Establishing Planned Giving Programs in the Local Church Presented by Jason Frame

What is Planned Giving The term "planned giving" refers to charitable gifts that require some planning before they are made. Planned gifts are popular because they can provide valuable tax benefits and/or income for life.

Why should a church develop a Planned Giving Program It’s Good Stewardship Spiritually Stewardship includes not only managing the benefits of our weekly paycheck but the appreciation in the value of our accumulated assets in our estates. It’s Good Stewardship Practically It enables your members to be part of your church's home and world-wide ministries beyond their physical lifetime. It enables your church to plan more effectively because its financial support has not been diminished by the deaths of its members.

Why should a church develop a Planned Giving Program The largest gifts your church will EVER receive will come from someone's estate plans. 70% of the people sitting in your congregation every weekend do not even have a basic plan. Among those few who do have a plan, your church is likely to be completely left out of their estate plans! 91% of a person's assets are not part of their regular income sources (property, possessions, investments, retirement accounts, life insurance, etc.)

Why should a church develop a Planned Giving Program Millions of dollars could be put to work for Kingdom use, rather than going to the Government In 2001, over $659 million of avoidable capital gain taxes were paid because people cashed out their assets and then donated the resulting funds.

Planned Giving Vehicles Gifts of Appreciated Assets Member donates Stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds, Real Estate or other assets, and generally receives a tax deduction for those assets Gifts of Life Insurance Member of the church buys a policy and names the church as owner and beneficiary. The annual premiums are a tax-deduction to the donor.

Case Study Central Christian Church Gifts of Appreciated Assets Caring for Kids Year End Offering Gifts of Real Estate Gifts of Water Rights Gifts of Life Insurance

Planned Giving Vehicles Estate Planning Services Many churches have begun helping their members in the area of Estate Planning, either through putting on workshops or bringing in attorneys to talk with individual members.

Case Study Lincoln Berean Church Estate Planning Passing the Baton Class Developing the estate plan is done either in- house by staff member or through attorneys who are church members Use attorneys who are members of the church to generate legal documents Attorneys are asked to generate the documents pro-bono for some church members

Case Study Gateway Church Estate Planning Estate Plans are created by an outside estate consultant Ray Lyne, Lifestyle Giving Use attorneys who are members of the church to generate legal documents Church offers to pay to pay attorney fees for legal documents to be created

Case Study Central Christian Church Estate Planning Use a ministry partner to facilitate estate planning workshops and to general legal documents Financial Planning Ministry (fpm.org) Use local attorneys for more advanced or special cases Church members get all legal documents generated at no cost if they leave a gift to the church in their estate

Planned Giving Vehicles Donor Advised Giving Funds administered by a third party created for the purpose of managing charitable donations on behalf of an organization, family, or individual. A donor-advised fund offers the opportunity to create an easy-to-establish, low cost, flexible alternative to direct giving or creating a private foundation.

Case Study Saddleback Church “Saddleback Giving Funds” Partnership with the National Christian Foundation

Partnering with the National Christian Foundation 5 ways NCF currently works with churches Establishing a church foundation Providing Charitable Gift Planning Executing Non-liquid Gifts Developing a giving journey ministry within the church Providing discounted generosity resources

More Advanced Planned Giving Vehicles Charitable Remainder Trust This trust makes payments to whomever the donor chooses to receive income. The donor may claim a charitable income tax deduction and may not have to pay any capital gains tax if the gift is of appreciated property. At the end of the trust term, the charity receives whatever amount is left in the trust.

More Advanced Planned Giving Vehicles Charitable Lead Trusts This trust makes payments to a charity during its term. At the end of the trust term, the principal can either go back to the donor or to heirs named by the donor. The donor may claim a charitable income tax deduction for funding a grantor lead trust or a charitable gift tax deduction for funding a non-grantor lead trust. Charitable lead trusts are typically used to pass assets to heirs while lowering the tax burden. Life Insurance Trusts Other Trusts

Promoting Planned Giving to Your congregation Develop a plan tailored to your church Are you located in an urban area? …a suburb? …a rural community? Is your congregation predominantly young families? …seniors? …multi-cultural? Is your congregation relatively new, or does it have a long history? Do you regularly receive bequests and estate gifts?

Promoting Planned Giving to Your congregation Cast a compelling vision People make charitable gifts to things that touch their personal passions. People want to make a difference, to make some part of the world a better place. Casting a compelling vision of what your church can accomplish shows the donor the ideal you aspire to and connects their giving with your vision.

Promoting Planned Giving to Your congregation Focus on who will respond All adults in your congregation need some type of estate planning Estate planning and changes in wills and trusts offer occur with major life transitions: marriage, starting a family, divorce, death of a spouse, remarriage, children maturing, retirement, etc Tie your events and promotions with these life change events

Promoting Planned Giving to Your congregation Make planned giving promotion a year- round focus People generally review their wills, trusts and estate plans sporadically. Information about charitable giving opportunities should be available and “top of mind” when plans are reviewed. Tie your promotion to current events going on at your church

Helpful Resources Websites Planned Giving Today Philanthrocorp Maximum Generosity – Brian Kluth Financial Planning Ministry