Legacy Society
Although we tend to think of planned giving donors as active parish members, they frequently are senior citizens, former parish leaders who are no longer playing an active role, people no longer in the parish mainstream, not currently “in the know,” or people who can attend church regularly only when their health permits. A special effort should be made not only to thank these donors, as described earlier, but also to help them feel connected to the parish, informed about what is going on, and generally to feel good about the commitment they have made.
An effective way to ensure ongoing and quality communication with these donors is through establishment of a legacy society, which can be named in a way that is appropriate to a parish or diocese. Membership in the society would be open to any person who has made a provision for the church in his or her estate plan, regardless of the size of the gift.
Although sometimes perceived as a “recognition” plan for donors, in the context of the church the society provides an opportunity for donors to give witness to their good stewardship in making provision for the church’s future life and ministry. Another dimension of publicly recognizing ultimate stewardship through a society is that it is likely to encourage others in the congregation to make similar provisions in their wills and estate plans.
Publicity motivates others to respond.
A simple form, on which donors can inform the parish about an estate provision, is a useful way to formally establish membership in the legacy society. This should not be construed as a way to extract information about the gift, but as an invitation for donors to give the parish whatever information they’re comfortable in providing. It also is an easy way for donors to grant permission for their names to be included on the list of legacy society members. (Sample materials from several parishes that have established legacy societies appear in the Legacy Society section of Funding Future Ministry.)
To establish a society, and to give a quick start to a fledgling planned giving program, it is effective to offer an initial enrollment period of twelve months or more, to be followed by a formal dedication of the society. At the dedication, founding members who made gifts during the initial enrollment time, and anyone who had made an earlier gift or bequest, are inducted as members. A particular effort should be made to have gift commitments from all parish leaders—particularly the vestry, endowment committee, former wardens, and others who have leadership roles in the new program—before the dedication date. This effort would provide great momentum for the launch of the planned giving program.
Encourage gift commitments from all parish leaders.
Plans should be in place to provide ongoing thanks and recognition to members of the society. An annual dinner offers an excellent opportunity to do this and to provide a detailed report about the endowment fund: contributions that have been made during the year, new gifts and donors, investment performance, expenditures from the fund and how they have been used, the current balance of the fund(s). This also is an excellent time to clearly indicate that good stewardship of the endowment fund is being practiced by the leadership of the parish, which contributes to establishing an essential level of credibility in the management of endowment funds. The annual dinner would be enhanced by having a speaker who could cogently discuss a relevant topic such as economic forecasting, a review of current tax legislation, or another subject that might be of particular interest to society members.
Make plans for periodic written communication such as newspaper clippings, pertinent leaflets, or other items of interest covered by letters from the rector or endowment committee chair, to stay in close touch with the donors who are key to the parish’s future. Because it is easy to reverse beneficiary designation in many planned giving instruments, especially wills, it is important that the donor maintain confidence in the parish and its ministries.
Keep your donors engaged in the parish
and its ministries.
Adapted from Funding Future Ministry.
