I.
Purpose
The primary purpose of theSt.
John’s Lutheran
Church Foundation Fund is to expand the witness and mission of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on earth, serving human needs in our
community and around the world. It is not intended to
compete with the regular annual giving of members or to diminish the
opportunities for responsible stewardship by present and future
members.
All assets received by the Foundation Fund shall
be considered permanent.
Each year, after the fund has reached its target size(s), an
amount will be spent from the Foundation Fund income for ministry. For purposes of this
document, the amount to be spent annually shall
be:
A.
The fund’s income, as defined below:
1.
From 0 to $50,000.00 all of the fund’s income shall be
re-invested to help the fund grow quickly in its first years.
2.
From $50,000.00 to $100,000.00 an amount not to exceed
20% of annual income.
3.
From $100,000.00 to $250,000.00 an amount not to
exceed 40% of annual income.
4.
From $250,000.00 to $500,000.00 an amount not to
exceed 70% of annual income.
5.
From $500,000.00 to Fund limit, currently one million
dollars, an amount up to 100% of annual income.
B.
Upon reaching the designated limit of growth, an annual
withdrawal of a percentage of the market value of the Fund’s
investment portfolio may be spent each year. This percentage is to be
determined, and periodically reviewed to insure the buying power of
the original gift is not being deflated, by those stewards of the
fund in place at the time the limit is reached. This is an option for spending in order
to cap future, detrimental growth and reliance on the Foundation
Fund over future giving and stewardship.
II. Types
of Gifts
Foundation funds are usually not memorial funds,
reserve funds or building funds. A separate policy should
govern these types of gifts.
Gifts to this congregation’s Foundation Fund can
come in a variety of forms, including stocks, bonds, real estate,
tangible property and cash.
All bequests and gifts received in any form other than cash
will be converted to cash at its fair market value as soon as
practical to realize the full
value of the gift (e.g. converting stock to cash in a bear market,
real estate in a housing slump, etc.,) before transfer to the Fund’s
portfolio. On some rare
occasions the church may want to refuse a gift or bequest to the
Foundation Fund. This
should be done by the Church Council upon the recommendation of the
Foundation Fund Trustees.
All gifts designated for the Foundation Fund
shall be considered permanent and therefore cannot be
spent.
Undesignated gifts in the form of bequests, the
residual value of charitable trusts and charitable gift annuities,
and life insurance shall be the property of the Foundation
Fund.
III.
Foundation Fund Trustees:
The Foundation Fund of St. John’s Lutheran Church
of Johnson Creek,
Wisconsin shall be managed by at
least three (3), and no more than five (5), trustees at the time
this Foundation Fund is adopted. When the membership of the
congregation is increased from that number by 25% and above, the
Fund shall be managed by no less than five (5), and no more than
seven (7), trustees.
Said trustees shall be elected by the
congregation.
Terms of office shall be for three years. They may be re-elected one
time, but cannot serve for more than six (6) consecutive
years. The (senior)
pastor and Church Council president will be ex-officio members
without vote except that, in the event of a tie vote, the Church
Council president may cast a tie breaking vote.
The Responsibilities of Foundation Fund Trustees
Will be to:
- Meet
quarterly (e.g., on the first Thursday of the months of February,
May, August and November).
They shall elect their officers (President, Vice President,
Secretary/Treasurer,) each year at the annual meeting from the
trustees as needed.
- Publicize
the fund to the congregation, sponsor “planned giving seminars,”
contact prospective donors and promote other activities which will
bring growth in the Foundation Fund.
- Provide a
written annual report to the Church Council and congregation which
shall include a list of new gifts received, investment
transactions, amount spent for ministry
and total value of the Foundation Fund at year end. Said annual report shall
be provided in time to be included with the information provided
to the congregation for the annual meeting in January.
- Allocate
Foundation Fund spending to the Stewardship and any future Finance
committee of the congregation annually for expenditure according
to item IV. Annual Spending for Ministry. Trustees shall not have
the responsibility for the spending policy of the Foundation Fund.
- Invest the
corpus of the Foundation Fund, subject to the confirmation of the
Church Council. It is
recommended that members of the congregation with the knowledge
and willingness to offer investment advice freely be consulted
before turning to any outside, compensated, source and that, in
the event of irreconcilable problems arising as to the direction
of Foundation Fund investing, the trustees turn to sources within
the Synod and/or the E.L.C.A. for
assistance.
IV.
Annual Spending for Ministry:
A.
Being that the congregation already has procedures in place
to handle designated gifts per donor’s instructions, gifts to the
Foundation Fund will not be restricted by such designations
providing this does not conflict with other Church or congregation
by-laws and/or restrictions already in place governing such
gifts.
B.
Therefore, spending from unrestricted funds will be as
follows:
- 10%, but
not more than $1000.00 per year for a scholarship(s), given in the
name of St.
John’s
Lutheran
Church, to be awarded
to a member(s) of St. John’s attending a post-secondary
educational institution for expenses related to attending that
institution. The
Church Council will have the responsibility of determining who
shall receive said scholarship and any terms/qualifications for
receiving same. In
the event no candidate applies/exists to receive said
scholarship(s), no spending in this area will occur until the
Fund’s limit has been reached after which the Church Council will
decided how to spend this amount. Additionally, the
difference between $1000.00 and the abovementioned 10% will be
handled in the same way.
- In the
event that a member of St. John’s should apply for said
scholarship(s) for the purpose of attending a seminary for the
future benefit of us all and the spreading of the Word of our
Lord, the Church Council, along with financial recommendations
from the Trustees, can temporarily alter the spending within the
abovementioned 10% at their discretion to aid the Call of said
applicant for as long a period as said member remains at
seminary.
- 10% will be
spent to promote, maintain and create youth groups and/or
youth activities at St. John’s Lutheran
Church as directed by
the Church Council unless a separate Youth Committee exists at the
time in which case the funds will be transferred to said
committee. These
funds will not be considered as part of the regular budget
expenditure for such youth causes or Youth Committee nor as a
replacement for youth fundraising activities. If said Youth Committee
exists to direct the expenditure of these funds said committee
will report to the Church Council within six (6) months concerning
these expenditures.
- 35% will be
designated for stewardship causes and transferred to the
Stewardship Committee for expenditure. These funds will not be
considered as part of the regular budget expenditure for
stewardship causes.
The Stewardship Committee will report to the Church Council
within six (6) months concerning these expenditures.
- 35% will be
designated for retirement of outstanding debt(s) on
St. John’s
congregational properties.
If the congregation has no debt, then this 35% will be
distributed per items 1, 2 and 3 above, OR, directed to a “reserve
fund” to meet future capital needs, OR, a combination of the two
per direction of the Church Council.
- 10% will be
given to regional programs and causes, including direct donations
to Synod and/or E.L.C.A. activities.
V. AMENDING
PROCEEDURES
The policy may be amended by a ¾ majority vote of
the Church Council at two (2) successive meetings, upon published,
written notice of proposed changes to the council members at least
two weeks prior to the first meeting. Reasons to amend may include
catastrophic events such as earthquakes, fires or
tornados.
VI.
TERMINATION
In the event that St.
John’s Lutheran
Church of
Johnson
Creek,
Wisconsin should terminate its
ministry, the assets of the Foundation Fund shall be divided equally
among the existing E.L.C.A. churches of
Jefferson
County with instructions
for its use.
