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PAR

The PAR program offers a convenient way to give regularly to the church.

When you sign up for PAR, you decide what your monthly offering will be.  Your gift will be automatically debited each month from your bank or trust account.   You may change or cancel your offering amount at any time.

Giving through PAR is a simple way to practice the habits of the heart of faithful and generous stewards (i.e. giving regularly, intentionally and proportionally) as well as ensuring that Knox Church has a consistent cash flow to cover the costs of our various ministries.

To participate in PAR, please print the Pre-Authorizepplication form and mail or give your completed form to the church office.

You can still make offerings for special appeals, seasonal offerings and projects via offering envelopes and/or cheques.  Simply indicate where you would like your gift to be designated.
Special Offerings

The project may be an emergency appeal of Presbyterian World Service & Development, such as the wildfires in Alberta, or a special project here at Knox Church, such as the chancel renovations.
Recurring Seasonal Offerings:

Lenten/Easter Offering – each year during Lent and concluding with the Easter service, the members and friends of Knox have the opportunity to contribute to special outreach projects chosen by the church leadership.
Thanksgiving Offering – members and friends of Knox Church are invited to “Give a Day of Pay or Pension Income” over and above their regular weekly offering as a tangible way to say thank you to God for God’s many blessings throughout the year. Money raised goes to the annual operating budget of the church.
Christmas Offering – During the Christmas Eve service, the loose offering goes to special ministry projects chosen by the session. Those who use the special Christmas Offering envelopes will receive a tax receipt for their gift.

Planned Giving

We can support the church with donations from our accumulated assets (e.g. stocks and bonds, RRSPs and RRIFs, real estate, etc.).  Such gifts may be deferred (e.g. a charitable bequest though a will), or they may be an immediate gift available for current use (e.g. a gift of stock).   There are many ways to make a planned gift, including:

bequests in your will – charitable gifts made through your will can substantially reduce the taxes owed by your estate, benefitting both the charities you have supported during your lifetime and your heirs.
charitable gift annuities – a simple way to earn guaranteed, tax-free income for the rest of your life while leaving a legacy gift to the church after you pass away.
assignment of life insurance -- if you make the church the owner and beneficiary of an active life insurance policy, all your annual premiums are eligible for a charitable tax receipt.
gifts of real estate – have you ever thought of giving a portion of the proceeds from the sale of your home to the church as a one-time gift?
gifts of publicly traded securities – by donating stocks, bonds or mutual funds directly to charity, all capital gains taxes are eliminated. Gifts of stock donated to Knox Church can be donated through The Presbyterian Church in Canada.

Knox Church has established the Knox Endowment Fund to channel bequests and other memorial and planned gifts given to the church.  The Knox Endowment Fund is an enduring fund in which the money is permanently invested with 5% of the total value of the fund available each year for special projects approved by the congregation.  Through your gifts to the Endowment Fund, you are leaving an enduring legacy that will help ensure that Knox Church will continue to have a vital ministry for generations to come.

To learn more about how you can leave an enduring legacy for Knox Church, contact Rev. Herb Gale, Minister of Generosity and Stewardship, or any member of the Endowment Fund Committee.

“The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”   (2nd Corinthians 9:6-8)

Endowment Fund

The Knox Church Endowment Fund – a simple way to leave an enduring legacy
Background and Purpose of the Endowment Fund

The Knox Endowment Fund was created as an enduring fund for the purpose of expanding and enriching the life and mission of Knox Church both currently and far into the future.  The bulk of the capital is permanently invested in The Presbyterian Church in Canada’s Consolidated Fund, a professionally managed portfolio of bonds and dividend paying stocks under the oversight of the Trustee Board of the PCC.  Knox Church established the Endowment Fund in 2004 with seed money of $150,000. Twelve years later, it had grown to over $950,000 through generous bequests and other legacy gifts to the church as well as through investment earnings within the fund.
Administrative Oversight of the Endowment Fund

The administrative oversight of the Knox Endowment Fund has been placed in the hands of the Endowment Fund Committee, who make recommendations for the financial support of capital and ministry projects to the Annual Meeting for congregational approval.  The members of the Endowment Fund Committee are pictured below:

endowmentcom-reduced

Front row (l-r): Howard Simpson (Convener), Don Perry, Karl McDougall
Back row (l-r): David Hough, Herb Gale (Minister of Generosity & Stewardship)
Not Pictured: Scott Taylor
Disbursements from Endowment Fund

Five percent of the total value of the Knox  Church Endowment Fund is available each year to pay for a variety of projects approved by the congregation.  Annual allocations are made in two key areas on a percentage basis: 60% for capital projects for the church facilities, and 40% for ministries within the congregation and mission projects beyond the congregation.   Some of the projects the Endowment Fund has supported over the years include:

new hand bells for the bell choir,
annual music scholarships for lead singers in the different sections of our choir,
funding of a Logos training event,
financial support for the “Life Centre” meal program at neighboring Royal City Church (formerly Chalmers United Church),
renovations to the church offices,
new flooring for downstairs hallways,
repairs on the outside emergency exit steps ,
funding for  the contract position for the Minister of Generosity and Stewardship.

It is the policy of Knox Church to place all planned gifts given to the church within the Knox Endowment Fund so that they will continue to support the life and ministry of Knox Church for generations to come.  Legacy gifts can be made in a variety of ways:

gifts of cash,
bequests in your will,
designations of life insurance,
gifts of publicly traded securities,
charitable gift annuities, etc.

Because of the tax benefits associated with such gifts, we are often able to leave a much larger legacy than we ever imagined while still providing for our children and other heirs.

If you would like to talk about how you can leave an enduring legacy for the long-term support of Knox Church, please contact Herb Gale (519-836-8409) or any member of the Knox Endowment Committee.  All conversations will be kept strictly confidential.
Requests for Financial Support from the Endowment

Committees and ministry groups within the church are invited to submit requests for financial support from the Endowment Fund’s annual disbursements.  Requests should be submitted to the Endowment Fund Committee by December of each year with the money available the following year for projects and programs approved by the congregation at the Annual Meeting.
Partnership with the Canadian National Christian Foundation

Knox Church has partnered with the Canadian National Christian Foundation (CNCF), giving our congregation access to their educational resources (e.g. the Stewarding Your Stuff Bible study series) and CNCF’s pool of professional estate planners, Advisors with Purpose (AwP).  The AwP estate planners are available for free, confidential consultations with Knox Church members, providing guidance and advice for the most tax efficient way to set up your estate and offering free, written estate plans to take to your own lawyer or financial planner for implementation.  It is important to emphasize that the AwP advisors sell no products. They simply share their expertise and guidance.  Click on the logos below to find out more about CNCF and Advisors with Purpose:

advisors-with-purpose-logocncf-logo
ProVisionaries® Network

Knox is a member of The Presbyterian Church in Canada’s ProVisionaries® Network, a network of Presbyterian congregations, who have covenanted to make planned giving an integral part of their theology of stewardship and vision of ministry.  For additional information about how to make a planned gift and the services offered through The Presbyterian Church in Canada, click on the ProVisionaries® logo below:provisionaries-logo

“As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.”          (1st Timothy 6:17-19, NRSV)