brown on green, A Regular column about finances

by David Brown

What Do You Know About Free Will Baptist Foundation?

People often ask,“What does the Foundation do?”

The Foundation serves the denomination in four areas. We manage and solicit planned gifts. Planned gifts offer a lifetime income to one or two individuals, and they receive a partial charitable tax deduction. In addition, the income they receive is either tax-advantaged or sometimes tax-free. It is possible in some cases to avoid capital gains taxes on highly appreciated assets. When the individual(s) die, the principal portion of their gift is passed to the Free Will Baptist ministry of their choice.

The Foundation also manages endowment gifts. Endowments are perpetual gifts where the principal is untouched, and only the earnings are harvested every six months to produce income for ministries. Currently, over $7 million is under management, producing around $350,000 a year for ministries. Using an endowment is a good way to make your annual gift continue till Jesus returns. For example, someone who makes a $1,000 gift to a Free Will Baptist ministry every year could make that gift perpetual by establishing an endowment of $20,000.

Money management trusts (MMT) are another way that we serve Free Will Baptists. Many individuals and churches use MMTs to place excess funds or emergency funds in a safe account. MMTs pay a variable rate (2.75% through June 30, 2011) and operate like money market accounts in that you can add to or take away funds any time. Withdrawals of up to $50,000 can be made on a seven-day notice. The funds are conservatively invested primarily in U.S. government-backed instruments.

The last area in which the Foundation is involved is wills. We offer Wills Guides and information to help every Free Will Baptist have a will. Everyone should have a will for a variety of reasons, but one of the most important is that we should all consider a bequest to ministries. Tithing on your income is a well-established principal in Scripture; but, we should also consider tithing on our estate. Leaving 10% of our estate to Free Will Baptist ministries will help them continue to do important work for the kingdom.

Please call, email, or write if you would like more information about any of these areas of ministry.

About the Writer: David Brown became director of the Free Will Baptist Foundation in 2007. Send your questions to David at david@nafwb.org. To learn how the Foundation can help you become a more effective giver, call 877-336-7575.