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Ocasio assigned to Hispanics and Puerto Rico; Hansen promoted to assistant vice president

Effective Jan. 1, two staff changes will be made by the Christian Church Foundation.

Enrique Ocasio, who has served as planned giving associate for the Foundation's Great Lakes Zone since 2006, is being assigned as the planned giving associate for Hispanics and Puerto Rico. In this new position, he will be able to concentrate his efforts on planned giving, permanent fund policies and investments with Spanish-speaking Disciples and their congregations.

“Enrique is uniquely positioned to be of great service to the Spanish-speaking Disciples as they seek to be good stewards of their accumulated possessions,” said the Rev. Gary Kidwell, Foundation president. “Our request for services from our Hispanic Disciples has grown at a tremendous rate. Coupled with the complexity of estate planning issues in Puerto Rico, the time has come for Enrique to expand the focus of his ministry and serve Hispanic Disciples who live throughout the United States.”

Ocasio will continue to have the assistance of Manny Collazo, the Foundation’s part-time special Hispanic consultant. “We anticipate our partnerships with Hispanic Disciples will be enhanced, and that our unique stewardship and investment ministry will be able to reach a greater number of people,” Kidwell said.

Ocasio is a native of Puerto Rico. He joined the Foundation’s investment services sector in October 2004 after serving as coordinator of Global Ministries’ People-to-People program. He has been a licensed minister since 2006 and in 2007 completed serving as pastor/leader of a new church start in Indianapolis, Casa del Alfarero.

His wife is Carmen Fernandez, a ministerial student at Christian Theological Seminary.

Kidwell also has announced the promotion of Sue Hansen, who has been on staff since 2004, to the position of assistant vice president for gift administration.

“Sue’s responsibility for overseeing life-income gifts made through the Foundation has continued to grow,” said Kidwell. “She plays a key role in making sure the Foundation handles these vital gifts in a prudent and trustworthy manner, as well as overseeing our accounts payable process.”

She and her husband, Pat, have two grown children. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is chair of the Finance Committee at Amity United Methodist Church in Greenfield.

New Investment Option to Open in 2008

Congregations and other Disciples ministries will have a new investment option available from the Christian Church Foundation in 2008.

The Board of Directors have created the “Campbell Multi-Strategy Fund,” a new investment vehicle that will be incorporated into the Foundation’s Joint Investment Trust available to ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The board approved the fund at its November meeting in Memphis, TN.

“The Campbell Fund is designed to produce excellent long-term returns with a lower volatility,” said CCF President Gary Kidwell. “The challenge in investing is always balancing the reward vs. the risk. With this new fund, we can give Disciples ministries a fresh alternative that utilizes a different mix of investment products and assets.”

Staff and a Board of Directors task force met for the past year to research a new fund that would more closely mirror the types of investment vehicles used by major universities, community foundations and other large institutional investors, Kidwell said.

The result is a fund that will have just over half of its asset allocation in equities, with the rest in alternative strategies designed to hedge the market’s volatility.

The Foundation will invest about $40 million of its permanent funds into the Campbell Fund, Kidwell said. The Foundation expects to open the Campbell Fund to other Disciples investors between the first and second quarter of 2008.

The Foundation has offered investment services to Disciples ministries since 1992, giving all sizes of church-related investors access to best-of-class managers normally available only to the large institutional investor.  At the end of September, the Foundation was managing more than $380 million owned by church ministries.

In other business at the Foundation’s meeting, members:

• Approved a $3.4 million spending plan of 2008, up slightly from 2007.
• Welcomed incoming board members Rod Witte of Denver, CO; Elizabeth Topliffe of Grand Rapids, MI; and the Rev. Joan Bell-Haynes of Washington, DC.
• Expressed appreciation to retiring board members Brenda Cline of Fort Worth, TX; Edith Kelly-Green of Memphis, TN; and Barry Robinson of Tucson, AZ. Cline had served as the board chair the past two years.

Robert Patterson of Tyler, TX, will become chair of the board in 2008.

