CHARLOTTE — Thanks to a coordinated effort among the Diocese of Charlotte’s Development Office, pastors, parish finance councils and other leaders, four parishes have created “planned giving committees” to encourage people to remember the Church in their wills.
The four “pilot parishes,” serving as an example for other parishes across the diocese, are Christ the King Church in Kings Mountain, Immaculate Conception Church in Hendersonville, St. Ann Church in Charlotte and St. Mary Help of Christians Church in Shelby.
Gayden Gauthier, chair of the finance council at Immaculate Conception Church, organized his parish’s four-person planned giving committee. Gauthier said they are seeing good results from their efforts.
“We had an estate planning workshop last May and 46 people attended,” he said. More than 30 people at the parish are members of the Immaculate Conception Legacy Society, meaning they have indicated that they have earmarked an estate gift for the parish in their will, he said.
As a result of the committee’s outreach, Gauthier said, more people have inquired about joining the parish’s Legacy Society.
“We’re trying to educate and make people more aware of ways they can support the Church and do it more effectively,” he said.
Father Michael Kottar, pastor of St. Mary Church in Shelby, said his parish’s planned giving committee is key to their long-term planning efforts. “The goal is to engage the interest of parishioners in supporting the church of tomorrow and of ensuring the existence of the church for the children and grandchildren of the parish,” he said.
St. Mary’s planned giving committee plans to mail brochures informing parish members about what planned giving entails, organize an educational workshop with the diocese’s planned giving director, Ray Correia, and brainstorm ideas for promoting planned giving with parishioners.
“The parish has successfully initiated a legacy society and an endowment fund, has had some deposits, and has had some interest shown by other parishioners,” Father Kottar said.
“We have been encouraging parishioners over the years to consider remembering the Church in their wills and in their estate plans,” said Jim Kelley, diocesan director of development. “The results of the planned giving committees in these pilot parishes have been that more parishioners are remembering their parish in their estate plans.”
At these four pilot parishes, Kelley said, three people have established endowments and dozens of people have reported that they plan to make estate gifts to the Church, some $500,000 or more.
Due in part to the efforts of these four pilot parishes, Kelley said, membership has grown from 900 to over 1,100 in the Catholic Heritage Society – people in the diocese who have indicated they are remembering their local parish, diocese, schools or agencies in their wills.
For details about forming a planned giving committee, contact Ray Correia, diocesan director of planned giving, at 704-370-3364 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
— SueAnn Howell, senior reporter