Planned Giving Made Easy-Peasy, Lemon-Squeezy

Yes, I do like saying “easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.” But like most people, I also like it when seemingly difficult tasks are made, you know: easy-peasy and…lemon-squeezy.

Promoting planned giving is hardly ever easy for churches. Although there’s many layers of this complication, a basic understanding begins with defining planned gifts and explaining how they can benefit the church.

Two primary categories can be used to think about planned gifts. The first is gifts from a will, which is exactly what it sounds like. Hands down, this is one of the most impactful and simple ways for people to give to their church and other ministries close to their hearts.  

The second category, non-cash gifts, is not as unfamiliar as you think. A non-cash gift is anything that has value but isn’t cash. Think stock, real estate, grain, businesses, bitcoin, and even manure spreaders!

While these categories can help to simplify planned giving, the level of difficulty notches back up when it comes to actually making a planned gift. Lots of people don’t know where to begin when it comes to making a will or non-cash gift.

So…they don’t.

But this is exactly where you come, with a resource for each quarter to promote, educate, and equip church members for making planned gifts:

• Gifts That Reduce Taxes - Provide your church members with easy-to-understand information on gifting non-cash assets. Using clear and concise language, this resource covers the primary benefits and provides examples of non-cash assets.
• 7 Reasons to Review Your Will - For those who already have a will, it’s important to occasionally revisit it to make sure current priorities still line up with what was first created. This informational sheet includes a checklist of the most common reasons to update a will.
• Giving from Your IRA - Provide your church members with easy-to-understand information on giving from their IRA. This resource covers the primary benefits and requirements of a qualified charitable distribution (QCD), and it answers frequently asked questions.
• Creating Your Will Using Giftwise - Help your members create a free, legal will—quickly and 100 percent free! This info sheet explains how your members can access GiftWise, and it explains important considerations to determine whether or not it may be the right resource for their planning needs.

Each of these resources is specifically designed for the person in the pew and helps to unlock the complications of planned giving. All you have to do is make sure these make it into the hands of your church members.

Go ahead and say it with me: “Now, that’s easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy!”