Planned Giving Resources

The first section of the questionnaire addressed congregational planned giving programs and use of related Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation resources. The section also focused on bequests and income received from bequests.

Only 36% of the responding congregations reported having their own program for planned giving, 28% reported having a program emphasizing endowment funds, and 21% reported wills emphasis programs. As Table 1 shows, large-membership congregations were more likely to report having each of these three types of financial programs.

Planned giving programs are also more likely to be offered in congregations in the western region of the U.S.A. Planned giving programs were reported by 45% of congregations in the West, but only 38% of congregations in the South, 33% of congregations in the Midwest, and 31% of congregations in the Northeast. The percentage of congregations that offer wills emphasis programs and endowment fund programs did not differ by region.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation offers many different services to assist local congregations in the area of planned giving. The questionnaire asked about congregation's use of four services in the previous two years: (a) the wills emphasis program, (b) planned giving materials, (c) investment management services, and (d) assistance from development officers. Two in ten congregations (21%) reported using the Foundation's wills emphasis program, and one-quarter (26%) reported using planned giving materials. Use of investment management services was reported by 19% of congregations, and 15% reported obtaining assistance from Foundation development officers.

As Table 2 shows, larger-membership congregations were more likely to report using each of these Foundation services. However, even in the group of largest congregations, in no case did a majority report using any of these services. In all three groups of congregations, planned giving materials are the Foundation resources most likely to be used.

As Table 3 shows, small congregations in the West are more likely than other congregations to report using three of the four Foundation services we asked about. (The differences for use of investment management services is not statistically significant.) In addition, within each region, larger congregations were more likely to report using each of these Foundation services.

Also addressed in the Planned Giving Resources section of the congregational report form were the number of bequests from which congregations received income in 1996 and the amount of that income. A majority of congregations (62%) reported they had not received income from any bequests in 1996. Of those that did have income from bequests, 22% reported receiving income from just one bequest, 15% reported income from between two and ten bequests, and 1% reported income from between 11 and 20 bequests. Another 1% of the congregations with such income indicated that they received funds from more than 20 bequests in 1996.

In 1996, the average (mean) number of bequests received by all congregations was 1.2; among congregations that reported at least one bequest, the average was 3.1. The average (mean) size of a congregation's income from bequest(s) in 1996 was $16,195; among congregations that reported income above zero, the average was $39,795. The median size of a single bequest (total bequest income divided by number of bequests) was $5,000.

Table 4 shows the average bequest size in congregations that do and do not have congregational programs on planned giving, endowment funds, or wills emphasis and those that have and have not used the Foundation's services. In every case, congregations that offer a particular financial services or use a particular service of the Foundation report larger average income from bequests than congregations that do not use or offer the same service.

• Background and Response Rate for 1996
  
• Location of Congregations -- urban, suburban, rural
  
• Planned Giving and Wills Emphasis Programs
  
• Peacemaking Efforts in 1996
  
• Congregational Involvement in Global Service and Witness -- sponsoring refugee resettlement, mission projects conducted by congregational workgroups in the U.S. and outside of the U.S., awareness of the Commitment to Share the Good News
  
• Planning for Church Capital Campaigns
  
• Use of the Office of the General Assembly's Member Referral Service
  
• Use of The Presbyterian Hymnal and Pew Bibles

For information about Congregational Statistics, email Ida Smith-Williams