An endowment represents the gift of a portion of a person’s life to be used forever in keeping the light of Christ alive in the world. It is an asset given in trust to your church for permanent management, from which only the income can be used for mission and ministry.

Each of us has some understanding of the use of gifts of time, talent and material things to honor God. However, our understanding of stewardship is enhanced when we make such gifts thoughtfully and with clear purpose. Just as we find opportunity to make such thoughtful, purposeful gifts from monthly income, we can give proportionately from our accumulated assets to endow our church. Such giving for endowments may take the form of: money or property, bequests in a last will and testament, gift annuities through which the donors and other designated persons receive lifetime income, life insurance, revocable trusts, and the combined gifts of many people.

The Endowment Program encourages this enhanced understanding of stewardship through…

• Promoting gifts to establish and/or increase endowments benefitting all areas of church life
• Providing counsel and support for churches in setting up policies and procedures for congregational endowment programs for the long-term support of their ministries.
• Investing in the future of Cumberland Presbyterian congregations through loans for new churches and expansion of facilities for established churches.
• Employing and evaluating the performance of professional managers who invest assets in fixed income securities and equities. 

Establishing an Endowment

The Endowment Program is a service of the Board of Stewardship for churches and Church agencies that are a part of or officially related to the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church or the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America. The following procedures, subject to change without notice, guide the administration of the Endowment Program as Board staff work with donors and participating church organizations.

When beginning an endowment, donors, churches, and church agencies should contact the Board regarding specific needs and/or stipulations desired in setting up the trust agreement that will formally establish the account. A check to fund the endowment may be submitted prior to, or may accompany the signed agreement. A contribution of $500.00 or more is required to establish an account.

Trust Agreement

Churches and church agencies may choose for each account either an irrevocable deposit of principal. Copies of the trust agreement are signed and attested by all parties so as to provide each party with a signed original. When the trust agreement is with a particular church, it remains in effect when that particular church merges with any other particular church officially a part of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church or the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America. The rights and benefits embodied in the trust revert to the presbytery of jurisdiction of the respective General Assembly in the event that the particular church or its successor ceases to exist or to be a part of its respective General Assembly.

Name of Sub-Accounts

It is possible for particular churches to establish individually named sub-accounts under the single trust agreement provided that the balance in each such sub-account is $500.00 or more.

Quarterly Statements

Quarterly statements are mailed on each account/sub-account. These statements are cumulative, and for the final quarter of each calendar year provide a history of all transactions for that year. Such statements are official notices of the status of accounts/sub-accounts and should be carefully filed with other important papers for review and use by auditors, future officers and/or staff.

Quarterly Checks

Following the close of each quarter and receipt of accounting reports, income is calculated and allocated among all accounts, sub-accounts, and annuity accounts on a pro rata basis. Then, unless trust agreements provide otherwise, all income payable to a particular church and/or church agency on all accounts/sub-accounts is combined into one quarterly check and mailed.

Additional Contributions or Withdrawals

Additional contributions of principal or withdrawals of income, subject to terms of the trust agreements, may be made at any time. However, withdrawals of principal under terms of an Investment Management Service Agreement may be made only in the following manner:

Following the close of each quarter, receipt of accounting reports, and final distribution of income for that quarter, the capital gains or losses, both realized and unrealized, are calculated, allocated, and posted to the principal of all accounts, sub-accounts, and annuity accounts pro rata based on their average daily balance for the quarter.
Letters requesting withdrawal must be signed by persons authorized to make such requests under the terms of the trusts.
All withdrawals must be requested for a stated dollar amount or 100% of the fund balance.
Disbursements to fulfill such requests for withdrawals will be processed as soon as possible. However, when a request for withdrawal is received immediately following the end of a quarter, no more than 90% of the account total can be disbursed prior to the posting of the adjustment for that quarter. If the request thus received is for withdrawal of 100% of an account, the ten percent remaining in the account after disbursement of 90% of the balance will be disbursed as soon as possible following the posting of the quarterly adjustment. Disbursement of this latter amount may, depending on the time needed to make the proper calculations, be delayed for some time, but should always be made prior to the end of the quarter in which the request is received.
Participation in Income Distributions

Distributions of income are based on the average daily balance for the past 36 months.

Income Reinvestment

Income may be reinvested in it respective account or in a separate account in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church Investment Loan Program (a complementary service of the Board). Depending upon the trust agreement establishing the account, reinvested income may be for purposes of withdrawal at a later date or may become part of the principal. Income that has become part of the principal is not available for later withdrawal except in cases of, and in accordance with the procedures relative to, an Investment Management Service Agreement.

Costs and Annual Audit

Costs paid out of gross income include the fees of the investment managers, charges for accounting services from the Central Accounting Division and Wells Fargo, and the cost of producing/mailing reports and administering/reporting on gift annuity accounts. The annual audit by Fouts and Morgan, Certified Public Accountants, is performed in accordance with regulations of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church as published in its Minutes.

For more information please contact Robert Heflin at (901) 276-4572, Ext. 207 or email rheflin@cumberland.org