'Embed generosity in culture'

Churches and and Christian organisations have been encouraged to pursue a more radical generosity and embed fundraising and generosity in their culture so that everyone feels a collective responsibility

The call came at the Stewardship-organised, Raising Funds for Christian Charities and Churches conference last Tuesday (20 November). The conference, which was hosted at Methodist Central Hall Westminster, featured keynote presentations from Christians Against Poverty (CAP) founder, John Kirkby CBE; Jesus House leader, Pastor Agu; and financier Jonathan Ruffer - recognised by the Sunday Times Rich List as one of Britain’s top ten philanthropists.

More than 600 senior church leaders and fundraisers from Christian charities and churches gathered in Central London for the one day event which also featured as part of the programme, representatives from The Jerusalem Trust, The Laing Family Trusts, The Joseph Rank Trust and the National Churches Trust. Thirty-four speakers featured throughout the day, including two ‘meet the funder panels’ and six streams of practical workshops.

Stewart McCulloch, CEO of Stewardship said, 'At Stewardship we are committed to strengthening Christian causes, by offering practical, tailored support to help churches and Christian charities to transform the world.

'Our hope with events such as Raising Funds for Christian Charities and Churches is that those churches and Christian ministries are inspired to encourage greater generosity through their important work.'

Samantha Lane, who works for the Trussell Trust said, 'I've had lots of interesting conversations and seen things from different perspectives. Redina Kolaneci was one of the most informative and inspiring speakers I've heard in a very long time. It reminded me of why I got into fundraising in the first place. I loved that the conference combined some really practical advice and support.'

Daniel Jones, Stewardship’s Chief Generosity Officer, said, 'We are incredibly honoured to have partnered with Methodist Central Hall Westminster to host this important and timely conference. Not only have we seen an increasingly broad representation from across the denominations, but this year we also were delighted to have equal gender representation among the speakers. We have been greatly encouraged by the feedback from all those who attended.”

To find out more about Stewardship giving services and the ways that you can be more generous, visit www.stewardship.org.uk.