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Fundraising Strategies for Local CHurches
Prospect Capability Matrix: Who can give how much?
George and Sue were just about to leave town on their annual winter getaway. “Florida, here we come!” thought Sue as she packed the few remaining necessities. George had his mind on last minute preparations too: he called the office to check for messages, he called his broker to check the prices on his favorite and latest stock picks, he called his accountant to make sure the tax preparations would get along without him. And he called his lawyer too, to ask why their trust documents had been held up and whether they could stop by and sign them on the way to the airport. “Cutting it a little close, aren’t they? Sue inquired.
This was a first for George and Sue: trusts of their own, and together they had worked with the attorney to put in writing all those thoughts and plans they had made over the years. Some of them were practical, others weren’t. They had had to make several compromises. Yet, the job was done now, and George and Sue were eager to see the outcome, sign the documents and be on their way.
Of particular interest and importance to them was one provision which expressed a hope they had had for years: the church endowment fund would receive whatever was left of the GM stock they had accumulated. That brought a lot of satisfaction! Think about it. You can make a difference!
"What was it he said...?"
It was raining outside George’s office window as he returned to the thought that had awakened him all too early that spring morning: what would he do with all that stock? He punched in the code on his laptop and checked the price again. It was up yet again today; and it had been going up for ten years, steadily but surely. If he ever sold that stock his capital gain tax would surely pay the President’s salary, ...well, maybe for a couple weeks at least!
What was it that guy said in church on Sunday? Something about putting stock in some kind of trust? The pastor had asked a special speaker to come in the previous Sunday to talk with the congregation’s leadership about how to grow their endowment fund. George went to the meeting, but had been pre-occupied with getting everything all set up and ready. But now it returned to him. “The greatest gift Congress every gave to the American people,” he had said. Could that be true?
That afternoon George called his attorney, who told him that, yes, there was an arrangement whereby he could convert that highly appreciated stock into a life income. “That would be a blessing,” thought George. “No capital gain tax.... and a charitable income tax deduction to boot! Not a bad deal.” Think about it. You can make a difference.
The Secret
At the bridge party, Louise had more spark than usual. She bubbled about this and that, had a twinkle in her eye and seemed excited about something. The other girls couldn’t figure it out. And Louise wouldn’t say. She was known, of course, for being able to keep a secret. They questioned, hinted, pushed and prodded. But Louise kept the cat in the bag; she wouldn’t say what was on her mind.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. They were playing in Louise’s apartment that night and she had said earlier in the evening that she was expecting a short interruption, but that it wouldn’t take long.
Louise went to the door, answered it, and invited a man of about fifty into the apartment. The other girls first thought that it was a relative, but the man produced some papers and a pen, and Louise quickly signed them. She quickly introduced the gentleman as Burt Kendall, from her church, but said no more. Soon he was gone, along with the signed papers.
The girls were bursting with curiosity and at last Louise told them: “I just signed for my first gift annuity for the church. I get an income for life, and those children will have good Christian education for a long time.” Think about it. Your can make a difference.
Warmth of a Dream Fulfilled
It was a cold, blustery day with snow in the air, as Mildred walked down the driveway to her mailbox. Overnight, it seemed, rain had turned to sleet, then snow. More was forecast for the day ahead. But Mildred had a smile on her face in anticipation of what she would find in her mailbox.
The previous week, Mildred had gone to her attorney’s office and fulfilled a dream she had for more than thirty years. It was the dream of being able to help children and teenagers learn about God’s care for the world and for them as individuals. You see, Mildred had been an orphan, and then grew up in two foster homes. She had felt alone in the world for years.
But then her second foster family took Mildred to church in her early teen years, and there, over time, she learned that God cares for every living being, even someone like herself. She learned to know God cared about her; she felt secure and safe for the first time ever in her life.
Now it was time to make her estate arrangements, and she knew she would have the wherewithal to help her church care for the educational needs of its children through their endowment fund. The letter she was expecting was her newly written will, assigning the largest share of her estate to the church’s endowment fund. Think about it. You can make a difference.
The Thrill of Life
Are you looking for a thrill? It’s not necessarily what the kids or the media would think is a thrill, but it’s a lot deeper and lasts longer. Here’s what you can do to get that real “kick” out of life: make your last will and testament a testimony to the fact that your desire is to benefit the work of Christ in the world. Let people know by what you leave behind, and your instructions about how to use it, that you are a person of Christ.
How you do this is actually very simple. You name your local church endowment fund as the recipient of part or all of your estate. You can do this three ways. you can leave a percentage of your estate; you can leave specific property or a dollar amount; or you can leave everything that’s left over after other obligations are fulfilled.
If you don’t have a will, make one today. The state you are living in has a plan for your estate, but you might not want things done that way. If you have a will already, call your attorney and ask how you can change your will to include your church’s endowment fund. A simple codicil will do it. Think about it. You can make a difference.
Warmth in Winter
Mary had a job to do today. She hadn’t looked forward to it, but she had to do it sometime. She got a warm mug of tea from the stove, sat down in her favorite rocker and started to think. She had to choose her list of charities to give her attorney who was drafting her will. The problem she faced was that she didn’t just want to sprinkle a few dollars around her usual list of charities. Instead, she wanted part of her estate to make a real difference. After a while her thoughts turned to her church, and to her faith. The most important thing she could do as she left this earth, she decided, was to give her gift to the endowment fund of her church so that the gospel might be preached to a hurting, hungry world for a long time. That was the essence of the whole thing, she told herself. That gave her a warm feeling inside, one that promised to last quite a while. Think about it. You too can make a difference.
