Yvonne Lembo, a member of our Synod Generosity Team, also works with the ELCA as a regional gift planner. Our ELCA gift planners are a resource that we under-utilize but can be an extra asset for congregations that want to develop or expand their Endowment Funds. Here’s an article that Yvonne wrote for this month’s tip.
STAND UP ON YOUR OWN THREE FEET!
This illustration landed me on the front page of the church newsletter at Reformation Lutheran Church, Milford DE! It’s a simple way to visualize three funding streams for ministry.
We’re most familiar with the middle leg – the weekly offering plate – which usually forms the basis for the operational fund.
When there’s a need to fund larger projects, we might do a capital campaign and ask for major gifts (i.e. big checks and pledges!)
But there’s a third that can be developed into a steady, reliable funding stream that resources some of your ministry wants and needs. This third leg is legacy gifts – gifts of assets distributed to family and ministry upon death. Yvonne Lembo, Regional Gift Planner for the ELCA, helps families create GIFT PLANS that include legacy gifts for YOUR ministry, and congregations create GIFT POLICIES and ENDOWMENT BY-LAWS to channel those legacy gifts to fund your ministry wants and needs. It’s a simple process that costs you nothing. Contact me to find out more! —