Part 1 of 9
- Part 1 -- The Place of Endowment Funds in the Local Church
- Part 2 -- How Pastors Can Encourage Planned/Deferred Gifts
- Part 3 -- Encouraging Gifts to a Local Church Endowment Fund
- Part 4 -- Guide to Memorial and Honor Giving in the Local Church
- Part 5 -- Descriptions of the Major Planned Gift Vehicles
- Part 6 -- Planned Giving Resources for Your Use in the Local Church
- Part 7 -- Getting Started on a Local Church Endowment Fund
- Part 8 -- Holding an Estate and Gift Workshop in Your Church
- Part 9 -- A Model for an Estate Planning Seminar in Your Church
This material is excerpted from the "Planned Giving Handbook for Local Churches" published by the National Association of United Methodist Foundations.
"Dearly beloved, the Church is of God, and will be preserved to the end of time . . . ." We heard these words when we knelt at the altar and were confirmed as members of the Church, and we have heard them in our church as countless others have taken this important step in faith.
If there was ever an organization that ought to think, talk, and plan in terms of permanency, it is the Church. If there was ever an institution that ought to be committed to long-range planning, it is the Church. Yet, when we realistically look at the way the mission and ministry of the Church is planned and funded, we must confess that we are far too shortsighted. In fact, the Church may well be one of the most shortsighted institutions in our society.
In many local churches when we are planning for the mission and ministry which the members and constituents are asked to support with their giving, we often look out no further than one year. When we are considering a major step forward which calls for "long term" commitments through a capital funds campaign (such as a building program), we are willing to "stretch" ourselves out three years. "Our church sometimes acts as if it is just another neighborhood business which may go out-of-business any day," one layman lamented.
In the early years, the Church was always on the frontier in our nation ... striving for its place in the future. Certainly the frontiers of today call for us to be committed to the Church that "will be preserved to the end of time..."
Webster defines "endowment" as "the act or process of furnishing with an income". If the church is to remain on the frontier, it must plan for future as well as present mission and ministry; but unless these plans include ways of funding this mission and ministry, they may be only empty dreams. The concept of endowment funding says to the church and to the community that the church is here to stay ... that it is both planning and funding for the future.
One thoughtful church member reasoned, "Those persons who preceeded me in this church left a rich heritage. What will I leave as a heritage for future generations?" Is it possible that a part of that answer might be found in a carefully thought-out and designed funding plan that will address the future as well as present needs and opportunities of the church?
An Endowment Fund is a good way for your church to say:
- We believe in the future of this church.
- We want to be guided in our stewardship by the belief that all we have is a trust from God.
- We want to build a sense of permanence in what we do.
- We want to be good stewards as a "church family" even as we expect each member to be a good steward.
- We want to "go the extra mile" in providing services and programs that formerly (due to budget constraints) were only dreams.
- We want to create a heritage that future generations can celebrate as joyfully as we celebrate our rich heritage today.
An elderly member was discussing her "stewardship philosophy" with a planned giving counselor. "My church has always been an important part of my life, and I want to always be a part of my church." One of the ways she accomplished this during her lifetime was through her generous and faithful contributions from her current income, but she gave her stewardship conviction permanence as she established an endowment with the remainder of a life income gift. "Now," she said with a great deal of satisfaction, "I will be a part of this church every year even after I am no longer here to make my contributions."
Endowments have provided a major source of funding for many institutions in our society for years, helping to insure present and future financial stability. Yet, there are those who say that churches should not have endowments ... that endowments become disincentives for current giving by the congregation. But, in churches where such disincentives exist, the problem is not the existence of an endowment; instead, it is how the endowment was set up and how the income from the endowment has been used.
Endowments for local churches can be compared to inheritances for individuals. Some individuals have been "spoiled" by an inheritance ... others have been greatly blessed and have become better stewards because of their inheritance. The problem is not with the inheritance, but with how it is left and how it is used. So it is with endowments in the local church. To say that there is no place for endowments in the funding plans of the local church would be as unthinkable as saying that no one should ever be left an inheritance because some have abused their gifts.
