It’s the time of the year when echoes of “Can you believe it’s already September?” can be heard all over town. We’re saying the same thing here at the First Methodist Church of Fort Worth Foundation office. With the impending fall season, we usher in a season of gratitude with the following Foundation updates, reports, and a hearty thank you.
I am excited to report that the Foundation has welcomed a new staff member. Teresa Tysinger joined us in early August as the new Executive Assistant. She brings more than 15 years of experience in church communications and is a life-long United Methodist. Contact Teresa by email or 817-336-5698.
Remembering Our Roots
Leaders created the Foundation in 1964 to encourage legacy gifts. With legacy gifts, only the income generated on the principle (i.e. accrued interest) is used to preserve the magnificent facilities that provide the spiritual home for the First United Methodist Church community.
More than that, they envisioned that the endowment would also support the church’s mission. Today, your generous gifts to the Foundation continue to accomplish this goal by:
- augmenting children’s ministries to instill and nurture lifelong faith;
- bolstering youth ministries to help young people connect with God and each other in a protected and encouraging environment;
- funding choral and instrumental music ministries;
- helping the poor or abused through empowering justice; and
- feeding and giving sanctuary to the hungry.
What Your Generosity Has Done in 2019
When you make a gift to the Foundation, you partner with countless saints who’ve gone before us in support of the church’s ministries. Consider these Foundation figures for the first half of 2019.
- Since 1964, a total of $56.5 million has been released to the Church from earnings of the Foundation endowment income.
- The next scheduled distributions of funds will be made to the church in October and December. Combined, they will total approximately $1.5 million. This amount reflects the distributable requirement set by the IRS of either 85% of adjusted net income or 3.5% of the fair market value of its non-exempt use assets based on amounts from the previous year-end, whichever is higher.
Those are figures worth celebrating! We only have such a substantial, growing Foundation as a result of your generous gifts, smart investing, and excellent management of our strong Board of Directors. On behalf of myself and the Board, we thank God for all that is being done through your support of the church.
It is simple to make a gift to the Foundation and ensure the ongoing legacy intended by our founders. You may send a check, made out to First Methodist Church of Fort Worth Foundation, Inc., to 640 Taylor Street – Suite 2510, Fort Worth, TX 76109. We accept gifts in honor or in memory of others and, if you wish, gifts may be designated to one of our main endowment funds. Please contact us at 817-336-5698 or by email for more information about contributing securities, personal property, real estate, planned gifts, charitable trusts, IRAs, etc.
Transparency, Communication, and an Invitation
A cornerstone of the Foundation’s vision is complete transparency and open communication. To that end, I’d like to remind you that the church can request funds from any of the Foundation’s endowments throughout the year. However, most of the money is given in quarterly distributions throughout the year. Once money is released to the Church, it is the Church’s discretion to distribute the funds appropriately. Finally, we openly share governance documents on request and regularly report activities/efforts.
Now that we are again fully staffed, you will see regular updates and information coming from us. In addition to blog posts and articles in church communications, we invite you to stay abreast of Foundation news by subscribing to our email list and following our Facebook page.
We always look forward to hearing from you! It is a blessing to work together to preserve not only what previous generations of saints have created, but also our church home for future generations.
Blessings to you as we live out this season of gratitude!
