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Homeowner Angelo DeAngelis stands in the doorway of what was his living room after Hurricane Sandy. A grant from the Alice and Judd Huney Creative Gift Fund made it possible to quickly respond to an urgent and critical need. Photo: Chris Ragazzo FEMA
The Gift that Grows Fund allows sisters to honor their parents with an ongoing legacy For Judy Kutz and her two sisters, JoAnne Huney and Suzan Huney, honoring their parents by creating the Alice and Judd Huney Creative Gift Fund seemed like the perfect way to continue a legacy of community and church involvement. What they hadn’t expected when they established the fund in 2008 was how much enjoyment they would get out of doing it – and how the gift would continue to multiply. continued on page 4
©2013 A publication of the Presbyterian Foundation
INSIDE : Year-End Giving Money, Ministry and Mistakes: A Blog from Rev. Ryan Baer Investment Performance of Endowments Ministry Relations Officers
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From Our President “In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” –Acts 20:35 This verse is both well known and truthful. However, in my experience, it is most often used by those who hope to receive something from those who they hope will give. That’s not necessarily bad. But it may be unfortunate if it causes the average Christian believer to avoid meditating on the verse, because it reminds them of being asked for money. The author of Acts included it in that book precisely because teachings on giving and learning to be generous should be a key focus of every Christian. But if such verses do not become the source of our teachings about giving and generosity, then where do we learn about these things? A recent Bank of America study of giving practices among high-net-worth households explored where donors learned to give. The top two teachers: family and religious organizations. In fact, some 40 percent of the donors surveyed described their giving as shaped by their religious beliefs. How do you teach giving to others? One tool that we at the Presbyterian Foundation have developed and seen used to great effect is called our Creative Gift Fund. This popular giving vehicle is based on what is called in the financial industry a ‘donor-advised fund,’ which allows a family to establish a charitable fund and then make grants to their church, their favorite mission causes, and other
The Presbyterian Foundation was established in 1799 to raise, steward, and distribute funds for mission. We
charities all from that one fund. It is almost like creating a private, grant-making foundation for your family. A growing number of families use these grantmaking tools to develop a process that becomes a teaching and a family bonding time. Once a donor-advised fund is established, a family can talk together about what mission or group in need they should give to in a given year. Who do they think God is calling them to give to and why? And then they can follow up to see the impact on how their gifts are used to help causes or other people whom they have chosen to help. This issue of Cornerstone includes a story about one such family – three sisters who are preserving their parents’ legacy through their own Creative Gift Fund. The Presbyterian Foundation has invested tremendous time and energy into developing our donor-advised funds for just this reason. We call them Creative Gift Funds because they allow donors to be as creative as they like in where, when, how, and for what purposes they are used to benefit various missions and ministries. We’ve built technology to support the funds which make it easy for donors to research giving opportunities, make grants, add to their funds, and track their giving over long periods of time. We’ve also connected all of this to our online-giving system, the Presbyterian Mission Exchange, which is available to all PC(USA) congregations and related ministries. We hope it will be a great blessing for both the Presbyterians who give through these funds and the ministries that receive their gifts. And we hope it will be a teaching tool through which parents, pastors, and others can lead by example, passing on the joy of giving to new generations. You can learn more about Creative Gift Funds in this issue, or by contacting the Presbyterian Foundation. In Christ,
work with congregations, councils, agencies and other entities to ensure that they have resources for mission today, tomorrow, and 200 from now.
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Are You Ready for Year-End Giving? It happens every year… the flood of solicitations to make a year-end gift come from every conceivable ministry and nonprofit. From the local community center, your alma mater, the Red Cross, homeless shelter, food kitchen – there is no shortage of need. Yet, churches can sometimes be at the end of the list simply because we fail to ask. The Christmas season makes us all feel more generous and, for some, the end of the year may signal an approaching deadline to receive a charitable contribution deduction on tax returns. Members of your church may appreciate a reminder to support local current ministry needs and to prayerfully consider giving to endow ministries of the Church.
A free reproducible bulletin insert on year-end giving is available from the Foundation. Download a copy at PresbyterianFoundation.org/toolbox..
Here are a few tips to pass along to your members. Exercise your spiritual gift, be generous and tax-wise. Evaluate giving long-term appreciated assets versus cash. You may realize income tax savings by claiming the fair market value as the contribution and avoid the capital gain recognition. Farmers or ranchers can make in-kind donations and reduce reportable income.
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Want to make a gift, but might enjoy some income during your lifetime? Consider a variety of options that would produce income, while giving you a current tax deduction and a future gift for your Church, such as a charitable gift annuity, charitable remainder trust or pooled income fund. Need a deduction, not the income, and a “charitable checkbook”? The Creative Gift Fund is a donor-advised fund that allows a deduction for 100 percent of the contribution and creates a source of private donations when desired. Concerned about potential estate taxes on transfers to your heirs? Don’t overlook the tax-advantaged non-grantor charitable lead trust which benefits charity for as long as you choose and reduces or even eliminates the taxable value of the delayed gift to your heirs. Complete gifts before December 31 for possible tax benefits.
