Over $2M raised:
Grace Family Church enhances stewardship with FreeWill’s Suite of Tools

The Opportunity

Grace Family Church is a dynamic, multi-campus congregation with over 6,000 weekly attendees and as many as 40,000 during the holidays. As the church grew, so did the opportunity to steward its members' generosity in more strategic, transformative ways.

But without a dedicated development team or tools to guide members through estate and non-cash giving, many donors defaulted to simple cash donations, or gave nothing at all.

Ann Morrick, Donor Development and Business Systems Director, identified a gap: “People thought, ‘If I write a check, that’s it.’ But they didn’t know about stock, DAFs, or other ways to give more impactfully.”

She needed an efficient, faith-aligned solution that would serve both high-capacity donors and members with simpler needs, all while making her one-person office run like a multi-person team.

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The Solution

Grace Family Church partnered with FreeWill to implement both the Planned Giving Suite and Smart Giving Suite, equipping Ann and her leadership with ready-to-launch campaigns, customized messaging, and easy-to-use tools for will creation and non-cash giving.

The impact was immediate. Staff began using the free will-making tool themselves, but the real momentum started when the lead pastor recorded a brief video endorsing the tool and sharing his personal experience. His trusted voice drove immediate engagement from the congregation and helped normalize the conversation around estate planning. The Planned Giving Suite helped streamline the process for the church, allowing them to easily track and manage planned gifts. It also offered personalized communication, providing clear guidance for donors who were interested in leaving a legacy gift.

Building on the momentum from the Planned Giving Suite, Grace Family Church turned to FreeWill’s Smart Giving Suite to elevate their non-cash giving strategy. The Smart Giving Suite transformed their year-end giving approach. With FreeWill’s support, Grace Family Church drafted a personalized holiday letter highlighting strategic giving options like stock, QCDs, and crypto, sent just ahead of the December 31 deadline.

As a result, the church saw a major shift in donor behavior, receiving calls from members not only eager to give, but to optimize their impact. The campaign reduced last-minute year-end stress and opened the door to larger, more meaningful gifts.

This has changed the way people give. They’re not just touching their liquid assets. They’re giving more, in smarter ways.

With these tools, donors are now contributing double that in a single stock donation. “We’ve seen that donors who give through the Smart Giving Suite are contributing nearly double what they used to give by check or credit card. For example, one donor typically gave $5,000 to $8,000 a year, but his most recent stock gift came in at $16,000 in a single donation.”

FreeWill’s platform, service, and shared values have built a deep level of trust. “I’m very protective of our members, but with FreeWill, I let my guard down. They’re one of us.”

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