One model for an endowment program in the local church allows for endowments to operate in three designated areas:
- Missions Endowments (for missions in and beyond the local community)
- Church Property Endowments (for maintenance, care, improvements, and construction of physical facilities)
- General Endowments (for special needs and ministries determined by the church leadership)
While endowments will benefit from both current and deferred gifts, their existence will especially encourage deferred gifts to the church that might otherwise have been given to other charities which have endowment funds in place. While on the particular occasion Jesus was talking specifically about prayer, could this perhaps be another modern-day and practical application of His words, "You have not, because you ask not."
Endowments also provide opportunities for donors to honor the life and special contributions of others. Gifts given in honor and in memory of family and friends are a major source of assets with which to build endowment funds for the local church. Donors see this as a meaningful way to honor special persons while investing in the present and future of their church.
A vital component of any planned giving program is donor recognition. While our motive for giving should not be to receive recognition; we must admit that there is a desire, yes a need, within each of us to be recognized, to be appreciated. Donor recognition, properly given, becomes a reinforcement of one's faithful stewardship and also offers encouragement to others.
The celebration of its 200th anniversary was a joyful experience the members of "Wesley Church" will long remember, but it was also a "disturbing" experience as their planning and preparation for celebration led to some rather significant discoveries.
As they reviewed the financial stewardship of their church through the years, they discovered that over 25% of the total money contributed each year to their church was being spent to maintain their church's physical facilities. Many of the church leaders expressed a concern that even though theirs was a beautiful edifice which was on the historic registry, this was a disproportionate part of their annual budget to be spent this way. Their concern heightened when they listed the many worthwhile projects and programs that had been either reduced, deferred, or eliminated because of a shortage of funds.
"Wesley Church" seized this opportunity to chart its entry into a third century of life and service with a clearer vision of its mission and a long-range plan that would open new doors of opportunity for ministry and service. One part of this plan was the creation of an endowment program to be funded with a variety of gifts from members and friends.
Today, the causes supported by the annual income from their new Endowment Program tells the story of how one church began charting a future even brighter with promise than its past.
- Special mission projects and new ministries that members had only dared to dream about are now a part of their church's program and life.
- Funds to maintain the church's physical facilities are now available in a way that allows for preventive maintenance and even capital improvements as well as emergency repairs.
- Perhaps the most exciting fact is that the church is now seeing annual operating budget funds freed up for improving and even expanding the ministries they have carried out so well over the years.
But, what about the questions raised earlier -- "Has giving to endowments had a negative impact on giving in support of the annual operating budget? Has the person in the pew responded by saying 'the church has all of this money invested...it doesn't need my contributions?" No. The opposite has been the case.
Members and friends have seen their church do a quality job of long-range planning. They have seen stewardship plans that look beyond the current year and include opportunities to give from accumulated resources as well as from current income. There is a new sense of excitement and expectation; and in response to these "good feelings" more and more members are including their church in their present and future financial plans.
Upon hearing about the "new life" being experienced in "Wesley Church" a member of a neighboring church asked, "Why doesn't that happen in my church?" It can, and it will, as church leadership catches a vision of what it means to plan for and to fund for the future as well as the present.
David L. Heetland in his book, FUNDAMENTALS OF FUND RAISING, lifts Christian stewardship to the highest level when he writes that "giving is an opportunity to respond, freely and joyfully, to one's wholehearted commitment to Christ." Is it possible that an endowment fund might help provide opportunities for persons of faith to make that response in and through your church?
When a church opens the doors of endowment giving and funding, at least five things happen:
- The church receives increased gifts to fund its various causes.
- Members begin to examine their Christian stewardship concepts and understanding in a broader context and begin including planned gifts as well as current gifts in their stewardship response. Robert F. Sharpe of the National Planned Giving Institute, describes this as "giving from two pockets" -- the first being the pocket from which current gifts are given from income and the second being the pocket from which gifts are made from accumulated assets.
- Members are educated as to many expanded gift opportunities for mission and ministry through their church.
- Current contributions given in support of the ongoing annual budget are freed up to strengthen and even expand existing programs.
- The church and its various ministries and institutions begin to receive major planned gifts that have previously been directed to other causes where endowments are already in place.
Will these things happen in a church that does not have an intentional program of planned giving? Will they happen in a church that does not have endowments as a part of its total stewardship program? Possibly, in a limited way; but not likely as a major thrust of Christian stewardship.
Will these things happen in a church that does have a program of planned giving and endowment funds? YES! They may happen sooner in some than in others, but they will happen!
Remember, "The Church is of God and will be preserved to the end of time..."
