PLANNED GIVING

 

            Many churches don’t talk about planned giving, and this can hurt the church and its future, as well as the spiritual needs of its people.

            Planned giving is defined as the giving that is out-of-the-ordinary, or end-of-life giving or bequests, etc. If your folks believe that the ministry of your church is important enough to support when they are alive, wouldn’t they want to find a way to support the church after they’re gone?

            There are multiple ways to “do” planned giving:

            Making a living gift – this is a gift made by someone while they are still alive. It’s a way to give appreciated assts without paying taxes on the appreciated value, make a deductible gift, easily direct a gift during life, reduce taxable estates and estate taxes

            Charitable Gift annuity - this is a way to make a donation that will provide income to the giver for life and donating part to the church

            Making a bequest – this can be done through a will or a trust, giving a specific dollar amount or a percentage

In addition to different ways to make a planned gift, there are also different things you can give:

            Stocks and bonds

            Real estate

            Collectibles

            Life insurance

            Annuities

            Bequest through will

            Bequest through trust

            While I believe that planned giving is an important concept that the church should talk about and talk to their people about, there are some problems that can arise if the church isn’t properly prepared for planned giving. That is why members should be educated, we need to communicate ways the church would use and manage donations and we need to build a strategy for long-term investment.

            Over the next couple of blogs, I’ll talks about different ways to prepare for planned giving.

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

 

                       WHAT ARE OTHER IDEAS FOR A STEWARDSHIP PLAN?

 

            We’ve been discussing having a stewardship plan, which included having an Annual Goal, a Budget a/k/s Spending Plan, Ministry Spotlights, Programs and Events, Outreach opportunities, Targeted Sermon Topics, Testimonials, Creating a Team to Explore Stewardship Opportunities, having a Marketing and Media Team, Incorporating Church Management Tools, Branding, Live Streaming and New Membership Training. Finishing up our discussion, we have:

            Completing Surveys – This can be a difficult one. Some people complain about completing surveys, some don’t complete them, of course, and sometimes we find out information we don’t like. There are outside groups, SurveyMonkey, and other ways to do surveys. The best idea is to keep it simple.

            Investing in Community Partnerships – This is an idea that some churches do very well, and some do not. Look around at other churches, non-profits and even profit companies around you. Are there things they are doing to help people that you could help with? Or are you doing something that they could help with. There’s no need to reinvest the wheel and there are more ideas and experience that you could ever have on your own.

            Utilizing Sermon Series – A series is different from a topic. A series is a multi-part series that spans several weeks. Each week builds on the one before it and can give a good in-depth view of scripture or an idea. One idea that I recently read about is to have a single Scripture and have guest speakers create a sermon on that Scripture. This could happen at an anniversary of the church or a pastor or some other idea. If this is something you haven’t tried before, there are sources that give you ideas for series with Scripture choices, titles, etc. It’s a nice way to “try it out.”

            There are many ways to create a plan to move forward into the future.

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

 

        WHAT ELSE DO A NEED FOR A GOOD STEWARDSHIP PLAN?

 

            We’ve been discussing having a stewardship plan, which included having an Annual Goal, a Budget a/k/a Spending Plan, Ministry Spotlights, Programs and Events, Outreach opportunities, Targeted Sermon Topics, Testimonials, Creating a Team to Explore Stewardship Opportunities, and having a Marketing and Media Team. Continuing our discussion, we have:

            Incorporating Church Management Tools – use technology when it will make your life easier, i.e. business models, streamlining processes, tracking information, financial work.

            Branding – or to look at it another way – What is your church’s Why? What is your purpose? Do you have a mission, a vision? If so, do you know what it is? How are your using that to help identify what your church is called by God to be? For businesses, this could be a logo or a color or a slogan. Maybe for a church it’s a little different but identifying your purpose will help you focus your missions and ministries and being able to serve your members and others in your community and in the world.

            Live Streaming – for many of this, this was new, but became a “thing” during COVID. There was a pretty extended period of time where live streaming services, Bible studies, prayer time and conversation was the only way we stayed connected to the church and to each other. While we’re in the “Post-COVID” time, I think live streaming is still very important. There are still people who aren’t able to come to church because of their health, or their family’s health or geography. This may be their only connection to the church. Don’t take it away. For me, it’s also a way to worship with other churches and other pastors! There are multiple ways to do it, and live streaming or zoom or any other platforms can be used to deliver messages, provide extra visibility about upcoming ministries and events and promoting ways to give.