Light in Winter
The fact that winter is so dark gets a lot of people down. Harry was feeling a little bit of this one early gray morning, as he pulled on his jacket and headed out the door for his attorney’s office. What had the attorney said? "You won’t pay one cent of capital gains tax on that stock, Mr. Smith, even though it’s appreciated to the point where your basis is next to nothing." That was a relief to Harry. He had finally found someone who showed him how to convert that stock to an income for himself and Harriet without their having to pay the tax. And to top it off the attorney also told him that he had a nice charitable income tax deduction coming too. "Too good to be true," Harry said to himself in the car. The thing about it, too, was that everything that was left over would go to their church’s endowment fund at the end of the line. That was nice. It seemed as if everybody would win…. except, of course, the IRS. Think about it. You too can make a difference.
Put a Smile on Your Face
You know how some mornings you get awake and nothing’s right with the world? "The aches and pains are just too much today. I can’t do what I used to." Or, "That’s(whatever it was) the last straw!" It’s at times like these, when things seem particularly difficult and beyond our control, that it really helps to stop and consider a way that you really can do something wonderful in the world. There really is a way to make what you do count for something. And that is to give part of your estate to your local church endowment fund. The light of Jesus Christ will be on the smiles of many children and their parents for a lot of years into the future because of your gift. That will put a smile on your face, too! Think about it. You can make a difference.
Investing in God’s Work
Investing is something much on our minds these days, as we seek to find the ways to maximize our income, minimize our taxes, and conserve our nest-egg against market forces, a lengthy illness or just plain outliving the resources. Did you ever stop to think, though, that there’s an investment you can make that will never go wrong, never be misused, and will always accomplish good in the world? Your local church endowment fund is set up to help you accomplish your objectives for good in the world, through the church’s programs of ministry, education, mission and celebration. If you invest in God’s work in the world, it will be up to God to move and direct human beings in the right ways. And, as we well know from Biblical accounts, God generally succeeds in getting God’s will done with and through, and even sometimes despite, those human hands. Think about it. You can make a difference investing in God’s work.
Fight the Good Fight
Do you ever get a little hot under the collar thinking about the selfish things people do with their actions, their lives, their companies? Does it disturb you that there are a lot of starving people out there; a lot of people who don’t know what it means to live a Christ-like life; a lot of misuse of the world’s resources; a lot of degradation and misuse of human beings by others? Whatever gets you "up in arms," you should know that there’s something you can do to fight those evils; something very special that’s really effective because it’s long lasting? You can use a substantial portion of your estate as a gift to your local church’s endowment fund, and see to it that the fight for justice, for peace, for love and caring in the world is never overcome. You can let God use your substance and resources after you no longer need them. And they’ll never be used up; only part of their increase will be used each year. Think about it. You can make a difference.
A Spring In Her Step
Flora was feeling extraordinarily fine this day, and that was due to more than just the warm winds of spring that hugged her as she walked thoughtfully down to the mailbox just after lunch. Today was special. Today her gift annuity check would come in the mail. Of course she was happy for the little bit of extra money, but it wasn’t all that much. The real thing that produced the spring in her step was knowing that her gift to her church’s endowment fund would go on forever, bringing gladness into the hearts of people, ministering to the sick and needy, and working to bring God’s light into the world. Now that was something to get excited about. All her life she had done things, little things and big things, to help God work in the world. Now she was using up her last assets and resources to make sure that work would always continue. Think about it. You too can make a difference.
A Valentine for Church
Tony was tired of trouble, and angry that the church board didn’t see things his way. How many times had he tried to show them that choirs in robes, fancy seasonal decorations and smart-looking ushers didn’t make a church what it was really supposed to be? Still, they wouldn’t get serious about setting up a mission to their community. Something always came up that redirected their attention: the parking lot, or the sanctuary or getting a new sprinkler system for the lawn. But just as he was about to despair, a thought came to mind that shocked and surprised even this old veteran of church committees: "What about loving them into a mission program?" He could do that, he realized, by just giving that property he owned next door to the church, and by giving his company’s stock to the endowment fund, with the provision that it be used for mission in the community. It was the germ of an idea, and he would have to work it all out. But it was an idea all the same. Think about it. You too can make a difference.
The World Needs a Mother
Nelda missed her kids. Today more than most days. When everybody else was getting taken out to lunch and being thanked for years of hard work and sacrifice, she sat alone in her apartment brooding. It was so unfair, the fact that both her children had died so young; one in an auto accident, the other by a heart attack. No Mother’s Day celebration for her. But as she thought back to the days when they were all a family together, she was reminded of the wonderful work of women like Mother Theresa throughout the world who never had any children of their own. "I could be like them, in a way," she thought. "I could be a mother to this neighborhood. Heaven knows we need things done around here!" So she called the church, and found out where she could volunteer. And, eventually, when it came time, she was so involved in that community work that she left a "little something" in her will to the church’s endowment fund, just to make sure her work would continue. Think about it. You too can make a difference
Thoughts Like Easter Lilies
Most people told Merle that the smell of lilies reminded them of funerals. But Merle liked that smell. He associated it with home, and the fact that his mother always had lots of lilies of different varieties in her garden. He liked their shape, too, because that sloping trumpet shape reminded him of the way thinking about and turning over the various aspects of his problems opened his mind up to new ideas. It helped him feel more effective in what he could do about things. One of those at the moment was the problem of how he would respond to his wife’s question about what they should leave to charity from their estate. He hadn’t thought much about that, but she was pushing him to think more long term. What could they do? What did they want to do? Something the pastor had said kept returning to mind: "Endowment lives forever." Maybe that would be a way to go…. Think about it. You too can make a difference
