Planned gifts offer opportunity to align final wishes with meaningful ministries

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A planned gift (also known as an estate gift or bequest) is often the largest gift anyone will make, said Karl Mattison, Vice President for Planned Giving Resources at the Presbyterian Foundation.

Why not help church members align their planned gifts with those areas of mission and ministry that have been meaningful to them in their faith lives? That was the question he posed to attendees during a workshop at Stewardship Kaleidoscope 2024 in Portland, Oregon, an annual conference on stewardship and financial matters sponsored in part by the Presbyterian Foundation.

Planned giving is the practice of including a church or other charitable organization in your estate planning so that the disposition of assets after death aligns with the values that the person supported during their life. Common methods are wills, trusts, beneficiary designations for retirement accounts and life insurance policies, and Charitable Remainder Trusts. It is important to note that annual giving comes primarily from liquid assets such as bank accounts, mutual funds, and cash, which account for approximately 5% of most people’s wealth. The remaining 95% of assets are being used or saved, and furthermore not easily converted to cash, such as vehicles, real estate, art and jewelry. Planned gifts address the disposition of all of these assets.

“A planned gift is an opportunity to continue your ministry after your life and to continue the impact you had through your church,” Mattison said. “There is a tremendous opportunity for us to share this option with members of our congregations.”

That opportunity is quantifiable with data on estate planning trends: Only 5% of Americans include a charitable bequest in their estate plans. But 28% say they would be interested in doing so when information about making such a gift is shared with them. Even at that minimal level of participation, charitable bequests totaled $42.68 billion in 2023. PC(USA) churches received $138 million of that total.

“The good news is that planned giving to PC(USA) churches has increased in recent years, even though every other type of giving is down,” Mattison said. In 2017, PC(USA) churches received $94 million; in 2022, it was $119 million. The average planned gift to a church is 2.74 times the donor’s lifetime annual giving to his or her church.

Mattison shared a few other statistical insights into planned giving and churches:

• 32% of PC(USA) churches have received a planned gift.
• The median planned gift to a local church is $23,000.
• The average person first makes a will at age 44; the average age at which a first planned gift is included in an estate plan is 53.

Mattison also highlighted the coming Great Wealth Transfer,  the intergenerational transfer of wealth underway in the United States and other nations. According to recent reports, Baby Boomers and the older Silent Generation will pass along a total of $90 trillion in assets through 2045, with $12 trillion estimated to flow to charitable organizations, including churches. The opportunity is there, if churches are prepared to take advantage of it, he said.

Churches face a challenge in creating a culture of planned giving, but also have “competitive advantages” over other charities that are important in the lives of their congregants, Mattison explained. The charitable landscape has changed considerably in recent decades, with multiple non-profit organizations joining higher education and arts and culture organizations in soliciting donations.

“When I was a kid, the church was the only place we gave to directly,” he recalled. “The church supported other organizations, but my family only gave to the church. Today, donors make gifts to their churches but also make gifts, both annual and planned, to other organizations that are meaningful to them.

“There is this increased competition for charitable giving, but our tactics have not changed from when there was no competition.”

Churches have significant advantages over other charitable organizations, though. “We have our donors in our building every week for their whole lives,” Mattison said. “Life’s most important moments take place here.” Given that 28% of people said they would make a planned gift once prompted, Mattison made the obvious suggestion: Ask them. Create opportunities for them to share their stories about what their church means to them. Tell the stories of baptisms and confirmations and weddings and funerals. Research shows that people who give regularly to their church are inclined to make a planned gift; regular volunteers are favorably inclined; and congregational leaders are very favorably inclined. Planned giving offers an opportunity to continue their commitment well beyond their lifespan.

“Once a church member hears about planned giving, the chances of making a planned gift to his or her church increase significantly,” he said.

Every PC(USA) church has a profile pre-loaded on Stewardship Navigator, the Presbyterian Foundation’s fundraising support resource. Any church is welcome to use it. Among other resources, Stewardship Navigator provides planned giving communications programs for churches to share information about this opportunity with their congregations. The elements of the program include sample newsletter articles, a planned giving webpage design, social media and website content, and worship announcements. Ministry Relations Officers, who serve churches in geographic regions, are another resource through the Presbyterian Foundation. There is also a plan for hosting Legacy Sunday, which Mattison enthusiastically recommends.

“A Legacy Sunday is an opportunity for people to talk about what their church has meant to them and the kind of legacy they want to leave,” he said. These stories often inspire others to consider making a planned gift to the church.

Planned gifts are acts of both finance and faith. Through prayerful estate planning, faithful people can make decisions about the distribution of their lifetime assets and provide lasting support to ministries that have been meaningful to them.