The Endowment Fund of Knox Church
Statement of Purpose
Knox's endowment is one of the resources that, through the grace of God, Knox has used to carry out its mission. Since its inception in 1968, our endowment has been built up by the gifts and bequests of "faithful stewards," to strengthen the ongoing work of the church. These donors recognized the opportunity to give a gift that keeps on giving, since investment returns magnify the impact of their original gifts. Just as annual stewardship giving is a chance to return to God a portion of our annual income, contributions to the endowment provide a means to share the accumulated gifts which God provides us as a durable support for Knox's ministry.
Options For Giving
Knox encourages its members and friends to think seriously not only about their annual support of the church, but also how they can help maintain the church's ministry in the longer term. The pastors and members of the Special Committee on Memorial and Endowment Funds are always happy to discuss the full range of giving options, including cash, securities, real estate and other personal property, bequests, life insurance policies, beneficiary designations for life insurance or retirement plans (including IRA’s) and charitable trusts. Read more about Ways to Give.
The Knox Permanent Endowment Trust
The Knox Permanent Endowment Trust Agreement stipulates that the income it provides shall be used for the benefit of Knox and those affected by its ministry, to ensure the continuation and stability of Knox, its mission and its programs, and to promote and facilitate its ministry, including without limitation the following: (a) to provide capital improvements to the Sanctuary and/or other portions of its buildings and to purchase and/or to improve real property for Knox’s use; (b) to meet current operating needs, including salaries of its employees, supplies, utilities, maintenance and repair; and (c) to assist Knox in its program of benevolence.
The Mission Projects Endowment Trust
The funds generated by this endowment are intended to facilitate the broadening or expansion of Knox’s ministry. The initial contributors to this Fund were impressed with the fine work of the Mission and Social Concerns Committee, particularly with respect to the personal involvement of growing numbers of Knox members. It is hoped that the use of these funds will continue such broadening of Knox’s ministry and further expansion into new services for Knox members and for the larger community in which we minister. The word “Projects” is a key word in this Trust. The contributors hope that Knox can develop a significant project – one that might in time, turn into a program – which they could plan and work towards. Possibly it would require multi-year funding from the trust, but ultimately could go on its own and the trust funds would be available to start another project. If an appropriate project is not established in one year, the Session may elect to have that year’s distribution held by the Administrators as a separate Accumulated Income Trust which may be then distributed at any future time, thus making a larger, multi-year grant available.
The David Scott Mooney Fund for Troubled Youth
The principle donors have been pleased with the work of the Tri-State Drug Rehabilitation and Counseling Program, Inc. (aka "Kids Helping Kids") in addressing the problem of drug abuse among teenagers. They recognize, however, that in time, any given agency may change its mission or policies significantly or in fact cease to exist. Consequently, they commend the Mission and Social Concerns Committee for seeking out and supporting additional agencies in the Tri-State area concerned with drug abuse and other problems of troubled youth. A further intent is that disbursements should provide support directly to troubled youth confronted with drug abuse problems. Examples of such disbursements would be for rehabilitation scholarships for needy children or to support other programs generally intended to counter the influence of the drug culture on the lives of young people.
Disbursements are not intended to be made for capital improvements on the assets of the recipient agency or agencies, nor, in general, for support of programs directed primarily to satisfying basic needs for food and clothing. These are important, but are not the root cause of the problem the David Scott Mooney Trust was created to address.
Use of Endowment Funds
We believe that endowment funds should be used to support the mission of our church as described in the Great Ends of the Church (FG - 1.0200, The Book of Order): "the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind; the shelter, nurture and spiritual fellowship of the children of God; the maintenance of divine worship; the preservation of the truth; the promotion of social righteousness; and, the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world."
We encourage donors to leave the use of their gifts to the discretion of Session. Nevertheless, we recognize that some gifts will be restricted. Designations/restrictions are scrupulously observed. If you wish to restrict your gift, it is best to speak with the Pastors to make certain that your gift can be used as intended.
Responsibility for Endowment Funds
Session is responsible for the use of endowment funds as part of its overall mission and budgetary responsibilities. The Special Committee on Memorial and Endowment Funds, by the terms of the Trust Agreement, is responsible for management and administration of these funds. They take their stewardship of these funds very seriously: Use of funds and investment performance are regularly reviewed. Decisions on the specific use of endowment funds in a given year are reviewed and approved. In the unlikely event that Knox should cease to exist, endowment funds would revert to the Presbytery of Cincinnati which would be bound by donors' desires in using the funds.
Budgeting of Income from the Trusts
The Knox Permanent Endowment Trust
The Budget Committee of Knox is responsible for recommending to the Session the amount of the annual distribution which the Session should request from the Special Committee on Memorial and Endowment Funds (the "Administrators" of the Fund.) The Administrators shall vote, and then send written instructions to the Custodians authorizing them to dispense funds for the following year, to the Knox Treasurer. The minimum to be distributed each year is the net of the previous fiscal year’s income (dividends plus interest) minus fund expenses (investment advisor fees, etc.); the maximum that can be distributed is 5% of the average balance at the two previous fiscal year-ends, minus expenses.
The Mission Projects Endowment Trust
The Mission and Social Concerns Committee of Knox is responsible for recommending to Session, one or more mission projects to be funded. If Session approves, it shall request funds from the Administrators. The Administrators shall vote, and then send written instructions to the Custodians authorizing them to dispense funds for the following year, to the Knox Treasurer. The minimum to be distributed each year is the net of the previous fiscal year’s income (dividends plus interest) minus fund expenses (investment advisor fees, etc.); the maximum that can be distributed is 5% of the average balance at the two previous fiscal year-ends, minus expenses.
The David Scott Mooney Fund for Troubled Youth
The Mission and Social Concerns Committee of Knox is responsible for recommending to Session, one or more agencies to receive funds. If Session approves, it shall request funds from the Administrators. The Administrators shall vote, and then send written instructions to the Custodians authorizing them to dispense funds for the following year, to the Knox Treasurer. The amount to be distributed each year through 2006 is $1,000, unless the Fund reaches $100,000 at fiscal year-end prior to that time. In that case, and from 2007 on, the amount to be distributed is 5% of the average balance at the two previous fiscal year-ends, minus expenses.
Management of the Endowment
Knox's goal in managing its endowment funds is to conserve capital while obtaining returns that will enable the church to withdraw the funds needed to support the budget each year and still permit growth in the value of the endowment. Our three major funds, the Knox Permanent Endowment Trust (for general support), the Mission Projects Endowment Trust (designated to support new mission and ministry projects), and the David Scott Mooney Fund (designated to help troubled youth) are managed separately as balanced accounts.
Funds are managed by an outside investment counselor, selected by the Special Committee on Memorial and Endowment Funds and approved by Session. This counselor is responsible for asset allocation and for individual stock and bond selection, subject to the guidance and approval of the Special Committee, consistent with the Special Committee on Memorial and Endowment Funds' responsibilities under the terms of the Trust Agreements. The funds are also subject to other restrictions based on prudent and ethical concerns.
Reporting Policy
Each year, the endowments' performance during the previous year will be reported in Knox’s Annual Reports, including beginning and ending balances, the amount of income earned, the total return, the amount of money withdrawn and the amount donated to the endowments. These results will also be reported at the Annual Meeting.
Memorial Gifts
Frequently, gifts are made to the Endowment in memory of a loved one. Learn more about Memorial Gifts.
Links
Learn about the ways to give to Knox Church
Information about making a Memorial Gift
Contacts
Financial Secretary
