Annual Campaign

During our annual Stewardship season at Trinity Church, we invite the people of this congregation to make a financial commitment for the upcoming year. We call that commitment a “pledge,” and our pledge is a promise that we will make a priority of our relationship with God. By our pledge, we become partners in God’s saving work. By our pledge we become part of a movement greater than ourselves, an undertaking greater than what any one of us could accomplish alone. By our faithful pledge every one of us has an equal share in every ministry of this remarkable parish … By our faithful pledge every one of us has an equal share in every ministry of this remarkable parish.

Importantly, we do not pledge to keep the church’s lamps lit or any “dues” current. We give because God has called us to give. God has made us in the image of the Divine, which is to name that we have been made generous and loving and good. The tension, of course, is that we do have a responsibility to pay the electric bills and to fund the ministry of our parish, all to keep vital that chosen instrument of salvation, the Church. Therefore, our invitation to annual Stewardship has those two, related aims I named at the outset: individually, our prayer is that every member of this congregation will give faithfully; and, collectively, we trust we will have all we need to fund the ministry to which God has called Trinity Church.

Weekly non-pledge offerings amount to approximately 4 percent of our annual budgeted revenue. The single most important source of funding for our ministries, however, comes from the payment of pledges that are made during our annual campaign. These gifts provide 54% of the church’s income. The draw from our endowment provides an additional 24% of budgeted income, and the remaining 15% comes from other sources of revenue, such as tours and fees for activities, and specific gifts.

We do have an endowment generously left to us by previous generations of Trinity parishioners. This extraordinary legacy would quickly disappear, however, if we relied on it as the primary source of parish support year after year. Such a policy would be irresponsible stewardship of the gifts previous Trinity parishioners have given us. We would not be able to pass them on to the Trinity parishioners who will follow us. Therefore, we rely primarily on support from the living parish for ministry and program expenses, including staff salaries and the ongoing cost to open our doors to serve the parish and the city.

We believe strongly that our standard of giving should reflect our standard of living. We ask each parishioner to consider making a pledge that is both responsible and significant based on his, her, or their financial situation. We should seek to give God our best!  We, as faithful stewards, have committed to give our best gifts –- asking “Lord, how much is enough,” rather than how little is acceptable –- and we invite you to join us and to do the same. Whether that best gift finds you early in your Stewardship story and discerning a pledge even for the first time; whether that best gift finds you aiming for the tithe; or whether that best gift finds you leaping from the tithe toward higher, heartfelt horizons; I encourage you to give of who you are, from where you are, to trust God’s eagerness to bless your commitment, and to welcome the joy that will follow your gift.

A tithe (10% of one’s income) has long been held as the standard of Christian giving. For most, it is a goal to be reached through incremental increases each year.  If you would like to make a proportional pledge or tithe, the following chart may help:

We ask everyone to make a pledge by “Ingathering Sunday”—usually the third Sunday in November—by bringing a pledge card to church, mailing it in, or making your annual pledge for 2020 online. This helps our Vestry to establish our budget for the coming year. However, pledges are welcome throughout the year.

A pledge is simply a promise to pay. You may fulfill your pledge in as many payments as you wish throughout the year.

Please see Ways of Giving.

While we hope that you will be able to fulfill your commitment, if your circumstances change, please notify the church that you need to adjust your pledge. If you're blessed with unexpected extra income, you're always welcome to increase your pledge, as well!

Trinity Church Boston's Stewardship Office and Finance Office keep all pledges strictly confidential. A small group of church leaders—the congregation's elected officers and the co-chairs of the Stewardship Committee, appointed by those officers, and the Rector—may in some cases also have access to pledge records for specific purposes. They have all signed confidentiality agreements not to disclose any information they receive.

Yes! All of Trinity's pledges and online gifts are encrypted and securely processed through Blackbaud, Trinity’s supplier of financial management software. The form is embedded on our site but hosted by Blackbaud. To learn more, click here or visit blackbaud.com. Please contact our website administrator with questions or concerns.