A NEW competition is announced today, aimed at finding the best
church fund-raising ideas.
The competition prizes of £20,000 are being donated by the
Ecclesiastical Insurance Group, the leading insurers of churches
and church properties in the UK; and the competition is being run
in partnership with the Church Times.
The object is to discover, reward, and disseminate the most
original, inventive, and inspiring fund-raising ideas. The top
prize is £10,000, and there are five runner-up prizes of £2000
each.
Fund-raising is part of the life of almost every church at some
point. For many, it can be a continual burden. A great deal of
energy and effort is expended by church staff and volunteers, all
giving their time, energy, and creativity for free - and sometimes
the funds raised hardly seem worth it.
Ideas for ways of fund-raising can become stale, and so the aim
of the competition is to uncover new initiatives that can stimulate
the thinking of others elsewhere.
The judges will be looking for innovation and experiment, along
with how well the initiative engaged with the congregation and the
community that suggested it.
If the initiatives have been successful financially, that is
great, but the size of the total raised is not the most important
thing. Churches can enter for the prize fund-raising projects that
are on-going, or something that has been completed recently.
It's easy to enter:
- The competition is open to any Christian church in the UK;
- No fund-raising idea is too small;
- The funds could be for any worthwhile church-based cause, from
building to mission, from music to youth work.
To enter, go to www.ecclesiastical.com/churchcomp for
more details. Entries will be accepted by post or online. The
closing date for entries is 23 October 2015.
After the entries have been judged by our panel, the winners
will be selected, and invited to an awards ceremony in London on 25
November.