hands Service Projects
- December – ELCA Missionaries
You can donate using your giving number envelopes, using loose checks, or cash if you prefer to give in person.
If you don’t have donation envelopes with your giving number ask someone in the office to get you some.
Envelope Giving
Time & Talents
To donate your time and talents you can fill out an opportunity sheet with what you are willing and able to help with. You can help with joining the choir, being a greeter or lector, or helping serve during special events. Whatever your talent is, consider volunteering to help the church and its members. Download an opportunity sheet, fill it out, and turn it into the office.
Consistent Giving
If you would like to be a consistent giver, you can set up a direct deposit. There are 5 ways to do this.
1. Go to your bank and request a regular monthly or weekly transfer to the church’s account. It is free!
2. If you do Online Banking through your bank, you can set up an automatic payment to the church. Depending on how your bank works, it could be a check or an automatic clearing house (ACH) transfer directly to the church and it is typically free.
3. We now have forms (on the website) for you to fill out to initiate a transfer directly from your bank account to the church’s account on a monthly basis. You decide how much, fill out the form and our bank will withdraw the authorized amount from your account each month. That costs the church $0.25 per transaction but the consistency is worth it! Once you’ve filled out the form please give it to Barbara in the church office.
4. Several parishioners use Vanco or Simply Giving which is an online giving tool. It works fine, but is much more expensive than the above three options. 2.9% + $0.039 per transaction. That is money the church doesn’t get.
5. Qualified Charitable Distribution: If you are 70 1/2 years of age and have an IRA, you could be utilizing your IRA dollars to give to the church. Determine how much you would like to give each year and then talk to your IRA custodian. They need to distribute the funds directly from your IRA to the church. The benefit is that when done this way, the withdrawal from your IRA is not taxable so your gift to the church is truly deductible.
