Why Your Church Is an Ideal Candidate for Planned Gifts

Most churches rely on weekly tithes and offerings, annual campaigns, or special grants to fund their missions. However, accepting only these forms of giving could mean your church is unintentionally leaving significant gifts on the table. 

While planned giving is often associated with hospitals or universities, it can also be a viable source of funding for faith communities. Diversifying your revenue streams and donation options not only gives your congregation more options but also shows them that you’re a good steward of church finances. 

In this guide, we’ll explain why churches are uniquely positioned to launch successful planned giving programs and how your ministry can accept planned gifts.

Planned Giving for Churches 101

What is planned giving?

Planning giving, also called legacy giving, is the process of donors promising future gifts to a charitable, mission-driven organization. These contributions are part of the donor’s overall financial or estate planning, and typically, they are given after the donor passes away.

There are many different types of planned gifts, which FreeWill’s guide divides into the following three main categories:

• Deferred gifts of cash or other assets, such as bequests through wills and beneficiary designations.
• Gifts that pay an income to donors, like charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts.
• Gifts that protect donors’ assets, such as charitable lead trusts and retained life estates.

Consider starting with popular options by accepting bequests and beneficiary designations. To make a bequest, donors allocate a portion of their estate to your church in their legal will. This might take the form of a specific amount of cash, a percentage of the total estate, or the remaining value of the estate once other distributions have been made.

For beneficiary designations, donors would name your church as the beneficiary of their life insurance policies or any remaining retirement funds (e.g., 401(k)s, pensions, etc.). 

Why is planned giving beneficial for churches?

There is a common misconception that planned giving is only for ultra-wealthy donors or large nonprofit organizations. However, planned giving is both feasible and beneficial for churches because:

• Getting started is relatively straightforward. With the right planned giving technology to complement your church management tools, accepting planned gifts like bequests and beneficiary gifts doesn’t have to take hours or burden your staff. Additionally, you can promote and educate congregants about these programs in your normal communications.
• It builds long-term financial stability. Going beyond weekly offerings and planning for the future will strengthen your overall financial stability. Diversifying your funding sources can also help insulate your church from short-term financial fluctuations.
• Planned gifts are often larger. Because they are tied to accumulated assets (like estates and retirement accounts), planned gifts are often the largest charitable contributions a person will make. This form of giving allows your members to give beyond their current disposable income.

Most importantly, planned giving allows your members to leave behind a lasting legacy that reflects their values, appreciation of your church, and deep commitment to their faith.

Why Your Church Community Is a Natural Fit

Often, church communities already possess many of the qualities needed to start a thriving planned giving program. For example, your congregation likely has:

• Long-term relationships with the church (e.g., lifelong attendance, multigenerational families, etc.)
• Deep trust and emotional connections to your church’s mission
• Common values centered on giving back and supporting ministries
• A substantial segment of older congregants who are looking for meaningful ways to leave a legacy

What are some signs your church is ready?

If you’re unsure whether your church is in a good position to begin accepting planned gifts, use this quick readiness checklist to assess your current standing:

• Your church has a faithful base of long-time, deeply-engaged supporters.
• Your church is in a stable financial position, which instills trust in members.
• Your congregation includes a dedicated, core segment of older members who are already considering their estate planning or retirement distributions.
• Church leaders are excited about and committed to discussing legacy giving in a positive, mission-centered way.
• You have built-in, natural communications for promoting planned giving (e.g., regular newsletters, bulletins, a website, etc.).

If you found yourself nodding along to most of these statements, you’re likely ready to move forward with the steps outlined in the next section.

6 Practical Steps to Get Started

Once you’ve determined that your church is ready to launch a planned giving program, you’ll need to take practical steps to build out the program’s infrastructure, promote it to your members, and steward them as supporters of your mission:

1. Understand how planned giving works. While this guide covered the basics, you’ll need to spend more time learning the ins and outs of these programs so you can explain them to church leadership and congregants.
2. Secure board or pastoral leadership buy-in. Next, ensure you have the approval of church leaders. Make a strong case for your potential planned giving program by highlighting how it offers a high return on investment, provides an accessible way for all members to give, and fosters greater engagement overall.
3. Choose the right technology. Aim to make participating as easy as possible. You’ll need specialized planned giving tools and integrated financial management software.
4. Develop planned giving policies. First, set specific, time-bound goals for your program. That could be the number of planned gifts you want to secure within one year of launch. Then, outline foundational policies for gift acceptance, valuation, reporting, and ethical standards.
5. Add planned giving to your website and printed materials. Update your website with educational content about planned giving and inform your congregation on the next steps for getting started. Over time, expand these materials to include stories and testimonials from participants.

Finally, remember to express your gratitude for congregants enrolled in your planned giving program. Send prompt, personalized thank-you messages. Thank them regularly and, with permission, recognize their generosity publicly.

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Planned giving is a spiritually-aligned, highly practical way for churches to sustain their missions far into the future. If your church hasn’t considered it yet, now is the time to gauge whether you’re ready and move forward by having intentional conversations with leadership, offering resources, and making it easy for your dedicated members to leave a lasting impact.

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