What is E-PLEDGING?
Many people have a bank or other company take a regular payment directly from their checking account.  The Controller's office offers E-PLEDGING as a similar service to members of our congregations who wish to make regular contributions to their congregation in this easy way.

How does it work?
It's very simple. On the date(s) you authorize, we initiate a debit to your checking account and at the same time a credit to your congregation's account.

How will I know what is taken from my account?
You will see the charge on your bank statement. The date(s) of the charge will be those you have authorized. The amount of the charge will be the amount you have authorized us to debit.

How does my congregation keep a record of my contributions?
After each of your contributions, we send your congregation a list of the names of each contributor and the amounts contributed. Your congregation posts your gifts to the contributions record that they send to their contributors.

How do I sign up?
You complete an Individual Authorization Agreement and attach a voided check from your checking account.  Click here for a printable Individual Authorization Agreement.  Drop the agreement with an attached, voided check in the offering plate at the next church service.  When the Controller's office receives it, we confirm to you in writing (by mail, fax, or e-mail) the day(s) of the month you want to make your contribution and the amount you want to give each time. We also confirm to you the date you wish your electronic contribution to begin.

Does my contribution have to be my regular annual pledge?
Your contribution through E-PLEDGING can be any recurring gift that you wish to make to your parish.
If your pledge payments vary from time to time because you give a percentage of the amounts deposited into your checking account, you may wish to use E-PLEDGING to pay your pledge to a capital campaign, or you may wish to make a regular contribution to your parish's outreach programs or for some other purpose.
Your congregation can credit your gift to any qualified purpose you want. You just need to make sure your congregation is aware of your intention.

Is there a minimum or maximum?
No, it can be any amount you wish.

Does it cost anything to participate?
No, we do not charge you or your congregation in any way. Your congregation receives the full amount of your gift, and there are no extra fees.
However, your bank or your congregation's bank may assess a transaction fee. Many banks charge fees for each deposit made or each check paid if minimum balance requirements are not met. You need to check with your bank if you think this may apply.

How do I make changes?
You need to give the Controller's office at least fifteen (15) days' notice in writing of any change. You can let us know by mail, fax or e-mail. We will confirm your instructions in writing.

If I use E-PLEDGING, how can I offer my gift at the altar? Will this lessen my participation in the service?
We may think that the gifts we offer to God in the Liturgy are the bread and the wine and the money we put in the alms basin. However, our offerings of bread and wine, and money or other gifts are signs of our offering of ourselves and our Lives. ("I appeal to you.. .by the mercies of God, to present yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God..." [BCP, page 376, emphasis added))
The actual holy offering we make to God week by week is the offering of our whole lives. The bread, wine, money, canned goods, etc. that we present at the Altar are signs of this "living sacrifice" of all that we are.
Maybe you pay your pledge monthly or mail your gift when you are away. This does not diminish the effectiveness of your gift as the sign of your weekly and daily self-offering.
Cash and checks are normal mechanisms in our society to signify this self-offering, but things have been done in every imaginable way in different times and places. Many people handle financial transactions electronically. If checks pass out of use, we will still offer ourselves to God; we may use different ways to signify our self-offering.

What if there's a problem?
Contact the parish Treasurer or the Controller's office. Carol L. O'Neale, Assistant Controller, oversees
PLEDGING. You can reach her at:

Tel. 212-316-7457
Fax 212-932-7372
E-mail coneale@dioceseny.org

Ms. Edel Ferguson, Accounting Manager, is responsible for maintaining E-PLEDGING. You can reach her at:

Tel. 212-316-7502
Fax 212-316-7481
E-mail eferguson@dioceseny .org

Where can we get further information?
Ask your Treasurer or the Controller's office, or visit E-Pledging on the diocesan website.  Click here to go to the web page.