Planning for Response & Management

The Responsibility to Respond

People who are motivated to give of their assets to support the church’s ministries are contemplating a serious and important undertaking. How we respond to their inquiries, help them with the choices they’ll have to make, manage financial transactions and investments, and thank them are all extremely important parts of a parish’s planned giving program.

Though an initial request may merely be for more information, that request begins a relationship that should be carefully nurtured. Clearly, any person or office whose name appears on a brochure, an advertisement, or appeal must be able to deal promptly and competently with a call from a potential donor. Ideally, the contact person would be the professional parish or diocesan staff member responsible for planned giving, available in an office that is regularly open during business hours.

Episcopal Church Foundation in West Texas staff is available to work directly with donors, but the best person to develop a relationship with a prospective donor is someone at the parish level. Foundation staff is always available as a backup.

The best response to an inquiry—to establish a relationship—is a personal visit. This gives the parishioner making the call, the “gift counselor,” an opportunity to listen to what the prospective donors wish to accomplish. Through conversation, establish a comfortable rapport, ask how they got involved in the church, about their family, about the important people in their lives, and the charitable causes they like to support.

And remember to listen well:

The greatest tool of evangelism is not the mouth
—it’s the ear!

To help potential donors accomplish their charitable and financial goals, it is important to know whether special family situations (illness, college, travel) require certain financial preparations: Do they have assets they no longer need? Do they have highly appreciated securities? Do they need income? Do they want a guaranteed level of income or can it vary? By listening and talking with potential donors, a gift counselor can suggest gift plans that best meet their needs and desires.

Time is critical in responding to an inquiry about making a gift.

• If a written response with more detail or explanation about a certain type of gift is requested, a brochure or kit should be in the mail the same day. Make a follow-up telephone call within the week to see if the person received the material and to determine the next steps.
• If an analysis of a hypothetical gift plan is requested (see the description of the Foundation’s CrescendoTM program below), complete it within one business day of the inquiry, and mail it with a letter promising a follow-up call. Within a week make the follow-up call to offer further explanations.
• If you need to seek the advice or explanation from a staff member of the Foundation, tell the potential donor when you will be back in touch with a reply, and if you are not prepared to call back on that day, give the donor a new date.

Response “Tools”

Tracking

The name, address, and telephone number of each person who asks for information, from general program material to specific analysis of a hypothetical gift, should be entered on your database. Also, dates when contacts were made and notes about conversations should be included in each person’s confidential record.

CrescendoTM

A highly effective tool available to the gift-planning counselor is a computerized analysis of hypothetical gifts, which can be done through the Foundation office using Crescendo, one of the most popular products of its kind on the market. 

Crescendo is a software package that provides a detailed analysis and summary of the benefits and tax implications of a planned gift, based on actual information provided by the prospective donor. The Episcopal Church Foundation in West Texas uses Crescendo to help donors decide the most advantageous vehicle for them to use, to meet their personal needs and charitable goals.

Gift-planning counselors gather from prospective donors information on names, dates of birth, the nature of the assets being given, their cost basis, and current market value. If a charitable remainder trust is being considered, the donor and the trustee must agree on an appropriate payout rate. Based on that information, Foundation staff and field representatives can model possible gift plans and will be available to review them with donors and/or their advisors.

Legal Support

A gift-planning program must have attorneys available who can assist with drafting documents, working directly with the advisors of people contemplating planned gifts to create the language for wills, bequests, and charitable remainder trusts. The Episcopal Church Foundation in West Texas has professional legal counsel for gift-planning work whose senior partners are often cited as the most knowledgeable in the business. However donors are always advised to have their own counsel review documents.

Execution of Applications

When a prospective donor thoroughly understands the gift analysis, a gift vehicle has been chosen, assets have been selected, and the necessary paperwork drafted and reviewed by all parties, it is time to create the gift and transfer the assets.

Gift Acknowledgment

Remember the adage,
“The best motivation for giving is a good experience of giving.”

It is impossible to overemphasize that saying thank you is one of the most important things we do in raising resources for ministry. People who make annual and capital gifts should feel good about the contributions they’ve made. They should continually be told about the good works that are being accomplished with the money they gave, and, when appropriate, should gradually be brought into advisory and leadership positions in the church.

Some churches subscribe to the philosophy that the larger the value of a gift, the more fuss should be made over the giver. Others believe all should be thanked in the same way, regardless of the size of the gift. Some churches make no acknowledgment at all. The Foundation suggests that there is a middle ground; a gift acknowledgment system, which ensures that everyone who makes a contribution is thanked appropriately.

For example, weekly pledge payments need not be acknowledged separately, but quarterly statements showing the status of the pledge and payments made to date should be distributed. An accompanying letter should be filled with gratitude and descriptions of the ministry the gifts make possible. Capital campaign gifts of whatever size should receive several acknowledgments: one from the rector, another from the senior warden, and one from the campaign chair. Campaign pledge payments should be acknowledged and the donors given an update on what has been done as a result of the campaign.

Planned gift donors should be thanked as the gift evolves. A thank-you letter should be in the mail no more than one business day after an application for a life-income gift has been received. If shares of appreciated stock are used to fund such a gift, the donor as well as his or her broker must be told when the transfers have taken place and what the mean of the high and low selling price was on the day of the transfer. This provides another opportunity to say thank you.

When the entire process is complete (disclosure statements and contracts have been signed by the trustees, and the financial partner has calculated the gift values and tax deductions) a final official acknowledgment is produced by the trustee. If the charitable beneficiary has been notified of the gift, and if they may be told the amount of the gift, the rector or senior warden, or executive director, if it is another church entity, should, within one business day of receiving such notification, write a letter to the donor acknowledging and thanking him or her for the gift, with a copy to the trustee.

The “legacy society” plays an important part in the gift acknowledgment process. It not only provides ongoing recognition of donors who have made planned gifts, but also encourages others to bear witness to the important ministry made possible through gift planning. Last, but certainly not least, heirs of people who have made planned gifts should be thanked, and when it is appropriate thanked annually on the anniversary of the gift. In addition, they should be kept informed about the ministries that have been made possible by their family’s generosity.

Administrative Tasks

All life income gifts involve assets that must be invested and managed. They also require calculating, making timely income payments, responding to donor inquiries, completing and filing tax returns, and producing

reports. These tasks can be accomplished most efficiently and effectively using a financial partner where economies of scale keep the expenses realistic. The Episcopal Church Foundation in West Texas will see that this work is completed in a timely fashion.