Financial Stewardship

Generosity flows from an Open Heart

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This year’s stewardship theme, Every Good and Perfect Gift, is drawn from the Letter of James. We spent several weeks in James during our summer Sunday readings, noting how the letter emphasizes a strong connection between our words and our deeds.

James begins by inviting us to focus on God’s generosity. In the opening verses, he writes, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,” (Jas. 1:17). In other words, if we want to strengthen the connection between our words and our deeds, our faith and our action, James invites us to focus on God’s abundance. Generous abundance is the perfect place to begin if we want to understand the heart of God and the mission of God.

It's also a great place to begin this year’s stewardship conversation because we have been so richly blessed at St. John. Earlier this year, your Vestry shared about an incredible bequest of $1 million received from the estate of Ken Wallick. In addition, last month the Vestry announced our decision to give away a tithe, or ten percent, of that bequest as a way of acknowledging and celebrating God’s generosity with us. With James ringing in our ears, we sought to strengthen the connection between our belief in God’s generosity and our action as bearers and sharers of God’s generosity with the world.

With Every Good and Perfect Gift we are seeking to weave God’s generosity ever more deeply into the fabric of our congregation so that we can more fully recognize our role as stewards of God's gifts. As we begin stewardship season again this year, we invite you to prayerfully reflect on the evidence of God’s abundance and generosity in your own lives, and to join us as we seek to become bearers and sharers of Every Good and Perfect Gift from above.

Abundant God, you made us in your image and breathed in us a spirit of generosity that is both gift and response. Move us, we pray, to give as we have received-abundantly, generously, and joyfully that our common ministry may ever bear witness to your unfailing grace. In the name of the Three in whom we are One, Amen.

Fr. Eric Hillegas, Tom Russell, Matt Conant, Megan Dietz

2024 Stewardship Committee

Means of Giving

While many individuals and families use cash for pledging and one-time gifts, there are other tax-advantaged means of giving that may behoove donors. Speak with your tax advisor to explore if the strategies below allow you to save on taxes, support the parish more generously than you would otherwise be able, or both.

1. Gifting long-term appreciated assets: When gifting appreciated long-term assets (i.e., those held for more than one-year), donors do not have to pay capital gains tax on the appreciation and receive a tax deduction of the fair market value of donated assets. While donors are limited to deducting 30% of adjusted gross income in any one year when gifting appreciated assets, they can carry over any excess deduction to the forward five tax years.

2. 'Bunching' gifts: By combining two or more years of planned giving, many donors are able to push itemizations above the standard deduction. This strategy provides the immediate tax benefit to donors and allows the parish to receive the gift 'ahead of schedule.'

3. Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs): Many individuals 70 and 1/2 and older are able to donate up to $105,000 per annum directly from IRAs to qualified charities. By distributing directly from an IRA, donors avoid realizing the distribution as income rather than making a deductible gift.

QCDs reduce required minimum distributions (RMDs) dollar-for-dollar for individuals who have passed their required beginning date; for individuals who are not yet required to to take a minimum distribution, QCDs will likely reduce their future RMDs because they lessen the current value of the IRA.