The board’s next meeting will be April 27-29, 2008, in Indianapolis.

Fort Worth Congregation Receives Stewardship Honor

University Christian Church of Fort Worth received the James P. Johnson Stewardship Award from the Christian Church Foundation Board of Directors in front of a record crowd attending the Foundation’s dinner at the biennial General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Jeff King, moderator of UCC, was presented the glass vase from Johnson, CCF president emeritus, and Robert Patterson, vice chair of the CCF Board. Nearly 600 people attended the July 24 banquet in the Hilton Fort Worth. The Rev. Tim Carson, UCC senior minister, joined King for the presentation.

“It is with a profound sense of humility and deep gratitude that I accept this award on behalf of University Christian Church,” King said.

“University Christian Church is a magical place,” King continued, sharing the church’s historical ties and location with TCU and Brite Divinity School. “It’s not uncommon for a world-renowned Bible scholar to teach your Sunday school class, or to be moved to tears by the choir, which along with the new Garland organ, occupies about a quarter of an acre up there behind the pulpit.

“But the true magic is found in small groups of people… classes, prayer, and study groups, a knitting circle, a backyard barbecue.”

CCF Vice President Bobby Hawley, who nominated UCC for the award, pointed to the congregation’s leadership in support of Disciples Mission Fund and Week of Compassion, along with a host of congregationally based outreach ministries. “The congregation provides at least 10% of its operating budget for outreach giving, with roughly half of that going specifically for ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).”

“Recognizing stewardship does not end at the time of one’s death, the congregation has embarked upon efforts to undergird its ministries with permanent funds. Its endowment has grown from $2.5 million in 2001 to almost $4.2 million at the end of 2005.”

Hawley, whose CCF office is located within UCC, said the congregation is perceived as wealthy church.

“There are members with significant resources,” Hawley said. “But what I have discovered is that virtually all of the members at UCC are people of generosity.  University Christian Church manages money well.  But not just the way a business would or a bank might, but rather with the specific goal of maximizing the church’s effectiveness for ministry.”

King responded: “If, as has been suggested this evening, University Christian is a ‘wealthy church,’ my prayer is that it is rich in love and understanding, that its dividends are peace and justice, and that it continues to prove itself worthy of its place in the broader Christian church.”

The previous winner of the Johnson Stewardship Award, presented at each General Assembly to a congregation supportive of general church mission funding as well as planned giving, was Central Christian Church in Decatur, IL.

Johnson Honored as President Emeritus

Citing vision, integrity and leadership, retired Christian Church Foundation President James P. Johnson was honored as president emeritus of the general ministry he led for 11 years.

The honor was bestowed on Johnson during the spring meeting of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Attending the dinner were current and retired general church staff, former board chairs and Central Indiana members of the Foundation’s Fiers-Brown Society, a donor recognition group.

The Board praised Johnson’s leadership and vision. “His understanding and love of the whole church created within the Christian Church Foundation a climate of faithful stewardship and service to others,” the board noted in its resolution honoring Johnson.

His leadership and vision allowed the Foundation “to achieve new standards in financial ministry to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and undergird mission through increased distributions from planned gifts and permanent funds.”

Among those paying tribute to Johnson was retired CCF president Jim Reed, who was named president emeritus in 1997 and joked about now having to share the title. Reed recalled interviewing Johnson for an executive position in the 1980s, and how Johnson was one of two finalists. Because of the wise selection of Jim Johnson, “the church had the benefit of a stellar executive, among the great administrators of the last 50 years.”

During Johnson’s presidency, the Foundation matured as a general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Assets stood at $48 million in 1992, and had reached more than $227 million by the end of 2002. More than $66.7 million was received as gifts during his tenure, and distributions to church-related ministries totaled $76.4 million during that period.

Current CCF President Gary Kidwell praised Johnson for his role as mentor and friend to many, and bringing out the best in staff and the Foundation.

