Donation Guide
Donate In Person
Offerings are collected during worship services. The collection plate is located at the back of the church, near the entrance. Place your offering of cash or cheque in the plate as you enter, during the sharing of the peace, or as you depart. If you are a member of our congregation make sure your name is on your offering so that we can include it on your tax receipt. We no longer use pre-printed envelopes and envelope numbers. If you are visitor, please include your mailing address and email address. In-person offerings can be designated for specific purposes by including a note with the offering. Unless otherwise indicated all offerings will go into the General Fund.
Donate by Mail
You may mail a cheque (please do not send cash in the mail) to 43 Meadowlands Dr. W, Nepean, ON K2G 2R3. Please ensure that you include your name and address, and email with your cheque so we can issue a tax receipt. Offerings can be designated for specific purposes by including a note with the offering. Unless otherwise indicated all offerings will go into the General Fund.
Pre-Authorized Offering Program (PAR)
The Pre-Authorized Offering Program is a low-cost direct debit service that allows people to support their church through a convenient automatic monthly bank account withdrawal. This is a great way to support the church even when you are away or unable to attend services, and avoids the bother of preparing a weekly cash/cheque offering. To enroll in the PAR program fill in a pre-authorized payment enrollment form, attach a void cheque and place the form and cheque in the offering plate, give to our designated contact person, put in the secretary mailbox at church or mail to 43 Meadowlands Dr. W, Nepean, ON K2G 2R3. The same form and procedure are used to change your banking information after enrollment.
The PAR program allows you to designate your donation for specific purposes, undesignated donations go to the General Fund. You can update the amount and distribution of your offerings at any time – simply fill in the PAR Distribution part of the form, send an email to finance@faithottawa.ca, or speak to the designated PAR contact. No banking information is required. Forms are available at the church, or may be downloaded below.
Donate by Credit Card
Online donations can be made directly from the Donations page on this website. This is a great way to make a one-time donation, a memorial donation or a donation from outside of Canada. We use the Zeffy platform to process credit card transactions, the transaction will appear on your credit card statement as FAITH LUTHERAN. Online credit card donations are only accepted for the General Fund.
Note that an additional fee (tip) will be added to your donation to support Zeffy. You can change the value of that fee to whatever you want in the Summary section of the form before making payment. If you want to set the fee to $0, open the pull-down menu below the donation amount, select Other, and enter 0 in the Contribution field.
We use Zeffy because it is completely free for charities – no platform or user fees and no credit card processing fees. 100% of all payments made through Zeffy go directly to Faith. To provide this service, Zeffy relies entirely on optional tips from donors. When making a payment on a Zeffy form, donors can choose to contribute to Zeffy or not. On average, 2 out of 3 donors leave a donation to support Zeffy, which is enough to support the platform. The additional donation is added automatically, donors must manually enter a $0 amount to opt out. Faith will receive 100% of the intended donation, whether the donor leaves a tip for Zeffy or not. Zeffy is a Canadian company (founded in Quebec) and is a certified B Corporation, which is a measure of a company’s social and environmental impact. Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.
Donate Flowers for the Altar
Placing flowers on the altar in memory of a departed loved one, or in celebration of a milestone is a wonderful way to rejoice in God’s blessings! It requires some coordination with the altar guild though, to ensure that the flowers are appropriate and do not interfere with other altar requirements for certain days in the church calendar. Plan ahead – allow at least three or four weeks in advance of a special date. Either contact Cecily from the altar guild directly, send an email to secretary@faithottawa.ca, or leave a message on the church answering machine. The altar guild will discuss the type of flowers, and budget with you. You can donate funds to pay for the flowers through any of our donation methods. For e-transfer indicate the occasion and date in the memo field. For credit card donations check the Make this donation in honour or in memory of someone box. Note that donated flowers belong to the church and will be used again the following week if possible, or used for pastoral care of our shut-in members. If you wish to take the flowers home after the service this can be arranged, but it is not considered a donation and a tax receipt will not be issued.
Planned Giving
Most people pay more tax in the year of their death than at any other time in their life. You may wish to donate part of your estate to the church, which will reduce the amount of tax owed by your estate. This is a great way to enjoy the full use of your assets during your lifetime while planning a significant future gift that extends your generosity beyond your lifetime, and creates a legacy in support of the causes you care about. Resources to assist you with planning your legacy are provided by the Eastern Synod HERE.
Bequests
Simply insert a clause within your will for a specific dollar amount or a percentage of the residual amount of your estate after your debts, administration expenses and other bequests have been paid stipulating Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ottawa as the recipient.
Registered Retirement Funds
Designating a Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ottawa as the beneficiary of your tax-sheltered RRSP or RRIF can offset tax liabilities to your estate.
Life Insurance
A life insurance policy – either existing or a new plan purchased specifically for the purpose – is a profound way to extend your legacy. By designating your church as a beneficiary, you can make a significant contribution, often greater than what might be possible during your lifetime. You retain ownership of the policy, with the option to change the beneficiary if needed.
Memorial Gifts
Celebrate and honour a life with a memorial donation to the church. Memorial gifts can be made through e-transfer, credit card, mail (cheques payable to Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church only) or in person at the church or funeral home. For online donations please indicate the name of the person in the credit card form or memo field of an e-transfer. Cheques can be be mailed to the church and should indicate the person to be honoured in the memo field. Faith can provide tribute cards for in-person tributes, or they can be put in any envelope and left in the offering plate or church office. All memorial gifts will go to the general fund, and quality for income tax credits. Please ensure that the full name and mailing address and/or email of the donor is included with the gift so we can issue the receipt.
Charitable Donation Tax Credits
As Faith is a CRA registered charity, all gifts are eligible for a charitable donation tax credit. Generally, you can claim part or all of the amount of your gifts, up to the limit of 75% of your net income for the year. You can maximize the amount of credit by carrying forward your claims for up to 5 years. Official income tax receipts are sent by email or mail each February.
What We Do With Your Donations
Your offering has a big impact! Offerings may be designated to specific outside charities, these funds are sent directly to those charities on your behalf. These “flow-through” funds are included in your tax receipt, but they do are not part of the church’s budget.
Ten percent of all offerings received that stay at our church are forwarded to the Eastern Synod Benevolence Program. This supports the wider church (global mission; ecumenical and inter-faith partnerships; compassionate justice), church leaders, congregations and Martin Luther University College. Details of how these funds are used is available on the Synod website and here.
Offerings may be designated for specific purposes within our church. These may include capital building and equipment; flowers for the altar; music to enhance services etc. A full list of options is found in the PAR Enrollment and Distribution form. Offering that is not otherwise directed goes into our General Fund. This helps pay for our staff, building, worship supplies etc. Some may also be used to support local programs such as the Carlington Chaplaincy. Donating to the General Fund allows Faith to use the donation where it is needed most.