The Joy of Giving

At the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville, in gratitude for all that has been bestowed upon us, we give back to the life and work of our church that strives to carry out Christ’s ministry. We ask ourselves, “What is God calling us to give?” and endeavor to give a percentage of our income in response to that question. Our gifts provide for lively worship, teach children and adults about the Christian faith, supply funds for local agencies outside the church doing charitable work, support the work of mission in faraway places, work for peace, welcome visitors, keep our church buildings and grounds maintained, and help us support one another in a busy, often confusing, secular life.

Strengthing Our Foundation
Annual Giving
Planned Giving
The Maidenhead Society
The Birthday Endowment
Capital Campaign
Stock Transfer Information

Strengthening Our Foundation is a capital campaign for 2008-10 that all members of the congregation have the opportunity to support. This campaign, which begins in our 310th anniversary year, will make possible a number of projects that cannot be addressed through our annual church budgets. Together, they will “preserve the past, enrich the present and provide for the future” of the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville.  A booklet summarizing the needs to be addressed through campaign-funded projects is available from the church office. Click below to read about a particular area of focus:

Renovating the Manse
Repainting the Cupola
Enhancing the Chapel Building
Establishing The Deratus Fund
The Elijah Maintenance Fund
Improvements to Our Church Grounds
Improvements to the Fellowship Center
The Nehemiah Fund for Trenton Housing
The Mustard Seed Fund for New Programming
Architectural Study for Future Space Needs

Pledges have been secured from those in campaign leadership positions, those on Session, and others in the congregation who have enthusiastically endorsed the campaign’s priorities. As of August 22, 217 pledges have been received totaling $1,073,760.53. Congratulations to the congregation!! $25,000 has been added to the total by a church family who pledged that amount over their generous pledge if 200 pledges were received. If you need a pledge card, please contact the church office or 609-896-1212.

 

Annual Giving is accomplished through pledging a percentage of our income to the work and mission of the church. Once a year, faithful people of our church fill out pledge cards to indicate what their amount of giving will be for the coming year.

Print a 2008 Commitment Card by clicking here.

Completed Commitment Cards may be mailed to the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville; 2688 Main Street; Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 or placed in a offering plate Sunday morning.

Planned Giving is another way to provide for the future of our church. It provides a legacy for the future and links our lives to those who come after us. It is a fundamental part of Christian stewardship. We encourage bequests in wills as one way to do this – either by designating a percentage of our estates or specific amounts to be given to the church upon our deaths. There are other planned gifts that can often benefit donors with tax relief while they are still alive, but provide for the church’s benefit upon their death.

Examples of some of these are:

• Charitable Gift Annuities
• Annuity Trusts
• Unitrusts
• Pooled Income Funds

We encourage people to contact their attorneys and/or financial planners to set up such gifts. Or if it is more convenient, we work closely with the Presbyterian Foundation when giving information about or setting up planned gifts.

The Maidenhead Society (our church was formerly the Maidenhead Church) is a recognition society composed of people who make bequests or planned gifts to our church. Please email us or call the church office for more information about planned gifts or the Society. Email for more Information.

The Birthday Endowment allows us all to make gifts—children as well as seniors—to the Endowment Fund of our church. The Endowment Fund helps to ensure that the church and its ministry will be here for those who come after us. Here’s how it works:  During the month of your birthday, pick up a special Birthday Endowment envelope from the table at coffee hour or on the windowsills in the vestibule of the church.  Then make a gift to the church of $1 for each year of your life.  Your name (not your age) will be published in a subsequent Church Newsletter.  It’s an opportunity for you to make your birthday a time not only to receive gifts, but to give one too.  

Capital Campaign Giving is yet another way to provide for the church.  These special campaigns, carried out about every 5-10 years, take care of the large building and grounds projects that cannot be accomplished through the annual budget.  Often included are large mission and program projects that are beyond the reach of our annual budget. 

Stock Transfers
If you’d like to take advantage of the option to transfer stock to the church, which often has beneficial tax implications, click here to email for information on how to do it.

To transfer stock, contact your stockbroker and give him/her the following information:

For the Annual Fund, the brokerage is Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc.
The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville Account Number is 8515-7147.
The DTC Number is 0793.
The account executive is Stephen Jusick.

For the Capital Campaign Fund, the brokerage is Merrill Lynch.
The Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville Account Number is 834-04A46.
The DTC Number is 5198.
The account executive is Michael Pron.

To gain the tax benefits, be certain that the stock is not sold before it is transferred to the church. The stockbrokers of the church’s accounts will sell the stock upon receiving it and will issue the donor a letter stating the value of the gift. The donor should also contact the church office and notify Jeanne Aicher of the gift because occasionally the gifts are transferred without a donor’s name.