First Meeting

A meeting of the Permanent Endowment Fund Committee should be called by the chairperson within 30 days following the Charge Conference session which created the Committee. A call or letter to United Methodist Foundation, Inc. by the committee chairperson prior to this meeting can provide some distinct benefits:

• The Foundation will be informed about the new Committee
• The staff schedule of the Foundation might permit someone meeting with the Committee for its organizational meeting
• The Committee can benefit from a wealth of resources and expertise available through the Foundation office

The first opportunity facing the Permanent Endowment Fund Committee will be the creation of a Charter for the local church Endowment Program. This opportunity will enable the Committee to lead the church in organizing the Endowment Program in an orderly and effective manner.

As the Committee seeks to develop a Charter for the local church Endowment Program, this draft Charter example may be helpful. The draft document is intended only as a working draft. Once the Committee has drafted its own Charter, it is suggested that the staff of United Methodist Foundation, Inc. be requested to review the document before its presentation to the Charge Conference for adoption.

At a Glance: Endowment Committee Responsibilities

Those churches that have established Permanent Endowment Fund Committees either act as a committee of the whole for all purposes or assign the following specific responsibilities to an individual or small sub-committee. The committee as a whole should conduct an annual evaluation.

Communications

1. Creates primary church brochures
2. Develops library of topical brochures
3. Creates annual reports
4. Maintains copies of original Permanent Endowment Fund documents, including Gift Acceptance Policies
5. Creates newsletter articles about donors and gift opportunities
6. Provides general information to estate planning professionals
7. Determines method and frequency of distribution of all written materials
8. Prepares articles about donors and about giving opportunities
9. Determines who will respond to inquiries about the Fund
10. Provides informational materials to be used by church office’s responding to inquiries about Permanent Endowment Fund

Public Events

1. Maintains lists of identified groupings
2. Develops and hosts workshops on topical events
3. Maintains a list of estate planning professionals in the community
4. Plans annual celebrations focusing on one endowment area each year

Investment

1. Oversees the investment of all assets described in the Fund documents
2. Recommends investment policies to the Committee
3. Selects and reviews investment progress of asset manager
4. Arranges annual audit

Legal

1. Reviews basic documents in order to keep them in conformity with all laws that apply to such an endowment program and to ensure that the documents represent the best interests of the church
2. Provides opinion to the Committee on the acceptability of any particular gift
3. Represents the Committee to any attorney, CPA, or other estate planning professionals of a donor who is planning a specific gift

Cultivation of Donors

1. Identifies congregational groups by age and by social orientation such as singles, young families, retirees, church school classes, fellowship groups
2. Maintains a listing of potential donors, based on Permanent Endowment principles
3. Recommends to the Committee those potential donors who should be cultivated
4. Recruits those persons who should cultivate potential donors

Donor Recognition

1. Recommends to the Committee the specific way(s) by which donors will be acknowledged
2. Administers the donor recognition program

For More Information

• Encouraging Gifts
• Things a Pastor Can Do
• Promotional Plans
• Memorial & Honor Giving
• Promotional Plans for your Church (pdf)
• Ideas for Bulletins and Newsletters (pdf)
• UMF's Endowment Services
• The Endowment Committee

Note: The Endowments section of this website is excerpted from the Planned Giving Handbook For Churches Of The North Carolina Conference, published by United Methodist Foundation, Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina specifically for use in churches of the North Carolina Conference. If your church would like to receive a copy of the Planned Giving Handbook for Churches of the North Carolina Conference, please call our office at the numbers below or email: .

 

Christian stewardship is our grateful and obedient response to God’s redeeming love, expressed by the use of all our resources for the fulfillment of Christ’s mission in the world.

Clarence Stoughton