Retired development vice president Bill Robertson called Johnson a “very strong administrator. Jim’s management skills brought truly remarkable results from a superb staff over an extended period of time.

“We’re here to say, ‘Well done, Jim Johnson.’”

In other business during the Board’s two-day meeting:

• Reviewed the audit and the 2006 financial statements, which showed operating expenses of $3.0 million and revenues of $3.6 million; distributions of $17.1 million and assets of $407.3 million
• Approved the hiring of Dodge & Cox Investment Managers and Polaris Capital Management Inc. as two new global equity fund managers;
• Approved the appointment of new board members, starting Jan. 1, 2008, to three-year terms: the Rev, Joan Bell-Haynes of Washington, DC; Elizabeth Topliffe of Grand Rapids, MI; and Rodney Witte of Lakewood, CO;
• Approved the re-election of board members to three-year terms, starting Jan. 1, 2008: Rev. Thad Allen of Huntington, WV; Grace Caress of Indianapolis, IN; Rev. Susan Diamond of Montgomery, AL; and Joel Santos of Villa Hills, KY.

The board will hold its next meeting Nov. 2-4, 2007, in Memphis, TN.

G-E-N-E-R-O-S-I-T-Y!

By Don Sarton
Vice President, West Zone

D. Sarton

"We determined what we needed and then developed a plan to give the rest away.”

With those words, I was stopped in my tracks. Here I was, sitting in a comfortable – and modest – living room, with a Disciples couple who were sharing their perception on generosity. Committed church members, they are often working behind the scenes in their church. Humility is part of their lifestyle, and so they even shun having me use their names.

“Our struggle,” they continued, “was not between what we wanted and what we needed, although there were temptations.  The discussion was not about the amount, as we had set a goal of giving away 50% of our income.  In recent years we have exceeded 60% as outreach needs keep arising.”

“The real issue came as we wrestled with how we might give away our assets responsibly!”

I was amazed that this couple, successful in business and life, weren’t wanting to talk about spending their retirement years visiting exotic locations or upgrading their car. They wanted to talk about creating a legacy of helping others.

As we talked, I learned:

• Their parents greatly influenced their generosity. “Our parents lived a very frugal life, and even in the difficult years of the depression, they always found enough to share with those who had less. You might say that we were born into generosity, taught to be generous, and found that meaning and purpose of life is enhanced through generosity.”
• They are committed to others being successful. “I think my success in the professional world came partly from my commitment to the success of others.  In every position I held, one of my goals was to find someone and train them so that they could take my job.  As I look around the corporate world I am rewarded when I recognize people who came through my office.  I could not help but think that this idea appears to be foreign to many of the self-styled leaders who felt they needed to trample on others on their way to the top. 
• Rather than “move up” in lifestyle with success in the business world, they focused on how to make better use of their new-found resources.  “You can only spend a dollar once, but, the reward that comes in helping another is always there and in many cases the gift compounds itself as those you help, begin helping others.  I did not want people feeling that they were beholding to me, so we made it clear that they did not need to pay us back, but we would like them to pass it on to another in need.”
• This couple found joy, meaning and satisfaction in giving -- and their satisfaction was not dependent upon how the gift was used. “Yes, there were times we may have been taken advantage of, but not many.  We decided early on that we would respond to the situation and how we might best be of assistance and not concern ourselves with the decision others had made or might make.  Hopefully they would learn from their decisions and the situation, but that was not the basic requirement or expectation of our gifts.”

Early in the development of the Foundation, they met and developed a trusting friendship with Jim Reed, then president.  They have continued this relationship through various staff members of the Foundation and have utilized various planned giving instruments such as Charitable Gift Annuities, Charitable Remainder Unitrusts and a permanent fund. 

“We know that gifts left to the Foundation will be managed well and continue the support of the local congregation and other ministries of the church we have supported, long after our life journey is completed.”

This couple, humble and unassuming, has discovered possessions may make one’s life more convenient and easier to live, but not more satisfying.  How much stuff is enough?  There isn’t one clear cut answer for everyone.  But, the guidance of the wise sages of the older generation provides a meaningful guide: Do not hoard what you have, share it.

