The combined assets of the Foundation and the Realty Foundation are currently close to $29,000,000. Additionally, grants have been made totaling $28,000,000 over the 21-year life of the organization for a total of $57,000,000 in combined resources.
The resources needed for all of the grants the Foundation makes are housed in funds. There are different types of funds. Some are undesignated and some are designated. Some of the designated funds are designated by the donor and some by the Board. Some funds are designed so that only the annual earnings are available to be spent, while others allow for the entire balance to be spent.
Our church’s one earthly Foundation is strong — due to the individual strong funds. The individual funds are strong — due to the one Foundation.
The one Foundation:
provides a platform to host funds suited for long-term management and growth as well as a platform to foster new creative funds
gives collective investment strength and opportunities that benefit the individual funds
allows the marrying of funds to accomplish a specific purpose.
The individual funds:
collectively strengthen the one Foundation
benefit the ministries of our church as well as her mission partners
give options to members of the congregation for landing spots for designated gifts
provide an efficient mechanism for members of the congregation to financially engage with our ministry partners
There are close to 40 total funds. Understanding where the money comes from and what ministries are funded by those individual funds is key to understanding what the Foundation does.
In 2015, the Foundation began a dedicated monthly post in the online Messenger called Living Out Your Legacy. This past fall it was decided to use that space to inform the congregation of how the Foundation is structured by way of its funds. The two-year long series is called FUNDation STRONG.
Those articles touch on the history behind the establishment of the fund; the mission of the fund; the current impact and relevance of the fund; and any future goals for that specific fund.
This series is a way to dive deeper in an enjoyable way – not with unending numbers and statistics – to learn about the Foundation. Follow along each month as the mystery of the big story and big numbers is revealed through the impact of the smaller yet powerful stories.