Planned giving, or legacy giving, is an increasingly vital aspect of church stewardship, especially with the significant transfer of wealth happening across generations today. This webinar, hosted by Episcopal Parish Network and led by Joe Park and Ashley Chung from Horizons Stewardship, offers valuable insights into establishing and nurturing a planned giving ministry that can secure your church's future.
What is Planned Giving?
Planned giving typically refers to gifts set aside through a person's estate, often realized upon the donor's death or their partner's. These gifts can come in various forms:
- Bequests from a will or trust
- Life insurance policy designations
- 401k or IRA designations
- Real estate proceeds
- Appreciated assets
Why Prioritize Planned Giving?
Planned giving is not just about financial stability; it's a profound act of discipleship. It offers several impacts:
- Discipleship Impact: It allows donors to answer the question, "How can I help God transform God's world through a planned gift to my church?" It can also be their first opportunity to fulfill a tithe to God.
- Ministry Impact: Donors can align their generosity with specific areas of ministry that are important to them, such as missions or discipleship.
- Generational Impact: Donors model extraordinary generosity for their children, grandchildren, and other loved ones, showing them what it means to be generous.
- Congregational Impact: With significant wealth transfers occurring, churches that proactively ask can receive a substantial portion of these charitable contributions, providing resources for future ministry.
Four Steps to Creating a Planned Giving Ministry
Establishing a planned giving ministry doesn't have to be complicated. Ashley Chung outlines four simple steps:
- Create a Strong Planned Giving Ministry Team: Assemble a team of faithful and generous church members, including lead donors, "Pied Piper" members over 50, and experts like attorneys, accountants, fundraisers, and financial advisors.
- Get Experts: Since planned giving isn't typically taught in seminary, seek external experts such as denominational foundations or stewardship organizations like Horizons Stewardship. These experts can help set up gift acceptance policies, endowment funds, and provide coaching.
- Create a Clear Plan for Stewarding Generosity Through Funds: Limit the number of funds to no more than four (or five at most) to ensure maximum impact. Recommended funds include:
- Unrestricted: Offers the most flexibility for future church needs.
- Discipleship: For those passionate about spiritual growth and worship.
- Missions: To support outreach and community initiatives.
- Facilities: For the upkeep and maintenance of church buildings. For donor-restricted funds, consider minimum amounts to ensure a meaningful impact.
- Determine What Gifts You Want to Receive: Outline the types of assets your church is equipped to accept in its gift acceptance policy. Common assets include:
- Bequests from wills or trusts.
- IRAs (often beneficial for donors due to potential tax issues for family members).
- Bank account transfer on death.
- Life insurance policies .
- Health savings accounts (easy for beneficiary designation).
- Appreciated assets like stocks.
- Proceeds from the sale of real estate or vehicles (it's recommended to encourage the donor's trustee to sell the asset to avoid direct church involvement).
Critical Documents and Invitations to Donors
Essential documents include:
- Gift Acceptance Policy: Guides the church on receiving planned gifts well.
- Bylaws: To ensure the local parish supports the planned giving process.
- Marketing Materials: A simple but impactful web page, brochures with FAQs, a brief slide deck for detailed discussions, and video stories from donors.
- Donor Declaration: A crucial document for donors to provide demographic information, gift type, asset details, and desired impact. This helps the church properly steward the gift and confirm its intent.
To invite people to become donors, focus on "intention":
- Worship with Intention: Dedicate a Sunday (e.g., Memorial Day, All Saints Day, or during stewardship campaigns) to highlight legacy giving. Have volunteers and materials (donor declarations, brochures, impact reports) available. Regularly incorporate stories of planned giving into sermons.
- Care with Intention: Meet with individuals one-on-one, especially those over 50 who are updating their estates or are highly generous. Include a "check box" on annual stewardship cards for members to indicate if they've created a planned gift or want to learn more.
- Teach with Intention: Offer free estate planning seminars and "binder for life" classes to help members organize their estates, including sections on generosity.
Honoring Planned Gift Donors
Recognizing planned gift donors is key to fostering a culture of generosity:
- Legacy Society: Create a legacy society (e.g., "Resurrection Foundation Legacy Society" or "Col's Legacy") where members who've made a planned gift are thanked in special ways throughout the year.
- Special Events: Host one to two cultivation and stewardship events annually, such as concerts with impact stories or day trips to museums. These events can be scaled to any church size.
- Naming Policy: Be cautious with naming donors publicly. If names are displayed (e.g., on a "tree of life" sculpture), ensure you have written permission from the donors and include all who wish to be recognized.
- Regular Updates: Send quarterly email updates to legacy society members, sharing stories of how their future generosity will make a difference.
- Holiday Touchpoints: Send holiday cards (consider lesser-known holidays like Valentine's Day or All Saints Day) to remind donors of your appreciation.
- Annual Impact Report: Create an annual newsletter or report that tells stories of how legacy giving is making a difference today, keeping people engaged.
Ultimately, when donors decide to invest their estate in the church, they often become more generous in all aspects of their giving.