What Will Be Your Legacy?

By Deborrah Wray
Vice President, Great Lakes Zone

D. Wray

Othel and DeWitt Brown probably never considered themselves being among the “cloud of witnesses” referred to by the Apostle Paul in Hebrews 12. Othel and her husband owned and operated a newspaper, book and magazine distribution company in Charlotte, NC.  At her death in 1987, Othel made a gift by will of $8 million to the Christian Church Foundation.  The gift represented 92% of their entire estate and created a permanent fund that supports the ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

They were very wealthy.  At the time of Othel’s death, they were still living in the modest home where they had raised their children.  Plans for a large new home were still rolled up in a tube, never used.  She had only a couple of dresses in her closet.  They worked hard and accumulated great wealth; but they knew that this had all been a gift from God.  They wanted to leave a legacy, to be sure that ministry would continue for all perpetuity as a result of their successful business and modest living.

Many of us will never see that kind of wealth.  But wouldn’t it be fun to leave a legacy that lives on forever?  Many of us can do it, perhaps with a few zeros removed.  But we can do it!  For Othel and DeWitt, they left behind more than an empty spot in a pew. They left behind a legacy of faith in the future, a future that involved ministry to the world on behalf of Jesus Christ.

Everyone can be a philanthropist, and leave a lasting legacy. Here are seven ways for you to consider your own legacy:

1. Remember the church in your will. Leaving a charitable bequest to your faith community is an excellent way to remind your family and friends what is important in your life: your Christian faith. Perhaps you can leave a tithe (10%), perhaps a child’s share, or perhaps a stated dollar amount. Leaving a bequest to God’s work is the ultimate in stewardship. Click here for more information.

2. Create a named permanent fund at the Christian Church Foundation, which can make distributions annually to the ministry(ries) of your choosing, as long as 51% are related to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). You also can request changes to your permanent fund gift agreement during your lifetime as your interests in ministries change. A permanent fund can be started with just $1,000. Your permanent fund can be listed in your will as a charitable beneficiary or the remainder beneficiary of other planned gifts, thus allowing your permanent fund to grow to achieve maximum distributions in perpetuity. Click here for more information.

3. Complete a charitable gift annuity, a type of planned gift that pays up to two annuitants a set percentage for life, based on the age of the annuitant(s)when the gift is made. The donor, who may also be the annuitant, receives a charitable income tax deduction for the gift portion of the annuity. The payment to the annuitant(s) is guaranteed for life. At the death of the last annuitant, the residual goes to the ministry or permanent fund identified by the donor. The minimum amount to complete a charitable gift annuity is $2,500. Ideal for older persons because of higher gift annuity rates, younger persons might want to consider a deferred gift annuity in which the payments are deferred until a later age, providing a charitable income tax deduction the year the gift is made while providing a stream of payments later in life, such as during retirement. Click here for more information.

4. Create a more flexible stream of income with a charitable remainder unitrust. With this device, the donor contributes cash, real estate or appreciated stock to a charitable trust. The trust then pays the donor a set percentage of the trust’s value for life. The trust is invested so hopefully it grows over time, increasing the payouts to the donor. At the donor’s death, the residual goes to the ministry or permanent fund identified by the donor. A charitable remainder unitrust also can be set up to benefit other individuals, such as children, for a set number of years. Because of the complexity of this type of planned gift, the minimum gift amount is generally $100,000. Click here for more information.

5. Name the church, or your named permanent fund, as the beneficiary of a qualified retirement plan. Because of the tax-deferred nature of retirement plans, only a portion of these assets will benefit your family members or other (taxable) beneficiaries. These assets not only are included in your gross estate for federal estate tax purposes, but also are taxed when received by the beneficiaries as income with respect to a decedent. Funding a charitable gift with these assets generates an estate tax-charitable deduction. Further, the church will not have to pay income tax on the assets when they are received. So, using retirement plan assets for a gift and directing other assets to family members is a wonderful way of maximizing the value of your estate for the benefit of all those you care about.

