Legacy Planned Giving Survey Results

Legacy Planned Giving is an umbrella phrase that captures many opportunities for you to help ensure the future of North Parish – generally by making a gift from your estate rather than from annual income. Last year, we invited members and friends to complete a brief Planned Giving survey, indicating whether they have included North Parish in their will or plan to do so in the future. What did the survey show?

The survey was conducted in February 2022 via eNews and email. Thirty-one people responded. Thirteen already have included North Parish in their estate plan. Eleven of the eighteen remaining respondents are considering such a gift. Several people requested further information about how to arrange a gift.

Why is this important?

The Board and Finance Committee recognize that North Parish is heavily dependent on our annual pledge income to meet the operating budget. Unlike many other churches and institutions, we do not have a robust endowment that will secure the congregation’s ability to carry out its mission into the foreseeable future and beyond.

To address this need, the congregation approved establishing an Endowment Fund that would be managed carefully by an Endowment Committee. While contributions to the Endowment may come from present-day gifts, the greatest opportunity to enlarge the fund is through Legacy Planned Gifts from the estate plans of our members and friends.

You will be hearing much more about Legacy Planned Giving and our Endowment Fund in the weeks ahead. We also plan to re-open the survey and invite additional people to respond.