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Bowling Green Congregation Honored with
James P. Johnson Stewardship Award

At the 2009 General Assembly, First Christian Church of Bowling Green, KY, received the Christian Church Foundation's James P. Johnson Stewardship Award. The honor is bestowed at each General Assembly to a congregation that has demonstrated leadership, creativity and integrity in answering God’s call to faithful stewardship, including the faith discipline involved in the stewardship of accumulated resources.

Criteria for this award will include one or more of the following:
            Overall commitment to financial stewardship
            Innovative approaches to stewardship
            Support of local, regional and general ministries
            Proponent of planned giving and permanent fund policies
            Advocate of general mission funding

Watch the video below to learn more about the church's story as it seeks to be a good steward of gifts while expanding its witness and ministry, both locally and around the world.

Permanent Funds: Everyone Can Make a Difference

Rev. Eugene Moore, a retired Disciples minister, was honored by Phillips Theological Seminary in January. As part of his remarks, he shared how using a permanent fund through the Christian Church Foundation is a wonderful way to perpetuate ministry -- and something anyone can do. To see the video clip,

Disciples Development Conference set for Tampa

The 2010 Disciples Development Conference, for those involved in fund-raising for ministries and institutions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), will be held at the Tampa Westshore Marriott Jan. 15-17. The theme will be Expanding the Circle: Creating Effective Relationships. Keynote speaker will be Janet L. Hedrick, CFRE, a senior associate in the Washington, DC, office of Bentz Whaley Flessner. Author of "Effective Donor Relations," her area of expertise includes assessing and enhancing donor relations and motiving campaign volunteers and development staff. Registration is $179 by Dec. 1; $250 thereafter. To download a PDF of the program flyer and registration form, click here.

Revised Church Treasurer's Handbook Available

The 2009 edition of the Church Treasurer's Handbook is now available online as a PDF. This handbook, prepared by general ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), provides assistance in the day-to-day management of church finances, including the counting, the record-keeping, the banking and the distribution -- often the jobs of the church’s treasurer and financial secretary. To view and download the PDF version, click here.

Robertsons receive Harry T. Ice Award

Saying "if you want to give, it is not a sacrifice," the Rev. Bill and Benny Robertson were presented the Harry T. Ice Distinguished Service Award from the Board of Directors of the Chrisitan Church Foundatian.

The award, named in honor of the man who helped create the Foundation nearly 50 years ago, recognizes Disciples for their personal philanthropy and support, love and commitment to the whole church. The award was presented April 27 at the Board's meeting in Indianapolis by Robert Patterson, chair of the Board. To read the full article about the Robertsons, click here.

Distributions in 2008 reach $7.2 million

The Christian Church Foundation distributed $7.2 million for ministry in 2008 from permanent funds, life-income gifts that matured and other donor-directed gifts.

“These dollars undergird the ministries of congregations, regions and other Disciples causes,” said the Rev. Gary Kidwell, Foundation president. “Yet this figure does not include the millions of dollars in subject-to-withdrawal accounts, owned by Disciples ministries, which were distributed to those ministries to expand their own work and witness.”

Disciples Mission Fund, the general funding system for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), received more than $1.2 million from permanent funds and donor-advised gifts. This figure is the largest distribution to the church’s mission funding system in the Foundation’s history.

To see the full report, click here.

2008 Audit Now Available - Click Here

Congress Renews IRA Gift Opportunity

For a church newsletter article to help promote this new giving opportunity for your church members, click here. 

Congress has passed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which extends through 2009 an expired provision permitting IRA owners age 70½ and older to make distributions to qualified organizations of up to $100,000 per year (Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008, H.R. 1424).

Ruth Weaver, the Christian Church Foundation's senior vice president, said this two-year provision could be helpful to donors with small IRAs who don't want to bother with them, or for donors who already receive the maximum charitable tax deductions yet still want to be more philanthropic. She also said congregations could benefit from the IRA charitable giving provision, especially in cases where a donor would like to make a gift to a capital campaign.

No income tax deductions are available for IRA “qualified charitable distributions,” but donors may save taxes anyway, where gifts take the place of required minimum distributions (which otherwise are 100% taxable).

The rules are the same as for IRA gifts made in 2006 and 2007:

• Donors must be age 70½ or older and own a traditional IRA.  Other retirement plans, such as pensions, 401(k) plans and others are not eligible.
• Only the IRA trustee can transfer gift amounts to a qualified organization.  If IRA owners withdraw funds and then contribute them to charity separately, amounts withdrawn will be included in the donor’s gross income.
• No charitable deductions are allowed, but gift amounts will not be included in the donors’ incomes.  IRA gifts may satisfy charitable pledges, according to the IRS.
• IRA gifts may not exceed $100,000 and must be made before 2010.  Note that up to $100,000 may be distributed for both 2008 and 2009.  The “ceilings” on contribution deductions (50% of adjusted gross income for cash, 30% of AGI for capital gain assets), do not apply to IRA gifts.
• IRA gifts cannot be made to charitable remainder trusts or other “life income gift” arrangements, such as charitable gift annuities.  Transfers are not permitted to donor advised funds or supporting organizations.

To read additional details, as well as see preferred wording for donors to provide to their IRA custodians to complete these types of gifts, click here.

For a church newsletter article to help promote this new giving opportunity for your church members, click here. 

Checklist for Permanent Fund Trustees

Being responsible for a congregation's permanent fund is an important task. And with trustees often serving staggered terms, it is important that the knowledge and responsibilities are constantly shared and understood to maintain the integrity of the fund. The Foundation staff members have prepared a "Trustee's Checklist" that your congregational leaders may use. To view and download the PDF version, click here.

Managing Estate Gifts

Gifts from donors’ estates are a special blessing. These gifts, received from the saints of our congregations, are often their final testimony that the church is called to stretch and serve many future generations. What a great gift this testimony can be to all of us!. In all of the work that we do, however, one paramount consideration deserves special focus: We must make it a priority to understand and to honor any donor restrictions on gifts made to the church.

The Christian Church Foundation is providing a new resource to congregations to help them better understand their role as stewards of these gifts. Click here to download a copy, or to order several for your congregation's financial leaders and trustees, call us at (800) 668-8016.