6. Name the church, or named permanent fund, as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy that is no longer needed. Although this will not yield a current income tax deduction, it will result in a federal estate tax deduction for the full amount of the proceeds payable to the charity, regardless of policy size. There are many ways life insurance can be used in philanthropy; be sure to consult your advisors.

7. Create a Steward’s Bank account at the Christian Church Foundation. This donor-advised fund can work a lot like a private charitable foundation, without many of the legal restrictions. The donor gifts at least $10,000 in cash or appreciated assets. The gift is invested to grow, and the donor – or the donor’s designees – can “advise” the Foundation at a later time on how to make distributions. At least 51% of the distributions should be to Disciples of Christ causes. Once the fund is established, the donor can contribute more to it without the $10,000 minimum. Click here for more information.

Everyone can make a legacy gift, whether you think of yourself as rich or poor, or somewhere in between. God has asked that we be faithful, in lifetime and beyond, and all gifts that sustain the ministries of Jesus Christ will make a difference.

Please remember: The Christian Church Foundation does not render legal, tax or other professional advisory services. Advice from an attorney and other professional advisors should be sought when considering charitable giving.

Closed congregation's legacy grows

Amidst the tears and heartaches when the remaining congregants at Greenville Avenue Christian Church in Dallas closed the church’s doors for the last time in 1982, there was still a sense of hope:

A hope for the congregation’s legacy of outreach through student scholarships, new church starts and care for the elderly.

In 2006, 24 years after the congregation ceased its visible ministry, more than $1 million has been distributed for current ministries from the church’s permanent fund at the Christian Church Foundation.

And distributions are projected to continuing growing, as the permanent fund – created by turning the assets over to the Foundation – now stands at more than $1 million.

“The vision those Greenville leaders had is truly amazing,” said Gary W. Kidwell, Foundation president. “They recognized the ministries of the church they were most passionate about, and took the right steps to perpetually support those ministries.”

Because the fund has surpassed the rate of inflation, the buying power of the original gift has been maintained. And as the fund has grown, so have distributions. About $40,000 is expected to go into ministry in 2006 in Greenville Avenue’s name.

Janice Tatlock, wife of the congregation’s last minister, Lloyd, recalled a series of studies confirmed it was best to close the church while it was still financially solvent.

 “The members knew they could continue holding services indefinitely, using up their resources until they were gone, but prayerful consideration led them to the decision not to spend all on a failing cause, but to find ways for the church’s mission to live on,” Mrs. Tatlock wrote.

Because of that congregation’s decision, Juliette Fowler Homes in Texas has a stream of income for capital needs; students at Brite Divinity School and Jarvis Christian College receive scholarships; and the North Texas Area of the Christian Church in the Southwest has additional resources for new churches and lay leadership training.

In addition to supporting the work of the Christian Church Foundation and the Pension Fund, Greenville Avenue also provides a tenth of its annual distribution to Disciples Mission Fund.

Those once affiliated with the congregation hold a reunion annually in August to celebrate the ongoing witness of Greenville Avenue, and to remember with fondness friends who no longer can attend the reunion because of death or infirmity. The highlight each year is the reading of permanent fund distributions to the various church ministries as those in attendance realize Greenville Avenue’s legacy is providing a witness much larger than they had ever anticipated.

“Greenville Avenue is a good example that ministry can continue even when the congregation as we knew it no longer exists,” said the Rev. Bobby Hawley, vice president for the Foundation’s South Central Zone based in Fort Worth. “While we often think of individuals as philanthropists, this church has become a major philanthropist to the ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).”

Leaders of congregations contemplating their future ministries and legacies may want to read the Foundation’s resource booklet “Sacred Stories: Continuing a Congregation’s Legacy of Ministry.” The booklet includes items for consideration in ceasing a visible ministry, examples of congregations that have created legacy plans, and a sample “closing ministry service.” To download a copy, click here.