In partnership with the Church of England’s National Giving Team, the Generous Giving Team in the Diocese of Newcastle is now able to offer a new free online learning tool called Cornerstone. Designed to support parishes on their journey as they grow in generosity, Cornerstone individually guides churches to understand and improve their finances, their giving practice and their culture of generosity. This is done through insights, a bespoke parish data dashboard and clear actions for development.
Via the Cornerstone platform, churches can choose from dozens of pathways to help focus resources on areas most relevant to them. Pathways are easy to access via an agile learning environment with supportive templates and tools to make life as easy as possible. Additionally, the Cornerstone platform gives parishes access to a free live database of 600 grants, carefully selected by and for the Church of England.
How to get involved
Step one
Register your intention to join Cornerstone. Ideally you will need at least two people from your church to participate. Only one person needs to register interest by clicking on the button below.
Click here to register your intention to join Cornerstone
Step two
Attend a one hour webinar on Zoom. The webinar will be an opportunity for you and your team to see the Cornerstone platform and explore some of its key features. Invitations to access the Cornerstone platform will be sent out shortly after the webinar.
Book Wednesday 5th February at 2pm
Book Thursday 6th February at 7.30pm
Step three
Attend an in person workshop with your team, at Church House (St John's Terrace, North Shields, NE29 6HS), alongside a small number of other churches participating in the project. Ahead of the workshop you will be asked to complete a short online questionnaire. You may also wish to gather additional financial data pertaining to your 2024 Parish Finance Returns. This is not essential but we would encourage it if possible so that you have the most up to date picture of your parish finances.
NB: light refreshments will be provided at the workshop so please let us know on your booking form if you have any allergies or dietary requirements.
Book Tuesday 18th February 10.30am-1pm
Book Tuesday 18th February 5.30pm-8pm
Find out more
To learn more about Cornerstone, please download our project pack, and share with other members of your church who may be interested in joining a team. You can also contact the Generous Giving Team if you would like to discuss Cornerstone further.
Download Cornerstone project pack