Inspiring sermons from some of the Presbyterian Church’s finest preachers Order a free copy of Growing Generosity to provide you with fresh sermon ideas. Hear sermons from Craig Barnes, Peter Barnes, Georges Bitar, John Cable, Scott Dudley, Lewis Galloway, Rhashell Hunter, Michael Lindvall, Diane Givens Moffett, Vic Pentz, James Foster Reese and George Wirth. Call 800-858-6127 x 8919 or email Serving@PresbyterianFoundation.org to order a copy today. 3 www.PresbyterianFoundation.org
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The Gift that Grows
Kutz and her sisters wanted to find a way to honor their parents and continue their legacy. Kutz contacted the Foundation’s local representative to discuss possible options. The sisters decided to set up a Creative Gift Fund that would, after an initial gift, allow them to disperse the funds when and where they saw fit to do so. The Creative Gift Fund, a donor-advised fund with the Presbyterian Foundation, is a flexible and informed way to create a lasting legacy. The donor(s) make grant recommendations to those ministries they wish to support, they decide the amount of the grant and when the grant is made. They can set up recurring grants to a specific ministry to continue support on a regular basis. The sisters decided that they would make grant 4
“We discovered that we had more money in our fund than we had after giving the initial gift,” explained Kutz. “It was quite an amazing thing!” That amazement has continued each year since, despite the overall economic downturn.* “Each year we have granted more money, but each year it continues to grow,” explained Kutz.
Sisters Judy Kutz, Suzan Huney and JoAnne Huney enjoy lunch. Together they decide on ministries to receive grants from the Alice and Judd Huney Creative Gift Fund.
Craig Thompson
Their parents were both children of the depression. Their mother was from a large family in North Dakota and at 13 their father lost his own father. “He and my mom came out to the west coast from the Midwest during World War II,” shared Kutz. After the war ended, they started a small store on Washington state’s Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound where Kutz’s father was a charter member of the Rotary Club, part of the Chamber of Commerce, and active in community life, later involved in the church community. “My mother was one of the most forward-looking progressive people I can think of,” remembered Kutz. “She was a good listener – the kind of person that people loved to talk to,” she said. “Mom was always very active in the church,” explained Judy Kutz. You name it she did it – from being a deacon to a camp counselor to a Stephen Minister.
recommendations from the fund on an annual basis over the course of a decade. But after the first year of the fund, they were in for a surprise.
Craig Thompson
Kutz and her sisters inherited their parents’ modest but significant savings. “The more we thought about it,” remembered Kutz, “the more we wanted to do something substantial to honor who they were and the kind of work they did.”
When it comes time to make grants each year, the sisters coordinate via telephone to determine the ministry they would like to support. Some of the recipients have included the Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church (the church their parents attended), Friends of Tent of Nations, Hurricane Sandy relief, and an orphanage in Haiti. “The really exciting part of giving using the donor advised fund is that there are so many opportunities out there for giving that we didn’t know about,” shared Kutz. She and her sisters use the Foundation’s website frequently to find out about programs and opportunities. “It has been nice for us to be able to direct the funds, since ours was a memorial to continue our parents’ work,” she said. “Initially I thought we were going to make a donation and that would kind of end it,” continued Kutz. The ongoing nature of the fund has changed not just the way she looks at giving, but mission as well, as she has found herself researching the work of the organizations that will receive funds. At the beginning, Kutz was concerned that if they were to make larger grants that there would not be anything left to give at the end of the 10-year commitment. It has been exciting for her to see how the fund continues to grow.
One of the key advantages of the Creative Gift Fund is the ability to respond to various needs, whether local or global. The Huney sisters have made grants to support an orphanage in Haiti.
“The part that has been the most rewarding for me is that it has been ongoing,” said Kutz. “It’s not just a gift you forget about.” Instead, every year as they meet and discuss the grants, it is an opportunity for the sisters to think about their parents and how they can continue their legacy. “My husband and I are in the process of redoing our will and this is something that we are adding to it so that our own children can do it as well,” said Kutz. The legacy, it seems, will continue. To learn more about the Creative Gift Fund contact your regional Ministry Relations Officer or go to PresbyterianFoundation.org. *P ast performance is no guarantee of future returns. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate and current market performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted.
Donors to the Creative Gift Fund now have even more reasons to love this gift plan. Accessing their account online allows for making additional donations, making grant recommendations and tracking the giving history from their Creative Gift Fund. The online account access includes: • Flexible options to search for ministries to receive grants. The search includes the entire IRS database of 501(c)3 charities and the ability to search using any part of the organization name. • A new Dashboard for donors to easily make a grant or addition to their fund, view giving history and a summary of fund holdings all on one screen. • The navigation throughout the site is streamlined, providing an efficient donating and granting experience. • Featured giving opportunities will be highlighted with the charities’ profile page and photo slideshows. Open your Creative Gift Fund today and enjoy these online benefits as well as the joy and satisfaction of giving. 5 www.PresbyterianFoundation.org
unnecessary to send thank-you notes for gifts to the ministry that I’ve been called to lead? A sincerely-worded hand-written thank-you note and a 46-cent stamp can often do more to increase giving than the most sophisticated well-executed campaign.
