Research  conducted on adults with high blood pressure, where one group was given money and asked to spend it on themselves, and the other was given money and asked to give it away, revealed the group that gave money away lowered their blood pressure and reported a greater sense of well-being. A  study conducted with toddlers showed they preferred sharing their Goldfish (the currency of toddlers) with a puppet rather than eating the Goldfish.

God created us to be generous, and we thrive when we live into being the people God created us to be.

This knowledge will come as no surprise to those faithful Presbyterians who have made stewardship and generosity a regular discipline in their lives, and they often respond positively to the invitation to continue to participate in the mission and ministry of their church with a planned gift, a continuation of faithful support of your church.

A planned gift involves planning today to make a gift tomorrow, typically at our death. This type of giving usually results in a current and/or future tax benefit. A few examples are:

A Life Estate - e.g., The gift of a home, with the donor retaining the use of it during his lifetime and his church receiving it at his death, resulting in a current tax deduction.
 

A Life Insurance Policy - The gift of a paid-up policy, naming the church as beneficiary, resulting in a current tax deduction equal to the current cash value.
 

A Charitable Remainder Trust - The gift of appreciated stock or other property to a trust held at the Presbyterian Foundation, resulting in a current tax deduction and a lifetime income stream to the donor, with the remainder of the trust being paid to the church when the donor dies.
 

Of course, the most common type of planned gift is a bequest under a will. Bequests can be endowed or outright, restricted or unrestricted, and result in a deduction for the estate of the donor when he/she dies.