Endowment 2019-2020 Report
By Glenna Fisher and Bobby Cooper
Endowment Memorial Tree
In 1985, the RCPC Session established The Endowment Fund as a segregated investment fund, to be separated from the remaining assets of the church and to be invested and managed separately from such remaining assets. The Endowment Fund, however, is now part of the church and is not a separate entity.
The Endowment Fund is funded and managed in accordance with two governance documents approved by Session: they are the Articles of Organization and the Disbursement Procedures/Guidelines. Session has appointed an Endowment Fund Board and has delegated to the Board responsibilities to administer The Endowment Fund and to recommend qualified disbursements to Session. Session retains final review, oversight, and accountability for all requested disbursements.
The Endowment Fund was established as a long-term, managed investment fund and is operated to support the charitable purposes of the church (with emphasis on mission programs) and to supplement the long-term financial health of the church as required. Except under extenuating circumstances, the church is to refrain from using Endowment Fund assets to pay or supplement expenditures which are normally part of the church’s annual operating budget through stewardship.
With the exception of a modest cash position, all assets of The Endowment Fund are invested in mutual funds managed by The New Covenant Trust Company, an affiliate of The Presbyterian Foundation. As of November 2019, assets in the RCPC Endowment General Fund totaled $3,200,000.
These General Fund assets are maintained in the following “sub-funds”:
1) The Ministry Fund—used for development and expansion of the church’s internal programs and for the renovation, replacement, repair, construction, and acquisition of the church’s buildings, as required.
2) The Mission Legacy Fund—used primarily for the support of the church’s outreach and charitable purposes, but from time to time, may be used to supplement The Ministry Fund.
3) The Maultsby Fund—used primarily for the support of the church’s outreach and charitable purposes, but from time to time, may be used to supplement The Ministry Fund. The principal and income of The Mission Legacy Fund and The Maultsby Fund are to be held in perpetuity except that the Annual Disbursement (a dollar amount equaling 5% of the average value of such fund as of the last day of each of the five immediately preceding calendar years. The principal and interest of The Ministry Fund are not required to be held in perpetuity.
In recent years, substantial gifts from The Endowment Fund have been made in the form of 1). Local Grants (The Bradley Free Clinic, Roanoke Rescue Mission, Salvation Army Turning Point, and Ronald McDonald House). 2). International Grants (Haiti Mission Group and Sudanese Mission Group). 3). Special directed funding for certain church capital expense projects like the church parking lot paving and lighting project. The Endowment Board also promotes its activities to the church membership through the semi-annual publication of a newsletter, “The Remembrance Tree”.
Current 2019-2020 Endowment Fund Board Members:
Bobby Cooper, Chair
Tom Alcoke, Leslie Baldwin, Robert Frantz, Mike Hert, Carolyn Kazner, Gil Lynch, Tom Mason, Debbie Nash, Greg Shaff
Andrew Whaley, Senior Pastor.