Don Schultz from the James Company spent a morning with the Stewardship Committees of First Presbyterian Church Green Bay and First Presbyterian Church Neenah. Both committees have used Herb Miller’s stewardship program far beyond its expiration date! We are now at the stage of adapting elements of his approach to our local situations and to elements of other programs. I will say more about this in the next blog. At present, I want to comment on the second major topic of Don’s workshop, namely, endowments
Gifts that Last a Lifetime . . . and Beyond
Both of our congregations have significant endowment funds. Of course we want to be faithful in managing these funds and using them in ways that support and promote the mission and ministry of the congregation. Our funds have made somewhat of a “comeback” after the recent downturn in the economy. Still, the ups and downs of the market are a powerful reminder that we must be wise and diligent with the gifts given to our endowments.
Don began with an interesting “object lesson.” He gave each of us a red and yellow post-it slip. He asked us to place the red post-it slip as high up on the wall as we could. Of course, I jumped up, reached up, and slapped my slip far above my head. Mission accomplished! Then, Don asked us to take the yellow post-it slip and place it higher! All of us could do that. Some by being creative and getting a chair, others (like me) by simply resolving to jump higher and reach higher. Don’s point? There is always more to give. People can reach higher and they will be happy to do it. There is more money to be given. Don has a friend who told him about the “Rule of Tens.” If someone gives $500, they are capable of giving $5,000, etc. Endowments are a tool to make it possible for people to give more.
I was especially intrigued by a segment of Don’s presentation titled: Endowment Funds: Helpful or Harmful? He said that endowment funds are helpful when they:
- Provide members with opportunities to fill a spiritual need to perpetuate their faith and values beyond their own lifetimes.
- Provide an income stream to support a growing ministry.
Endowment funds are harmful when they:
- Undermine current member giving.
- Cause conflicts over the use of the funds.
- Are mis-managed.
Obviously, good endowment policies are essential to accentuating the positive and deterring the negative possibilities. We need to re-visit our policies, which date from the 1990s when our endowment was much smaller.
One important issue for us in Green Bay is how endowment funds relate to the annual ministry budget. Don seemed to send a mixed message in this regard. On the one hand, he said earlier on that a helpful endowment fund may result in annual budget contributions that can fully support ongoing ministries. On the other hand, he said later that endowment funds should not be used to support the operating budget except in limited and/or catastrophic circumstances. I pointed out that both congregations use their endowment funds to support the annual operating budget. We cap the amount that can be used (a percentage of growth over time), but we do use the fund this way. Don responded by saying that his later point was simply a “consideration” and not a hard and fast rule. He brought up the danger that this could undermine current giving.
We will continue to think about this at Green Bay First. Does it make any real difference if we put an endowment line in our annual income stream as opposed to funding a specific ministry and taking that ministry out of our annual operating budget? What are the pros and cons of each approach? Whatever approach we take, we need full disclosure to the congregation about what we are doing and why.
More about stewardship next time.
