An Interfaith Guide to Planned Giving from Jim Murphy ’06

Jim Murphy, Class of 2006, has a new book from Church Publishing: Faithful Giving -The Heart of Planned Gifts. Murphy wrote the book for the “many congregations and small religious charities that might have feared they could not raise these transformational gifts and create new opportunities for ministry” in mind, emphasizing “You all can!”

Planned gifts are typically the largest gifts received by a charity and can transform religious organizations and congregations to become more sustainable, impactful, and vibrant entities for decades to come. Encouraging planned gifts to congregations and religious organizations is essential at this time of tremendous generational wealth transfer; these gifts also provide an opportunity to enhance relationships between supporters and organizations. Many congregations and religious entities fear that they cannot raise these transformational gifts due to a lack of expertise among staff or volunteers, the limited financial resources of their constituents, or the simple discomfort of addressing ultimate issues with donors. Faithful Giving can help change those dynamics.

The book is intentionally inclusive of Christian and other faith traditions by offering several case studies from a variety of Christian denominations and other religions, including Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, and others.

After completing his MA in Christian Spirituality at General, Murphy was Program Manager at the Center for Christian Spirituality and Director of the Master of Arts program at GTS. A Certified Fund-Raising Executive, he has worked for the Episcopal Church Foundation since 2008, currently as Managing Program Director. Active in ecumenical collaborations, he works with congregations, dioceses, and other Episcopal organizations to grow their endowments and develop their planned giving programs and various philanthropic efforts and resources. Murphy also holds a bachelor’s degree from NYU’s Stern School of Business and is a member of the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) and the Philanthropic Planning Group of Greater New York (PPGGNY).

Faithful Giving -The Heart of Planned Gifts is now available on Amazon, as well as from Church Publishing.