The heart of this series is to help understand the governing documents used to setup a church foundation. If the these documents are not setup properly, it increases the likelihood that your church foundation will be seen as a curse instead of a blessing.
In the video, I walk through another section of the template I received from Grand Forks Wesley United Methodist Church. Here’s what I discuss:
- Gift Acceptance: Why not build a gift acceptance policy right into the governing documents? One of the main duties of the church foundation is to receive bequests and donations. Some donations come with strings attached. This gives the church foundation authority to reject donations because of the strings.
- Investing Funds: I remember as a church treasurer receiving a donation of Coca-Cola stock. Do I keep it or sell it? If I sell it, how should the proceeds be invested? While many churches won’t have policies on this, a church foundation should as they are responsible for multiplying gifts.
- Donor Restrictions: Earlier this year I did a post on how to legally change a donor restriction. It can be onerous…unless you are a foundation. The law gives foundations flexibility to redirect gifts because of the long-term nature of the funds they care for.
Useful Links
- Template Articles of Incorp/Bylaws: https://www.dropbox.com/s/7juc9xawz20p5h9/Foundation_Articles_of_Inc.docx?dl=0
- Post on Donor Restrictions: http://jctaccounting.com/2022/02/18/is-a-donor-restriction-legally-enforceable/
- Dakotas Methodist Foundation: http://dakotasumf.org/
- Minnesota Methodist Foundation: https://www.mnumf.org/