The Number One myth of planned giving is that it’s only for the wealthy, those who can leave their church with a gift of hundreds of thousands of dollars when they die.

Instead, think of planned giving “as our pathway to carry on. With careful planning, even after our lifetime, we can potentially expand our good deeds through re-deploying our accumulated resources to care for the people and places we care about deeply,” said Karl Mattison, vice president of Planned Giving Resources with the Presbyterian Foundation.

“Through this, we continue living out our love, our ethos and our passion.  Through planning we still matter greatly. And, for most of us, our planned gift is the most significant and transformational gift that we will ever make,” he said.

Legacy gifts come in all sizes and are all important to the future of the church. Some gifts may continue a pledge for a year or two, while other gifts may allow for a capital improvement that has been on hold for a while, said Rev. Dr. Mindy Douglas, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Durham, NC.

“You can designate a percentage of your estate to the church. Depending on how long you live and how many other beneficiaries you have, the amount may be small or large. The amount of the gift is less significant than the vision one has for the future of Christ’s mission in the world,” she said.

Adding your church as a beneficiary in your will or in your retirement accounts is possible through a percentage designation, such as 50 percent, 10 percent or 5 percent. A key point: It is simple to make a beneficiary designation in a retirement fund, and much easier than re-doing a will.

Having a plan for your estate and how you will be remembered can bring peace to a family in the final days.

“My very favorite gift was a woman in her 90’s who, with her husband, established a scholarship fund at their church to be funded by their entire estate,” Mattison said. “When I met her, clearly in her final days, she asked about her charitable remainder trust for when she dies. When I replied ‘when you die, all of your money will begin to send children to school,’ she turned her head to the window and just smiled quietly for a long time … imagining what is next.

“I think about her all the time – and the lessons she taught about legacy giving being a way to continue doing what you are passionate about even after your last breath,” he said.

Mattison, who recommends families work closely with financial advisors and estate planners, said the conversation about planning giving, especially to the family’s church, can enrich lives now and into the future.

“With careful planning, even after our lifetime, we can potentially expand our good deeds through re-deploying our accumulated resources to care for the people and places we care about deeply,” he said.

“Through this, we continue living out our love, our ethos and our passion. Through planning we still matter greatly. For these reasons, in one compact moment, a planned gift is truly the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Rev. Dr. Douglas in Durham puts it another way.

“The first question to ask is, ‘What kind of legacy do I want to leave in the world?’ Some people know they will have resources to share that can impact their church, their community, and the world, beyond their lifetime,” she said. “As Christians, we have a responsibility to give back what we have been given. A legacy gift to the church is one way we can provide for mission and ministries to continue and flourish even after we are gone.”

The most common starting place for planned giving is in the estate planning process. There’s an entire industry of experienced professionals who help us quantify our assets and complete proper legal documentation, Mattison said.

“Yet there is that important piece – being remembered.  This is one of those moments.  It is a time to tell the receiver what they meant to you, what you hope for them, and what lessons you might leave.

“My very favorite legacy gifts are the ones where they enable the giver to continue doing their ministry even after their lifetime,” he said. “The happiest planned givers have solved a problem that possibly they couldn’t articulate:  What happens when I’m not here?  Can they get by without me?  Will they remember what I hoped to share?”

For more details about planned giving, visit the Presbyterian Foundation website at https://www.presbyterianfoundation.org/ and click on Ways to Give.