When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, I used everything you gave me. — Erma Bombeck
Financial Gifts
Online Giving
General Giving
By Mail
You can mail your gift in cash or a check. Make your check payable to “Watts Street Baptist Church.” Please send it to the following address:
Watts Street Baptist Church
Attn: Financial Secretary
800 Watts Street
Durham, NC 27701
Bill Pay
Initiated by you, through your bank or other financial institution.
Direct Debit
From your checking account, this requires an authorization from the Financial Secretary (finance@wattsstreet.org)
Stocks, Bonds, & Other Securities
Appreciated marketable securities such as stocks or bonds are a great way to maximize your giving. You receive an immediate income tax deduction for the full fair market value of your securities. In addition, you pay no capital gains tax on the difference between your cost and the fair market value. We will gladly accept these types of gifts. To ensure that you receive the proper tax-deductible credit, it’s essential that you email us or call (919) 688-1366 to let us know of your gift.
Charitable Distributions from an IRA
Members aged 70 1/2 who own an IRA may be able to make a qualified charitable distribution directly to WSBC from your IRA and have that gift satisfy a required minimum distribution for the current year. Please contact your IRA Administrator if you wish to consider this giving option. Contact our Financial Secretary (finance@wattsstreet.org) for WSBC information needed by your plan administrator.
Planned Giving
If you are interested in naming Watts Street Baptist Church in your will, or as beneficiary of your pension, mutual fund, or life insurance, please email us or call (919) 688-1366.
You may want to learn more about how to CONNECT with our many groups for greater community and service to the church. You may also want to learn more about how to SERVE with our many mission groups, partners, and affiliations.
We encourage you to contact our Gifts & Call committee to volunteer or nominate someone to for our various committees, ministries, and church officer positions.
Our understanding and practice of stewardship has joined a long list of world views that we have turned upside down. Stewardship for us is to wisely use the resources of time, energy, talent, and money to give thanks to God and life to our passionate belief that we are not here by chance. It is not by chance that our definition of stewardship does not include meeting a church budget.
As a church community, we approach stewardship by identifying throughout the year which ministries and activities engage the passion of the congregation, draw us closer to God, and build community among ourselves – locally and around the world. From this starting point, we are intentional in communicating what is being accomplished, how our activities are expressing God’s grace, and the availability of resources to execute what we set out to accomplish.
We are also mindful that Watts Street Baptist Church has an obligation to be a good steward of any funds entrusted to it. We adhere to a system of internal controls over spending and financial management. We also voluntarily invest in a periodic review of our financial processes performed by an independent, certified public accounting firm.
Members of Watts Street Baptist Church may request a copy of our most recent budget or ask general questions about our financial practices at any time by emailing us or calling (919) 688-1366.
Periodically, Watts Street offers a Personal Finance workshop designed to help you identify your values around money and your goals for household spending. The workshop will include:
- identifying your net worth,
- creating a spending plan,
- managing debt,
- preparing your family for various financial goals,
- preparing for retirement, and
- establishing a charitable giving plan.