            New Membership Training – this is something that many of us don’t do very well. Some people join a church not knowing what it means to be a member. If someone has transferred from another church, they may have some ideas, but things are different from church to church. Also, if there are formerly non-churched folks joining your church, they may not even know what else is happening or what they can or should do, other than attend worship or maybe a dinner or a book study that they’ve participated in before. How seriously does your church take discipleship? Give guidance to folks. Discipleship and membership should be related but are not the same thing. Training is what to provide that guidance, but also to find out what their gifts and interests are.

            There are many ways to create a plan to move forward into the future.

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

 

                        MORE IDEAS FOR A STEWARDSHIP PLAN?

 

            Last week we started our discussion on having a stewardship plan, which included having an Annual Goal, a Budget a/k/s Spending Plan, Ministry Spotlights, Programs and Events and Outreach opportunities. Continuing our discussion, we have:

            Targeted Sermon Topics. These topics are presented as a theme. These could be done monthly, quarterly or for special dates. Theme, targeted topics, could be on a variety of things, including participating, volunteering, tithing. Of course, Scriptures would be part of these topics. Remember, discipleship is not a one-and-done thing; it is a lifetime commitment

            Next are Testimonials, which are statements by individuals or groups about how they’ve benefited from their relationship with the church. They should talk about their belief and commitment to doing God’s work. They can be planned or spontaneous. I think this is important. People respond when they see and hear how others have responded. I know I can speak from personal experience about how moving it is to hear others that I know talk about their relationship with God.

            A stewardship plan isn’t the job of just staff or the pastor. There needs to be a Team to Explore Stewardship Opportunities. There are great minds in your congregation and community, whose insights could help you grow your ministry and give you new and different ideas that you’ve never even thought of! Business people, disciples, lovers of God are all important to be invited to be part of this team.

            Do you have a Marketing and Media Ministry team? The ability to communicate crucial information is important. And some professionals can be helpful in pictures made with a good camera, preparing documents, posting on social media, and other ways. Of course, communicating to everyone who has committed and/or given to a financial campaign, through a quarterly statement is the best way to show progress. There should also be a cover letter or something on the statement itself to communicate key points, including a message from a pastor, giving thanks for the generosity.

 

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.

                        HAVE YOU HEARD OF A STEWARDSHIP PLAN?

 

            A stewardship plan is a detailed outline of a nonprofit organization’s processes and strategies to keep donors engaged by showing them their impact and building long-lasting relationships. This is different from an annual four or six week stewardship program. There are several components that will help you form this.

            First, is an Annual Goal. Is the goal to increase giving, or to build a new roof on the building, or something else? This goal will help you focus on what you are aiming for.

            Second, is the Budget. This is also called a Spending Plan. What kind of revenue (offerings and other financial contributions) are you anticipating? Make a list of ALL of your operational costs, including salaries and benefits, insurance, programs, etc. Costs are usually a little easier to estimate and plan for. The revenue is harder. Look back over the last five years for:

·         Overall increases and decreases in giving

·         Fluctuations in giving within each year

·         Overall increases and decreases in attendance

·         Are there months that typically have decreased giving? Increased giving?

·         What events or fundraisers brought in the most revenue?

            Third, what are the works of the church? Vanco calls them Ministry Spotlights. As a church, our focus shouldn’t be on keeping the lights on (although that can be important). What it needs to be focused on are how what you do changes lives. What are the good works that you’re doing?

            Fourth, what are your Programs and Events that contribute to revenue and to your ministry plans? Of course, most of them take financial support, but if done well, can pay for themselves and bring in revenue. Even more important, programs and events can bring in visitors, that can become members that can become disciples!

            Fifth are Outreach Opportunities. How does the church reach out into the community to help others, to demonstrate discipleship or achieve your goals and missions? These can be tutoring, feeding, housing, mission trips, and many other wages. What are your doing to reach out to others?

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any