Finance of the ParishBankstown has seen much development since the first Mass was celebrated in 1853. From no church to a small church then to a large church, a church with first a primary school, then with an intermediate school, and now we have secondary school (college) in the premises. All these are products of much commitment from good people and their love of God. To meet the new challenges and ever growing demands, the parish depends heavily on the generosity of the parishioners. Consequently the parish is more readily accountable to its benefactors. Collection from the people is the major source of income for the parish. There are three major collections: 1st and 2nd collection in Sunday Mass, and the Collection for Charitable Fund taken three times a year. First CollectionIt is the responsibility of the parishioners to look after and pay their priest/s. First collection on Sundays and the gifts received for Baptisms and Marriages as well as Christmas and Easter Gifts finance these payments. If there is any surplus, it is given to the common pooling of the Archdiocese to pay priests in smaller parishes.Second CollectionThough most of the pastoral work of the parish is done by volunteers, there are a number of wages and bill to pay in relation to the running of the parish and looking after the premises. Some of the school maintenance expenses also are the parish responsibility. The Parish also has taken a loan of $360 000 in 1998 for the renovation of the church, which is still being serviced.To enable tax deductibility for the contributors and to make financial planning easy, we have Planned Giving (Envelope) program. At the end of each financial year all contributors are provided with a receipt. You can either donate through weekly envelopes or authorise the parish office to make periodic deduction from your credit card. Charitable Works FundOne of the ongoing commitment the parish has to the Archdiocese is the Charitable Works Fund. Each parish is given a quota to meet. The appeal is made three times a year. Each appeal is for $1900. All donations to CWF of $2 or more are 100% tax deductible. After the collections, the short fall is made up from the church fund (second collection). There are specially marked envelopes for donation to the CWF. You can either make a donation through the parish or directly to the Archdiocesan Office. The address is printed on CWF envelopes. It is also possible to use credit cards for a one off donation or to organise a periodic deduction. |
Finance Committee
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