Your Christmas Gift – Forever

By: Richard Carnes

During this special time of the year, we celebrate the love God lavished on us through the gift of the Christ child. Christians, inspired to share this eternal story of Good News, give of their time, energy and finances to carry this Christmas message to all the nations. During this season, Baptist church members across the commonwealth of Kentucky give their financial support to special mission offerings such as the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering to further the growth of God’s Kingdom across the world. Each of these great stewards is to be thanked for this act of faithfulness. Perhaps you have wondered how to ensure that your support for these mission ministries can continue indefinitely into the future; one way is to endow your gift.

To create an endowment, you would leave a certain sum of money or asset through your will or living trust, or perhaps name the ministry as a beneficiary of a retirement plan or life insurance policy. That sum would be used to establish a fund benefitting the ministry cause as you have directed. The income distributed from the fund would be a continuation of your annual gifts.

How does this work? An organization like the Kentucky Baptist Foundation considers economic conditions when deciding on an appropriate distribution percentage. The total amount of the gift and this distribution percentage determine how much money will be distributed to your chosen cause on an annual basis. If for instance the distribution rate is set at 4 percent, then for each $1,000 annual gift you want to sustain, an endowment of $25,000 would be required. If you have been contributing $2,000 per year, an endowment of $50,000 would ensure an annual distribution of $2,000.

So, in a sense you will be an annual giver indefinitely, and thus ensure the ministry organization you value will continue to be supported.

To make intentional plans to care for your family and the ministries God is inspiring you to support, call upon the Kentucky Baptist Foundation as a helpful partner.

Richard Carnes is president of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, PO Box 436389, Louisville, KY 40253; www.KYBaptistFoundation.org

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.

Preparing for the Future

By: Richard Carnes

Scripture and life experiences teach that there are important differences between capital and income. Income is earned on a regular basis and is spent meeting daily needs. Unspent income typically becomes part of our capital and is invested in savings accounts, houses, retirement accounts, businesses and more. We work hard to accumulate sufficient capital over our working years to enable us to live off the income the capital produces when we cease working to earn a regular salary.

Another word for capital might be “endowment”. An endowment is simply a collection of assets that are invested to produce income that can be used for personal or charitable purposes. We most commonly think of endowment as financial assets and investments, but the Old Testament contains significant examples of God using capital to advance His Kingdom. In reading Genesis 41 we learn of a time early in Israel’s history when God used Joseph to advise the king of Egypt to store grain in anticipation of a looming seven years of famine. God inspired Joseph, and this grain storage became an endowment that kept the people from starvation. From this saved population descended the Savior of the world.

As we evaluate what God has entrusted to us in the way of capital assets within our estates, we must acknowledge the three possible destinations for our assets. We can transfer assets to loved ones, to Christian ministries that have significantly impacted our lives, or we can endow the U.S. Government through taxes paid to the Internal Revenue Service. Fortunately, many faithful Baptists are looking at the ministries of their churches and prayerfully considering what God is inspiring them to do. Individuals can help sustain Christian ministries during a time when their local church may experience a “famine” of financial support for regular ministry efforts.

Your Kentucky Baptist Foundation is available to assist you and your church prepare for the future. We welcome your questions.

Richard Carnes is president of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, PO Box 436389, Louisville, KY 40253; www.KYBaptistFoundation.org

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.

Your Annual Gift – Forever

By: Richard Carnes

On any given Sunday, Baptist church members across the commonwealth of Kentucky give their regular tithes and offerings to their church and make contributions to Baptist ministry and mission causes that further the growth of God’s Kingdom across the world. Each of these great stewards is to be thanked for this act of faithfulness. Perhaps you have considered how to ensure that your support for these ministries continues indefinitely into the future; one way is to endow your gift.

To create an endowment, you would leave a certain sum of money or asset through your will or living trust, or perhaps name the charity as a beneficiary of a retirement plan or life insurance policy. That sum would be used to establish a fund benefitting the ministry cause as you have directed. The income distributed from the fund would be a continuation of your annual gifts.

