PERMANENT ENDOWMENT FUND GUIDELINES:
PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH
INTRODUCTION
The Peace Lutheran Church Endowment Fund is a duly organized Permanent Endowment Fund through the authority of the church Council and the Congregation.
MISSION
As a witness to the message of salvation through Jesus Christ, the mission of the Peace Lutheran Church Endowment Fund is to establish a living memorial providing members and friends the opportunity to make charitable gifts and bequests to enhance the work of Peace Lutheran Church (The Church) by establishing new ministries additional to, and apart from, the general operation of the Congregation with emphasis on the education of youth, life enrichment for all ages, mission outreach of the Congregation, support of the worship and music life of The Church, and for expansion of current or future facilities. The Endowment Fund shall enable The Church to engage in community outreach, special missions, furthering of higher education of our students, and capital improvement programs and projects that would not be possible using the church's normal stewardship, benevolence, and social ministry efforts and procedures. The Endowment Fund is intended to be used beyond the scope of the general operational budget of Peace Lutheran Church.
PURPOSE
The purpose of The Peace Lutheran Church Endowment Fund committee is to educate members regarding the importance of endowment giving for the long-term ministries of The Church and to solicit and administer these gifts, and disburse funds in the name of Jesus Christ.
ADMINISTRATION
The Endowment Fund will be administered by the Endowment Fund Committee and be accountable to the Council and Congregation. The membership of the Committee shall consist of seven voting members, two of whom are the pastor and a council member.
The five members-at-large shall be elected by the Congregation for three-year terms. The first elected group will have staggered terms with two members each with two and three year terms and one member with a one year term. No member shall serve more than two consecutive three-year terms (maximum of six years).
The Endowment Fund Committee shall meet a least once each quarter and at its first quarterly meeting shall elect four officers: Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. A quorum will consist of four members.
The Endowment Fund Committee members shall not profit personally or through any business entity with which they may be involved from any transaction or investment made by the Endowment Fund. All questions of applicability of this paragraph should be submitted to the Endowment Fund Committee for review.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE ENDOWMENT FUND COMMITTEE
· Provide information to the Congregation on the mission and purpose of the Endowment Fund.
· Conduct work sessions and disseminate information on planned giving and pre-retirement planning.
· Mount a campaign to encourage giving to the Endowment Fund.
· Accept or reject gifts based on the appropriateness of the gift relative to its type, purpose, and possible liability.
· Carry out responsibility for the investment and management of the Endowment Fund.
· Determine and manage distributions of funds from the Endowment Fund.
· Prepare and make a written report to the Council and Congregation to include: beginning and ending balances; gifts received, how invested, distributions, a list of officers and committee members and plans for the coming year.
INVESTMENT OF ENDOWMENT FUNDS
The Endowment Fund is required to place its funds in prudent investments. The Endowment Fund's investment objectives are:
· Preserve principal for the perpetuation of the fund
· Generate income at a reasonable rate
· Grow income and principal over and above that necessary to offset rises in the cost of living
· Uphold the Principles of Peace Lutheran Church
The Endowment Fund Committee shall invest all gifts received for the Endowment Fund. The specific purpose of each account authorized by the Endowment Fund Committee shall be stated and recorded in order to fulfill the wishes of donors to the Endowment Fund and thereby to segregate and maintain gifts for their stated purpose. All gains and losses realized by the fund must be applied against the Endowment Fund and not against any other assets of the church.
The general policy of the Endowment Fund will be to sell or otherwise convert to cash any non monetary gifts. Disposition of a non monetary gift shall be done in a commercially reasonable manner and under circumstances which will be in the best interest of the Endowment Fund.
DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME AND PRINCIPAL
The Endowment Fund Committee will use the moving average method of determining year to year spending in order to smooth distributions from the aggregate portfolio. The Committee will determine annually the amount of money from the Endowment Fund to be distributed based upon an average rate of return of the (3-5) year rolling average of the portfolio market value. The Committee has the right to recommend against expenditure of earnings or capital gain in any given year due to factors such as financial market conditions or poor investment performance. The Endowment Fund Committee shall periodically review this distribution percentage and may adjust said percentage upward or downward as it determines to be advisable in order to meet the investment objectives of the Endowment Fund.
The objectives of the Endowment Fund are to conserve principal and make use only of the distributions determined by the Committee. Any additional principal may be withdrawn only in extreme and overwhelming circumstances, bordering on the survival of The Church itself. Any such withdrawal of principal must be approved by a majority vote of the Congregation at which a quorum is present.
If the purpose of an endowment gift is designated, the designation of the donor must be honored. The designation must also be in keeping with the Principles of Peace Lutheran Church. If gifts are undesignated, the earnings from the gifts can be distributed as provided above and within the purpose of this Endowment Fund. No distribution of earnings will occur during the first three years unless the principal exceeds $250,000.
GIFTS TO THE FUND
· Undesignated Gifts: Donors may make gifts, bequests or devises to the Endowment Fund without designating a special purpose for the gift. All gifts not designated for a specific purpose may be used as directed by The Endowment Committee in accordance with these Guidelines.
· Designated Gifts: Donors or groups of donors may make gifts, bequests or devises with designation. The designation should be in keeping with the stated purposes of these Guidelines. The earnings from designated gifts will be used only as directed by the donor or donor’s agent. The purpose of the gift should be in keeping with these Guidelines and in accordance with the Principles of Peace Lutheran Church.
If designated gifts are offered that do not comply with the purposes of these Guidelines, the gifts may still be accepted at the discretion of the Endowment Fund Committee. The amount of the gift should be in an amount that will reasonably assure that the designated purpose can be carried out.
· All provisions of the Endowment Fund as to investment of funds, administration of funds, and limitation of use of funds shall be applicable to both designated and undesignated gifts, and all gifts shall be made to the Endowment Fund and accepted subject to the terms and limitations set herein.
LIABILITY
In the absence of gross negligence or fraud, no member of the Council or the Endowment Fund Committee shall be personally liable for any action taken or omission made with respect to the Endowment Fund.
MERGER, CONSOLIDATION OR DISSOLUTION OF CHURCH
If at any time The Church is lawfully merged or consolidated with any other church, all provisions hereof in respect to the Endowment Fund shall be deemed to have been made on behalf of the merged or consolidated church which shall be obligated to administer the same in all respects and in accordance with the terms hereof. If The Church should ever be dissolved without a lawful successor, the Endowment Fund, including both principal and interest to date, shall be transferred to the Florida-Bahamas Synod of the ELCA or its successor.
AMENDMENTS
The terms and conditions of the Endowment Fund may be amended only by majority vote at a duly announced Congregational Meeting of The Church at which a quorum is present.
SEVERABILITY
If any provisions or any application of any provisions of these Guidelines shall be held or deemed to be or shall be illegal, inoperative, or unenforceable, the same shall not affect any other provisions or any application of any provisions herein contained or render the same invalid, inoperative or unenforceable.
Signed this 11th_ day of _December_____, 2006.
Endowment Fund Formation Committee
By: __David A. Low_______________
Chair
Ratified by the Church Council action this _24__ day of ___December___, 2006__.
By: __Nancy S. Traver_____________
President
By: __Daniel G. Gilbert___________
Pastor