Interactive display: The touchscreen monitor showcases a website containing all the information about the giving area(s) you are recognizing, as well as highlighting each person being honored or memorialized.You could add some wall panels designed to complement the space as well. Mural/background: Find a church member or other local artist to work with you to design and paint a background.You can create a beautiful space that includes some or all the following elements: Information on the website can be personalized for your church, and it’s easy even for folks with limited computer knowledge to edit the site and add church memorial gifts to the display. One exciting new way to thank donors for such gifts is to create a publicly accessible recognition space with a touchscreen monitor and website as a centerpiece. Do you have a plan and process in place to remember and honor those who have given estate or honor gifts? We’re preparing a church memorial gift and legacy webpage to offer a meaningful way to recognize those whose special contributions are strengthening our ministry and mission. Regarding the third point: Saying thank you for lasting gifts is very important. Categories you could offer include: capital improvements, major repairs and maintenance, Christian education, discipleship, evangelism, scholarships for seminary students, hospitality, missions, music and worship.
Make the categories general enough so that money can be spent without too much restriction, but highlight areas in your church that could use additional funding. How is the gift being recognized? Many times, a small plaque is attached to a physical item, but again, what happens when that item is no longer around? Many churches have memorial books to recognize gifts, but is this book easily available and constantly updated? And many more churches today don’t allow the use of plaques.Ī solution to the first two issues is to create categories to which people can designate their gifts.How may the gift be spent? Does the memorial or endowment committee have the authority to spend the gift without reviewing it with the donor or his or her family?.What happens when they visit years later and the item that was purchased with the money is no longer around? Or the program becomes obsolete before the money is expended? Are memorial gifts received for very specific items or programs? Although that item may be needed now, will it always be needed? Will that program still be valid in the future? People give church memorial gifts as a way to perpetuate the memory of a loved one.There are a few significant issues with the way many memorial policies are written: Many times, this policy has been around for years and isn’t often updated “because that’s the way we’ve always done it.” But if it’s been a while since you’ve reviewed your memorial policy, there’s no time like the present to make sure it serves the current needs of your church. Most churches have a policy and/or committee that accepts memorial, legacy and honor gifts.