How does this work? An organization like the Kentucky Baptist Foundation considers economic conditions when deciding on an appropriate distribution percentage. The total amount of the gift and this distribution percentage determine how much money will be distributed to your chosen cause on an annual basis. If for instance the distribution rate is set at 4 percent, then for each $1,000 annual gift you want to sustain, an endowment of $25,000 would be required. If you have been contributing $2,000 per year, an endowment of $50,000 would ensure an annual distribution of $2,000.

Ideally, the distribution percentage should be set so that the annual amount available for charitable purposes keeps pace with inflation. The goal is that over time the total return of the endowment will exceed the percentage distributed each year, which means that the endowment principal will grow – and annual distributions will increase accordingly. So, in a sense you will be an annual giver indefinitely, and thus ensure the ministry organization you value will continue to be supported.

To make intentional plans to care for your family and the ministries God is inspiring you to support, call upon the Kentucky Baptist Foundation as a helpful partner. If you have questions, please contact the Kentucky Baptist Foundation at our toll-free number (866) 489-3533.

Richard Carnes is the president of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, P O Box 436389, Louisville, KY 40253; toll-free (866) 489-3533; KYBaptistFoundation.org

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.

Preparing for the Future

By: Richard Carnes

Scripture and life experiences teach that there are important differences between capital and income. Income is earned on a regular basis and is spent meeting daily needs. Unspent income typically becomes part of our capital and is invested in savings accounts, houses, retirement accounts, businesses and more. We work hard to accumulate sufficient capital over our working years to enable us to live off the income the capital produces when we cease working to earn a regular salary.

Another word for capital might be “endowment”. An endowment is simply a collection of assets that are invested to produce income that can be used for personal or charitable purposes. We most commonly think of endowment as financial assets and investments, but the Old Testament contains significant examples of God using capital to advance His Kingdom. In reading Genesis 41 we learn of a time early in Israel’s history when God used Joseph to advise the king of Egypt to store grain in anticipation of a looming seven years of famine. God inspired Joseph, and this grain storage became an endowment that kept the people from starvation. From this saved population descended the Savior of the world.

As we evaluate what God has entrusted to us in the way of capital assets within our estates, we must acknowledge the three possible destinations for our assets. We can transfer assets to loved ones, to Christian ministries that have significantly impacted our lives, or we can endow the U.S. Government through taxes paid to the Internal Revenue Service. Fortunately, many faithful Baptists are looking at the ministries of their churches and prayerfully considering what God is inspiring them to do. Individuals can help sustain Christian ministries during a time when their local church may experience a “famine” of financial support for regular ministry efforts.

To make intentional plans to care for your families and the ministries God is inspiring you to support, the Kentucky Baptist Foundation is a resource to call upon. If you have questions or desire a private estate stewardship consultation, please contact the Foundation’s trust counsel, Laurie Valentine, or me at our toll-free number (866) 489-3533.

Richard Carnes is the president of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, P O Box 436389, Louisville, KY 40253; toll-free (866) 489-3533; KYBaptistFoundation.org.

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.

A Hybrid Giving Idea

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

You may desire to provide a perpetual stream of contributions for the benefit of your church, a favorite Baptist cause and/or other Christian ministries, but you are unable at this time to fund fully the perpetual endowment fund to make that happen.

A flexible endowment fund, administered by the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, is an option worthy of your consideration. It allows you to have a plan that establishes a permanent endowment fund over a defined, but flexible time period. During this flexible funding period, you also make on-going contributions directly to the cause(s) you intend to benefit.

A simple example would be to establish a flexible endowment to provide scholarship assistance for students to attend one of our Kentucky Baptist Christian education institutions. To provide $1,000 of annual assistance the endowment fund would need to be $25,000 assuming a 4% annual distribution rate. The distribution rate is not the same as the investment earnings rate. The distribution rate takes into consideration the rate of inflation and the investment costs so the fund will have an inflation-adjusted growth to the principal over time.

