Foundation seeks to merge to provide better service
BY DAVID C. MYERS
After a year of reviewing the present and future of the Baltimore-Washington Stewardship Center and Foundation, the Foundation Board is in active discussions to merge with the Eastern Pennsylvania-Peninsula Delaware Foundation to form the Mid-Atlantic Foundation. Such a merger will require a favorable vote of the annual conference members at the June session.
The Baltimore-Washington Stewardship Center and Foundation has been working with reduced staff since December, 2008. During this time the Stewardship Center and Foundation has only been servicing its existing clients, while it examined its options for the future.
This examination looked at several business models, but after careful analysis two possibilities became evident: to continue as a stand-alone foundation or to merge with an existing foundation.
The first option would require exhausting almost all of its own endowed funds over a five to seven year period before we could project being a stand-alone (without conference assistance) Foundation again.
Throughout its history, the
conference has subsidized the Stewardship Center and Foundation. In its early years this was necessary for start-up costs; later it was seen as the cost of developing charitable gift annuities that would benefit local churches. In the past few years it has been necessary to maintain the required staff support.
Merger became a possibility when, in August of 2009, we began talks with the EPP Foundation, which covers the Eastern Pennsylvania and Peninsula-Delaware Conferences.
They were open to merger and it soon became apparent that several benefits would be realized:
• Management fees could be reduced 25 percent. For churches in the Baltimore-Washington Conference, the fee for handling accounts would be reduced from 1.33 percent to 1 percent. This would be possible because our combined assets would almost double and enable us to offer services at a 25 percent reduction in fees charged.
• No additional conference financial support will be required. The only support to be received will be to have office space in the conference office building.
• Effortless transferring of accounts will be available.
• The primary investment manager, Thompson, Siegel and Walmsley, LLC, will be retained by the new Mid-Atlantic Foundation, assuring a smooth transition.
• Expanded investment opportunities will be available.
• Existing staff has a proven track-record. Under the current leadership, the EPP Foundation has nearly doubled its assets in the past three years.
• Only one additional staff person will be necessary.
• Stewardship services will be provided.
• Existing foundation funds will be retained by their respective conferences. In the past four years the Baltimore-Washington Conference Stewardship
Center and Foundation received approximately $1.5 million
from the Pinkston Bequest. These funds will be invested and reserved for programs and missions benefitting the Baltimore-Washington Conference and denominational needs.
• All investments will continue to be in conformity with the Social Principles and will follow the social investment guidelines of the General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits.
The newly merged Mid-Atlantic Foundation will have an equal number of directors from each of the three conferences, who will serve four-year terms.
The Mid-Atlantic Foundation fulfills the Disciplinary requirements of Paragraphs 2512.3.b. and 2513 and especially 2534, which states that any local church shall consider “the placement of funds with the conference or area United Methodist Foundation for administration and investment.”
For more information, contact the Foundation Office at 410-309-3400, Ext. 475, or call the Rev. David Myers at 301-652-8700.
The Rev. David C. Myers is
president of the Baltimore-Washington Conference Stewardship Center and Foundation.
After a year of reviewing the present and future of the Baltimore-Washington Stewardship Center and Foundation, the Foundation Board is in active discussions to merge with the Eastern Pennsylvania-Peninsula Delaware Foundation to form the Mid-Atlantic Foundation. Such a merger will require a favorable vote of the annual conference members at the June session.
The Baltimore-Washington Stewardship Center and Foundation has been working with reduced staff since December, 2008. During this time the Stewardship Center and Foundation has only been servicing its existing clients, while it examined its options for the future.
This examination looked at several business models, but after careful analysis two possibilities became evident: to continue as a stand-alone foundation or to merge with an existing foundation.
The first option would require exhausting almost all of its own endowed funds over a five to seven year period before we could project being a stand-alone (without conference assistance) Foundation again.
Throughout its history, the
conference has subsidized the Stewardship Center and Foundation. In its early years this was necessary for start-up costs; later it was seen as the cost of developing charitable gift annuities that would benefit local churches. In the past few years it has been necessary to maintain the required staff support.
Merger became a possibility when, in August of 2009, we began talks with the EPP Foundation, which covers the Eastern Pennsylvania and Peninsula-Delaware Conferences.
They were open to merger and it soon became apparent that several benefits would be realized:
• Management fees could be reduced 25 percent. For churches in the Baltimore-Washington Conference, the fee for handling accounts would be reduced from 1.33 percent to 1 percent. This would be possible because our combined assets would almost double and enable us to offer services at a 25 percent reduction in fees charged.
• No additional conference financial support will be required. The only support to be received will be to have office space in the conference office building.
• Effortless transferring of accounts will be available.
• The primary investment manager, Thompson, Siegel and Walmsley, LLC, will be retained by the new Mid-Atlantic Foundation, assuring a smooth transition.
• Expanded investment opportunities will be available.
• Existing staff has a proven track-record. Under the current leadership, the EPP Foundation has nearly doubled its assets in the past three years.
• Only one additional staff person will be necessary.
• Stewardship services will be provided.
• Existing foundation funds will be retained by their respective conferences. In the past four years the Baltimore-Washington Conference Stewardship
Center and Foundation received approximately $1.5 million
from the Pinkston Bequest. These funds will be invested and reserved for programs and missions benefitting the Baltimore-Washington Conference and denominational needs.
• All investments will continue to be in conformity with the Social Principles and will follow the social investment guidelines of the General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits.
The newly merged Mid-Atlantic Foundation will have an equal number of directors from each of the three conferences, who will serve four-year terms.
The Mid-Atlantic Foundation fulfills the Disciplinary requirements of Paragraphs 2512.3.b. and 2513 and especially 2534, which states that any local church shall consider “the placement of funds with the conference or area United Methodist Foundation for administration and investment.”
For more information, contact the Foundation Office at 410-309-3400, Ext. 475, or call the Rev. David Myers at 301-652-8700.
The Rev. David C. Myers is
president of the Baltimore-Washington Conference Stewardship Center and Foundation.
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