Our diocese has been selected to take part in 'Give To Go Green' a national church match-funding campaign to help you double your locally raised donations. Funding is available for churches and church halls/rooms that want to carry out small to medium-sized projects that will reduce their carbon footprint. Match funding is available up to £10,000, or 50% of your project costs, whichever is lower.
Phase one: the first phase of Give to Go Green fundraising started on Sunday 1 September and will finish on Sunday 15 December 2024. A number of our churches took part including St Mary’s Church in East Bergholt who are raising funds to reduce the draughts coming from the two main church doors by fixing rails and hanging heavy, fire-retardant curtains in the porch and in the West End meeting room. And St Peter & St Paul Church in Pettistree is supporting their project to create a dry, warm and welcoming space for the use of the whole village.
PHASE TWO - Key Information
We are now entering phase two of Give to Go Green:
The application pack is available here.
Applications Close: 16 March 2025
Application Assessment: 31 March 2025
Churches Notified: 7 April 2025
Fundraising Period: 17 May - 28 September 2025
How does it work?
Your Give To Go Green fundraising campaign will be completely digital and use specially designed fundraising software by the online and contactless giving platform 'Give A Little'. When someone donates to your campaign it will be automatically matched, up to a pre-agreed limit, in the form of a grant from the Archbishops’ Council. Once the campaign is over, the entire amount - both the locally fundraised donations and match-fund grant total - will be transferred to your church bank account.
Match-Funding: For every £1 donated by an individual to your Give To Go Green campaign, the National Church of England will donate an additional £1. So the scheme effectively doubles the funds raised by your campaign. Match funding is available up to £10,000, or 50% of your project costs, whichever is lower. We aim to fund a wide range of projects and expect the average grant size to be £5,000. If you have a project in mind that will cost around £5,000, you can apply for £2,500 matched-funding. This means any money raised up to £2,500 would be matched by the National Church to meet your £5,000 project cost.
What projects are included?
Your project could be something as simple as fixing broken window panes, insulating heating pipes, or repairing your roof and gutters. You may want to install a new glazed door in a draughty porch, or purchase rugs, cushions, or other soft furnishings. It may be something more technical, like installing LED lightbulbs or a new smart-heating control system so you can better maintain heating and lighting in your building.
Digital Giving: Digital giving refers to donations made using a bank card or smart device, such as a mobile phone, either via a contactless donation unit or through an online giving page accessed via a web browser or QR code. This project will use Give A Little to facilitate digital fundraising. If you are successful, you’ll need to set up a Give A Little account and use our special campaign software. Give A Little works alongside payment processors - this is the company that actually processes an online or contactless gift and deposits it into your church’s bank account (net of a small transaction fee). If your application is successful you will need to register for Give A Little and also create an account with at least one payment processor (such as Stripe). It’s free to create these accounts and you’ll be sent step-by-step instructions on how to complete the processes. If you need help to do this please contact Julie Podd, Parish Resources Manager or call 07826 556186 | 01473 298555.
How to apply:
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Decide which project or projects you will be fundraising for.
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If your church hasn’t submitted the Energy Footprint Tool in 2024, you will need to submit the tool when it reopens at the end of February 2025. You will only receive your grant money after the tool has been submitted. (visit our website page here for support).
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If your project requires List B or faculty approval, please submit an application straight away through the online faculty system. Don’t forget that the DAC doesn’t meet in July and August and all faculty applications involve a 28-day notice period, so allow plenty of time for processing. If you’re not sure how to class your application, please contact Edmund Harris for advice. You can find more advice on List B and faculty applications here.
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Successful churches will be notified.
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Visit the National Church Give to Go Green website here where you will find example application forms and more information.
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Complete the application form available here.
Where can I get help? Please email: james.rolls@cofesuffolk.org or call 07394 568404 to have a chat through your plans.
Net Zero Carbon targets
Give To Go Green is part of a wider series of campaigns within the Church of England aiming to be Net Zero Carbon by 2030. The ambitious Net Zero Carbon Programme aims to equip, resource, and support all parts of the Church to reduce carbon emissions from the energy used in its buildings, schools and through work-related transport by 2030.
Climate change hits hardest on the poorest countries and poorest people of the world. Meanwhile, the widespread destruction of the natural world is a crisis for all creation. Responding to the climate crisis is an essential part of our responsibility to safeguard God’s creation and achieve a just world.