PAR

PAR, or Pre-Authorized Remittance, is a direct debit program that allows people to support their church through an automatic monthly withdrawal from their bank account. The United Church administers the program following the giver's wishes (e.g., X amount for local church expenses and X amount for the Mission and Service Fund). Once a month, all PAR givings are debited from givers’ accounts and then the total, less a service fee, is electronically transferred to local church accounts.

PAR was introduced in 1976 as a convenient way for members and adherents to provide consistent, year-round financial support for their local church. It's now growing at a rate of about 15 percent every year. Increasing numbers of people find that monthly direct debiting allows them to more intentionally plan and honour their financial commitments to their local church.

Some PAR Facts

As of February 2011

• there are 2,263 churches on PAR: 1,587 United Churches and 577 from other denominations.
• there are 59,677 donors on PAR, of which 43,674 are United Church members. The contributions of United Church PAR donors to M&S, local congregations, and other designations are more than $5.4 million per month.
• there are 21,978 M&S donors on PAR, accounting for more than 50 percent of total United Church donors on PAR, contributing $687,774 per month. 
• about 18 percent of the 121,629 National Identifiable Givers to the M&S Fund (Yearbook 2009) are on PAR.
• the average PAR donation is $122.91 per person per month. The average national donation is $81.23 per month.
• the average PAR M&S donation is $31.29 per person per month. The average national M&S donation is $18.52 per month.
• The United Church of Canada charges the congregation 50 cents per debit per month in administrative fees (with a cap at $45). There is no charge to the individual donor. The monthly fee charged to the churches helps to offset the costs related to bank charges, promotion of PAR, and the staff who administer the program. These fees have remained constant for several years.