Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Your Church’s Foundation

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

Did you know your church had a foundation? It’s the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, which was established in 1945 to serve as the trust agency for all Kentucky Baptist churches so each church would not have to establish a separate foundation.

It was born out of the same concept as the Cooperative Program, namely, through voluntary cooperation Kentucky Baptist churches can reap the benefits of having one foundation versus multiple separate foundations. And, the benefits are many.

Just from an organizational point of view, there are significant cost savings and efficiencies derived from the economies of scale of size. Also, there is no duplication of effort, and most churches would not be able to fulfill the on-going accounting, reporting, managing and legal responsibilities involved in having a separate foundation.

Some of the benefits available to your church from the Kentucky Baptist Foundation are: assisting the church in the stewardship education of its members particularly in the discipline of estate stewardship and leaving a lasting legacy through the church; serving as the trustee of charitable trusts for the benefit of the church; administering perpetual endowment funds established by church members for the church’s missions and ministries in the future; providing church members private consultation in the areas of estate stewardship planning, incapacity planning, legacy gift planning, long term care planning and wealth transfer planning; Christian based investment management and oversight service for the church’s special purpose funds, which relieves church members from the day-to-day necessities of research, analysis, decision-making, transacting and reporting.

For your church to be successful in reaching for Christ your community, the state, the nation and the world, it must be equipped to cultivate and secure estate gifts from its members. Offering plate dollars will not be sufficient. Equipping your church is why the Kentucky Baptist Foundation exists, and we stand ready to equip your church.

Please do not delay any longer taking advantage of the benefits of your church’s foundation. Call Laurie Valentine or me for more information or to arrange a time for us to meet with the leadership of your church to discover how the Kentucky Baptist Foundation can best serve as your church’s foundation.

For more information, please call us at (502) 489-3533 or toll free in KY at 1-(866) 489-3533

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.

Friday, April 26, 2013

12 Things to Do in 2013- Business Sale- Brings Unique Stewardship Opportunity

12 Things to do in 2013- #4- Laurie Valentine

Business Sale- Brings a Unique Stewardship Opportunity

For many private business owners, virtually all of their net worth is concentrated in the value of their business. As the owners of privately-owned businesses approach retirement, plans for exiting the business must be made.

Only one in five business owners expect to transfer their business to a family member (PricewaterhouseCoopers study).

The sale of a long-owned business may result in substantial capitals gains tax liability.

Demonstrate your faithfulness to the One who entrusted you with such wealth by including a charitable gift of a portion of the business in your business exit planning. Your charitable gift must be completed before you make an agreement to sell your business.

Benefits of such a giving plan include reduction of your long term capital gains tax liability, a charitable income tax deduction based on the market value of the portion of the business you give to (or for) charity, and the potential for increased income if you use a life income giving plan.

For more information go to www.kybaptist.planyourlegacy.org/GIFTbusiness.php.

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Last Full Measure of Devotion

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

Something special is being offered to pastors of Southern Baptist churches across the country by the International Mission Board in cooperation with various state Baptist foundations, including the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, and our legacy giving partner, PhilanthroCorp. This could revolutionize and facilitate estate stewardship in those churches whose pastors choose to participate.

The results of a recent LifeWay survey confirmed what we’ve known for years, namely, many pastors do not have wills and other estate planning documents in place, and most churches make no effort to educate and sensitize their members about including the church and other Baptist ministries in their wills or estate plans.

To develop a biblically generous church, the church must have a pastor who is faithful in his stewardship. To that end, the IMB has arranged a “free” luncheon on June 11 during the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Houston, Texas to the first 1,000 pastors who register. The luncheon will be held from noon to 1:30 at the Hilton Americas Hotel, which is very convenient to the convention center. It is being held at the same time as the pastor’s wives’ luncheon as an added convenience. IMB President Tom Eliff will speak, and the focus will be “The Last Full Measure of Devotion: a Pastor’s Missions & Ministry Legacy.”

Reservations can be made on line at: http://www.regonline.com/SBC_Luncheon. You also can register by calling 1.804.219.1405 or emailing lconnerley@imb.org. Remember, it’s first come, first served.