Money, Ministry and Mistakes Ryan Baer is pastor of Ridglea Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth, Texas. He has graciously given us permission to share one of his recent posts on his blog decentlyoutoforder.wordpress.com. This is an excellent “from the heart” look at stewardship from a pastor’s perspective. way that many solo pastors also need all of the skills and competencies of a top-level executive of a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization
This morning, I read an article by Margaret Marcuson of Luther Seminary about 10 mistakes she’s made in her ministry concerning money. Here are some of mine, in no particular order. 1. Not practicing what I was preaching in my personal life. People aren’t willing to go where their leaders aren’t willing to lead, plain and simple. Early on in my ministry, Amy and I weren’t disciplined about tithing and giving. Thanks to some excellent teaching, God has opened our hearts in this vital area of discipleship, and I am able to lead, teach, and preach about tithing and giving with integrity and a clear conscience. 2. Assuming that the pastor doesn’t need to be involved with the financial affairs of the church. As a young pastor, I had it in my mind that the pastor just needs to preach, teach, and provide pastoral care, and others can handle the “business” of the church. While that may still be true in some contexts, I have learned the hard
3. N ot reviewing individual giving records. This is still a big point of controversy in some churches, and I was hesitant about it early on in ministry. But J. Clif Christopher’s book, Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate really convicted me and shaped my thinking about this topic. If, as pastor, I can be trusted to maintain confidentiality and integrity with highly sensitive pastoral care issues, why can’t I be trusted to maintain confidentiality and integrity with highly sensitive financial issues? I’ve learned through experience that sudden changes in giving patterns, whether they’re up or down, are often a “first-indicator” of a sudden change in the life of a parishioner. 4. N ot sending thank-you notes. I was raised to send thank-you notes when people gave me gifts. As the pastor and a leader of the church, why did I ever think it was
5. Letting the income set the total budget. As a non-profit organization, church budgeting is fairly simple: Profit = Income – Expenses. Simply set Profit to zero and solve the equation. However, too many years I sat by and watched the session do a fall pledge campaign, then try to shoehorn all of the expenses for ministry into the income. That way of budgeting will never challenge the church to grow in mission or in giving. I have learned to first develop the projected expense list (the “have-tohaves”) and then also develop the dream list (“like-to-haves”). We then present both of those numbers to the congregation in a narrative budget (along with the detailed line-items for the four people who demand to see them), and ask the congregation to support the vision for the ministry. These are the first five “mistakes.” To read the full blog post, please visit decentlyoutoforder.wordpress.com.
Our Mission is to Help You With Your Mission Ministry Relations Officers partner with you to increase funding for your ministry. Call us to discuss how we can serve you. (Email is first.last@presbyterianfoundation.org).
Endowment Funds: Investment Review The Presbyterian Endowment Fund (formerly known as the Balanced Growth Spending Formula or BGSF) is the investment vehicle for the endowment funds stewarded by the Foundation. The Presbyterian Foundation monitors the investment management provided by Cambridge and Associates for the fund.
Performance Update For the third quarter, the Fund was up 4.97% vs. the policy benchmark return of 4.88%. The Presbyterian Endowment Fund (PEF) is up +11.0% for the trailing 1-year time period, exceeding the +10.1% return of the policy benchmark by 90 bps. A Fund for your ministry Churches and organizations may establish an endowment fund with the Presbyterian Foundation to steward these resources for the benefit of their ministry now and for years to come. For over 200 years, the Foundation has been entrusted with these funds to help fund the mission of Jesus Christ
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Asset Allocation US Equity 24%
Olanda Carr International Equity 36%
East Region 888-711-1318
Eric Chavis Northwest Region 888-211-7030
Robert Hay Southeast Region 855-514-3152
Stephen Keizer Mid America Region 866-317-0751
Real Assets 6%
Private Equity 6% Hedge Funds 28%
through various missions and ministries. Contact your regional Ministry Relations Officer to learn more about opening a fund for your ministry. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate and current market performance may be lower or higher
Ellie Johns-Kelley
Sherry Kenney
Northeast Region 800-000-000
Southcentral Region 855-342-4130
Lisa Longo Central Region 866-710-5094
Mary “Minner” Serovy Upper Midwest 855-514-3077
John Turner Southwest Region 866-860-3383
than the performance quoted.
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Ease of Donor-Advised Funds Presbyterian Foundation’s donor-advised funds are more convenient than writing checks to various charities throughout the year.
Traditional Giving Methods Write out a check for charity.
Repeat for your next charity.
Mail check.
Wait for acknowledgement and save for tax returns.
Creative Gift Fund Donor-Advised Fund
One gift to establish one fund
Take tax deduction for full amount; download giving history any time; make grant requests online.
+ Research Charities online + Respond to urgent needs or disasters + Share with others the charities you support