Legacy Giving

Most of us include St. John’s in our annual charitable giving through our pledges and other gifts. Legacy giving is a way for us to remember St. John’s at the end of our lives by making a gift in our estate plan. Upon our passing, legacy giving continues the return to our church community of some of God’s bounty.

St. John’s has been a constant in our lives via our ongoing worship, ministries, and fellowship activities in addition to its ongoing presence in all the major milestones of our lives; baptism, confirmation, weddings, and funerals. Remembering St. John’s with legacy giving ensures that the mission of the church lives on beyond our own lives. 

Legacy giving is available to all of us regardless of the amount of the gift.  Any amount is meaningful and valued.  In addition to our families, St. John’s is an important part of our lives that can be sustained through our legacy giving.  

Most legacy gifts to St. John’s are added to the church endowment for the long-term continuance of the church. 

For The Love of St. John’s by Appreciative Parishioners 

Roy Remembrances
Becky Roy

Randolph Reflections
Penny Randolph

Ingraham Insights
Joanie & Tim Ingraham

“For the righteous will never be moved;
they will be remembered forever.
They have distributed freely;
they have given to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever;
their horn is exalted in honor.”
Psalm;, 112:6,9

Legacy Giving Q&A

  • Legacy giving is simply including St. John’s as a beneficiary of your estate (along with your family and other heirs) upon your death. This can be done through your will, trust or beneficiary designation in the case of retirement plans or insurance policies.

  • All members of St. John’s are invited and welcome to participate in legacy giving. This ministry is open to young and old and gifts of all sizes are valued. We all have many commitments in our lives that we want to honor, sustain, and remember in our legacy planning. Including St. John’s in our planning is a way to ensure that the church and its missions continue to thrive after our passing.

  • In most cases, the gift will be unrestricted and added to the church endowment. The church uses a limited percentage of the endowment annually to fund the ministries and operation of St. John’s. Your gift would ensure the continuation of St. John’s and all its ministries into the future.

  • The endowment is a fund made up of gifts and bequests received from parishioners since the founding of our Church. The fund consists of investable assets which are to be used for operations and programs consistent with the wishes of the donors. Recognizing the changing demographic of our parish, legacy giving and increasing our endowment has taken on increased importance to sustain our church community into the future.

  • The most common way to include St. John’s in your legacy planning is via a will. A will ensures that your worldly possessions pass onto those people and organizations you intend to receive them. In the case of an existing will, a simple codicil (modification) to include St. John’s can be made at a nominal cost with a lawyer. Your will can direct a specific dollar amount or percentage of an estate to St. John’s.

    Additionally, retirement assets are an effective vehicle for legacy giving. St. John’s can be designated as a beneficiary to receive a fixed dollar amount or percentage of the assets. This designation can be made at no cost and leaving retirement assets to St. John’s (as a nonprofit) eliminates estate taxes and income taxes incurred by individual heirs. Designating a nonprofit as beneficiary of retirement assets ensures that 100% of the retirement assets pass to the nonprofit as opposed to as little as 30% for other heirs after the payment of estate and income taxes.