How to Launch a Planned Giving Program

Author: Tommy Herndon

Colleges and Universities have long known how to get people to do planned giving but the church has not. Churches typically do a poor job of encouraging gifts from lifetime assets. Building an endowment is something that is often important but not urgent. The Virginia United Methodist Foundation now has a program on planned giving that can and will help all our local churches. This program can be brought to your local church and it is for finance committees, endowment committees, pastors, trustees and especially for those who might be thinking about how to support the church when they are gone.

There are several things that will help. The first is to form a planned giving team. Your church needs a team focused on planned giving. Our Virginia Conference has a Foundation that is prepared to help establish endowments and give assistance in developing a planned giving program. Every church needs a Gift Acceptance Policy. We have a sample to share with you and can help adjust it to your needs. Additionally, the percentage of those having a will is very small and the Foundation can help guide your members towards getting a will.

We can help your church offer workshops on estate planning and will preparation. This is good stewardship strategy and good pastoral care. We discuss how people may leave a percentage of their will to the church or a particular endowment. We often call this a Golden Tithe and it is a wonderful way to make sure that your local church will continue its work. It is also a wonderful way to give to a program that is dear to your heart and desires.

A Planned Giving Program can help your church and Virginia United Methodist Foundation can help you. Give us a call and set up a date. Call Tommy Herndon at 804-521-1159 or send me an email tommyherndon@vaumc.org.