Endowments Make an Impact

Often times, church members would like to make a special gift to the church but aren't sure how. The Foundation can assist you in setting up an endowment to meet this need. There are also other church agreements that can be established to aid church maintenance, church building needs and cemetery upkeep.

The Baptist Foundation of Alabama will be happy to assist the local church to develop and implement a ministry of estate stewardship. This process consists of the following key components.

1. Meet with church leadership in the discovery process.

2. Draft the following administrative documents for the local church:

1. Gift Acceptance Policy outlining those key areas the church desires its members to give. These are usually missions, scholarship, and facility upkeep and maintenance. It spells out that if a direct gift is made to the church, the process has already been determined whether the church will use all at once or place to its permanent fund.

2. Endowment or Foundation Fund Resolution: determines how this oversight group is selected and functions within the church.

3. Endowment Agreement or Foundation Fund Agreement: This document established a fund under The Baptist Foundation’s 501 (c)3 nonprofit umbrella. This also gives the local church access to the professionally managed Institutional Investment Management program. This fund is portable meaning you are free to move from TBFA should your church so desire. Our goal is to help God’s people create “Kingdom” impacting gifts.

4.  Investment and Spending Policy: This document is determined by the local church setting the parameters for how funds are invested and how they will be used in ministry.

During the planning process we will assist the local church determine how best to launch this important ministry to their congregation. We emphasize to the church this is a biblically based ministry – not a program. The focus of this ministry is on helping the local church grow faithful givers. Studies have shown that on average it takes about three years for a church to implement and cultivate a ministry for it to then become a part of the educational fabric of the church.

For The Foundation, this is a long term ministry commitment to partner with the local church. We recognize that people will be ready to plan their estates at different times in their lives. The Foundation has several options for this portion of the process including the following:

• A web based product providing training materials for church leadership and materials for leading internal sessions to church membership. The site also instructs church members on estate stewardship and leads them toward making a decision to plan their estate through the eyes of a steward.

• Several levels of ongoing and onsite planning meetings for private one on one sessions with church membership. No products are sold during any part of this ministry. This ministry initiative is strictly a biblically based educational event leading the member toward a full understanding on planning the estate as an act of stewardship.

Each local church is unique and this ministry is customizable to fit the need of the local church.

Please give us a call and we can discuss your different options and give advice on different guidelines for the church to follow.

TBFA Office of Development
J. Rodney Bledsoe can discuss with you the different endowment and/or church agreements available to your through The Foundation.

J. Rodney Bledsoe
Legal and Administrative Officer
(334) 394-2025

Connie Westover
Administrative Assistant for Development
(334) 394-2004