Giving at FBC

We invite you to join us in doing the work of God’s Kingdom by contributing financially!

Use the buttons below to learn more about the many ways to give at FBC:

GIVING IN PERSON

SUNDAY MORNINGS: Tithes and Offerings are collected each Sunday morning during our worship services. A variety of envelopes are available in the racks on the back of each pew. Deacons pass offering plates into which you can drop your contributions, or if you prefer, you can place your offering in one of the boxes at each of the sanctuary entrances.

DURING THE WEEK: If you’d like to drop off a contribution during the week, simply bring it to our Welcome Center on Spring Street during regular office hours and turn it in to our charming receptionist, Paula. She will make sure it gets to the right place.

If you need to drop it off after office hours you can place it in our secure mailbox, which is located on the brick wall opposite the Welcome Center doors.

DESIGNATING YOUR GIFT: If you would like to designate your gift to serve a particular purpose, you can indicate your wishes for it on the memo line of your check or with an enclosed note to our awesome financial assistant, Robyn.

GIVING ONLINE

It is safe, easy, and convenient to give online at FBC.

When you follow the link above, you’ll be taken to a secure page whereby you can give via card, checking account, or savings account. Moving forward, you will be able to track your giving and make one-time or recurring gifts on your schedule. You’ll be prompted to enter an amount, then choose which fund you’d like to contribute to.

Listed below is a description for each of the giving options you will see: 

1) “General Budget Plan A-COMBINATION”

This option supports our church’s general fund and sends the missions portion (2.5% of your gift) to our two cooperative missions partners. 79% of that 2.5% of your gift will go to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and 21% of that 2.5% of your gift will go to Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief. 

2) “General Budget Plan B-CBF”

This option supports our church’s general fund and sends the missions portion (2.5% of your gift) to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. 

3) “General Budget Plan C-TBMB”

This option supports our church’s general fund and sends the missions portion (2.5% of your gift) to the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. The missions funds are directed to Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief.

4) “L.I.F.E. Capital Campaign”

This option funds facilities maintenance and renovation projects now that all church debt has been retired.

5) Benevolence

This option supports our Benevolence Ministry, which helps those in need pay rent or utilities.

DESIGNATING YOUR GIFT: If you would like to designate your gift to serve a particular purpose that is not included in the dropdown menu, you can indicate your wishes for it in the memo field or with an email to our awesome financial secretary, Robyn.

Contact the church office at 615.893.2514 with any questions you might have about giving online at FBC!

Best Ways to Give Electronically

Different methods of giving incur different processing fees.

Best Option:
eCheck
0.65% per transaction

GIVING VIA TEXT

To give via text message, simply text "GOFBC" followed by your gift amount to 73256.

Contact the church office at 615.893.2514 with any questions you might have about giving via text!

SET UP AUTOPAY

Recurring gifts are a great way to give faithfully and consistently with minimal effort. Recurring giving is fast and easy to set up. Use the guide linked below to set up a recurring gift.

Contact the church office at 615.893.2514 with any questions you might have about setting up autopay at FBC!

Donate IRA distributions

Many of our members have taken advantage of this method of giving to the church.

A qualified charitable distribution (QCD) is a distribution from a Traditional or Roth IRA (excludes SEP and SIMPLE IRAs) made directly by the IRA trustee to a qualified charitable organization when the IRA owner is age 70 ½ or older.  A QCD may satisfy the client’s required minimum distribution (RMD) and up to $100,000 of QCDs may be excluded annually from an individual’s taxable income.

Eligibility:

A qualified charitable distribution may be made:

• When the IRA holder is age 70 ½ or older

• Directly from the IRA to a qualified charity

• From a traditional or Roth IRA

Qualified Charities:

Generally, a qualified charity includes most public charities that are eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions – including religious institutions, certain veterans’ organizations, fraternal societies and community foundations that provide scholarships.  First Baptist Church is a qualified charity.

Limitations:

Restrictions set on QCDs include the following:

• Distributions must be transferred to the charity no later than Dec. 31 of the current tax year.

• Deductible contributions made during or after the year an individual reaches age 70 ½ will reduce the amount that may be excluded.

• Must be a direct IRA distribution from the IRA custodian or trustee to a qualified charity.

• Applicable only for traditional and Roth IRA distributions (excludes SEP and SIMPLE IRAs).

Making a QCD provides an opportunity to make a charitable contribution that you might otherwise not have been able to make and/or receive potential tax benefits for charitable contributions that you are already making.  You should consult your tax advisor and estate-planning attorney about your situation.

Key Benefits:

• For those who give larger gifts – Deductibility limits do not apply to QCDs, which means the QCD can be made in addition to other charitable contributions that be limited by the annual maximum deductible percentage of income or phase-outs of itemized deductions.

• For those who don’t itemize deductions – If QCDs are used as the funding source for charitable donations, the donor will receive tax benefits when there otherwise would have been none due to the use of the standard deduction.

• For those who pay taxes on a portion of their Social Security benefits – Income for determining the taxation of Social Security benefits is lower with a QCD than if the IRA holder had taken the RMD.

• For those whose income level subjects them to tax on Net Investment Income or phase-out of personal exemptions or itemized deductions – A QCD made in lieu of an RMD will result in lower adjusted gross income for the IRA holder, which may lesson the effect of this tax or applicable phase-outs.

APPRECIATED SECURITIES

Appreciated Securities Make a Great Gift

Giving long term, appreciated stock is a tax-efficient way for members to make gifts to the church. Please ask your financial advisor if this is a viable option for you.

Consider a gift of appreciated stock instead of cash whenever you prefer not to incur capital gains tax.  Because you are giving to a charitable organization, your gift is deductible for the market value of the stock at the time it was given.

First Baptist Church’s policy is to immediately sell all stock gifts and deposit the proceeds from the sale into the church bank account immediately. 

Contact the financial secretary at First Baptist Church to obtain the transfer information from the church’s financial institution.