To those Kentucky pastors who register, please look for a Kentucky Baptist Foundation table when you arrive at the luncheon. I shall look forward to hosting you.

You will be pleased to know no Cooperative Program or Lottie Moon funds are being used to provide this “free” lunch. The event is being made possible by a gift from an anonymous donor in the Houston area who believes the personal blessings, vision and materials shared with you can insure the ongoing expansion of the Great Commission.

If you are a pastor and attending the annual SBC meeting, please register for this luncheon today! If you are not a pastor, please make sure your pastor is aware of this opportunity and encourage your pastor’s participation.

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Who Should be Trustee?

By: Laurie Valentine- COO & Trust Counsel

Both revocable and irrevocable trusts can be helpful estate planning tools.

Whether you are using a revocable living trust as part of your plan for management of assets in the event of incapacity or an irrevocable trust for tax planning, one of the most important decisions as you plan the trust is your choice for trustee.

Under Kentucky law, the trustee may be an individual or a bank, trust company or other entity that has trust powers. An individual serving as trustee does not have to be resident of Kentucky nor do they have to be related to you.

As you select a trustee or successor trustee think about the types of assets that are, or may be, in the trust. You will want to name a trustee that understands the management of those types of assets, knows about taxes, investments and financial matters.

The trustee should be someone who is a self-starter. There is little supervision of the management of a trust. Your choice should be someone that will not neglect their responsibilities due to lack of time, interest or knowledge.

Don’t just assume the person or entity you wish to name as trustee is willing to serve. Ask them before you complete your planning. If possible, allow them to review the trust agreement before it is signed to better assure that all necessary powers are granted and that they are clear on any special or unusual provisions.

Finally, make sure that you have selected a trustee who can be objective. Trustees must make decisions that affect the interests of both the income beneficiaries and the remainder beneficiaries. While family members may be appropriate choices, in some cases you may need to consider a professional, corporate or institutional trustee. Corporate trustees are accountable not only to the beneficiaries of the trust, but also to their own management, directors, auditors and other examiners.

The choice of trustee is a crucial decision in the establishment of a successful trust arrangement. Making the best choice requires thoughtful and careful consideration of many factors.

For more information, please call us at (502) 489-3533 or toll free in KY at 1-(866) 489-3533

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Rope of Sand - With Strength of Steel

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

I am in my 43rd year of serving Christ vocationally through our Kentucky Baptist family. I have been an advocate, ambassador and agent of the Cooperative Program throughout my entire ministry, and even before that from the time I learned about the miracle of the Cooperative Program as an RA at the FBC of Grenada, MS, in the 1950s. My long time commitment to the Cooperative Program has not been because part of my livelihood has come from Cooperative Program giving; in fact, it’s just the opposite. My commitment has been based upon my on-going conviction that cooperation is the Baptist way to a lost world, and the Cooperative Program facilitates cooperation at the highest and broadest level.

Over the years denominational leaders have used a variety of analogies to describe the Cooperative Program. Among my favorites was the one chosen to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the program in 1975. It was rope of sand - with strength of steel. It portrayed the reality that among Baptists there is no coercive element or organizational strength that holds us together; there is nothing organically that keeps us from splitting into thousands of directions. The late James L. Sullivan observed, “… on the surface the ‘tie that binds’ looks terribly fragile.” However, at a deeper level we Southern Baptists have common ground on which to stand, namely, the great commandment and the great commission of our Lord. As a result, the force that is so fragile also is very forceful in keeping us working together like a rope of sand with the strength of steel. Honest cooperation is not fragile and does not come apart easily, but it cannot be forced. When it does result truly from that common ground on which we stand, it is a powerful force indeed.

As you and your church celebrate Cooperative Program Sunday April 14, give thanks to the Lord for how He has used the Cooperative Program since 1925 to enable us Southern Baptists to accomplish more for Him together than we ever could on our own. And, consider how you and your church can be more like a rope of sand with the strength of steel.

For information on how to make a Cooperative Program legacy gift, call us at (502) 489-3533 or toll free in KY at 1-(866) 489-3533.

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.