Let’s assume you could establish the flexible endowment fund with a $10,000 gift, and you would agree to contribute the remaining $15,000 over the next five years. Alongside your $15,000 pledge to fund fully the endowment, you also pledge to contribute directly to the institution during the funding period the difference in the $1,000 scholarship assistance and the distributable earnings from the invested principal in the endowment fund. As you fund the principal of the endowment, the principal should grow in value to produce an increasing amount of distributable earnings, and therefore, your direct annual contribution to the institution should decrease. Once the endowment has been funded fully with the $25,000, you would have no more responsibility to make contributions related to this flexible endowment.

Scholarship assistance is just one of many ideas that lend themselves to this hybrid giving idea. Call Laurie Valentine or me toll-free for more information about how you can make a lasting difference with a flexible endowment fund.

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.

A Personal Testimony

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

In 1985, 11 years before my service as KBF president began, my wife and I established the Barry G. and Larie G. Endowment Fund with the KBF.

We established the account with a modest gift of appreciated stock and directed the KBF to reinvest the earnings until the market value of the account attained a specific target balance. Upon the attainment of the target balance, the earnings would begin to be distributed, until the Lord returns, among several Baptist causes which were near and dear to our hearts.

In addition to the initial gift, my wife and I have continued to make contributions to the fund over the years. Our gifts have been in the form of cash, appreciated stock and life insurance policies. And, we have a provision in our estate plan to contribute to it as well.

As a result of our continued contributions and the KBF’s excellent investment performance, the fund attained its target balance in 1997, and the KBF began making distributions at that time. The distributions continue to grow as the fund grows.

I am sharing this word of stewardship testimony for these reasons:

· Integrity. I would not ask you to do what I had not done already.

· Trust. We believe the KBF board and staff are steadfast and solid and will do until the Lord returns what we directed them to do, and they will do it with excellence.

· Simplicity. Most of you, like us, have more than one favorite Christian cause. The KBF can simplify the giving process by establishing one account but distributing the earnings to multiple causes.

· Joy. I wanted to share with you the joy we are experiencing (a) by seeing while we are alive how these Great Commission ministries are changing peoples’ lives in the name of Jesus Christ and (b) by having the assurance we shall be involved in these ministries as they continue to impact the world for Christ beyond our lifetimes.

Please give Laurie Valentine, our trust counsel, or me the privilege of assisting you in experiencing the joy that comes by giving to connect all people to Jesus Christ, “for God loves a cheerful giver.” Call us toll free.

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.

Endowment Power

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO 

Do you know what an endowment fund is? Colleges, universities, children’s services, museums, the arts, other public charities and some church traditions have utilized endowment funds for decades to enhance and to strengthen their financial futures and to assure the perpetuation of their missions. However, endowments have not been utilized widely among Baptist churches, except in a few instances, until now.

Some church members resist philosophically the endowment concept for a church lest the church become too dependent upon them and relieve the current members of their on-going giving responsibilities. Others lack confidence in the church’s ability to administer such funds. These obstacles can be overcome through education and vision casting.

First, the sources for endowments are not the same as the sources for the on-going giving of the members. Offering plate giving typically comes from one’s cash income; endowment giving typically comes from one’s estate, represented by non cash assets such as securities, real estate, bequests in wills or trusts and beneficiary designations of life insurance and retirement accounts. Second, the Kentucky Baptist Foundation exists to relieve your church from the on-going administration of endowment accounts and is available to assist church leaders in casting a vision for how and why endowment funds should be incorporated into the stewardship ministry of the church.

Think about this. If a church member, who died 20 years ago, had included in his or her will a $20,000 bequest to establish an endowment with the KBF for the benefit of your church, your church would have received $22,875, an average of $1,144 per year, over that 20 year period to further the church’s Kingdom impact. Those funds could have been used for special mission opportunities, capital improvements, student scholarships, human need ministries or other special purposes. Furthermore, this $20,000 fund would have grown to $32,454 and would continue to provide, until Jesus comes again, a growing stream of funds for ministry.

What if 5 members had done the same thing, or if one member gave $100,000. In that case the church would have received $114,374, and the fund value would be $162,270. That’s what I call endowment power.

Call us toll free for individual assistance or to assist your church to utilize this power.

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.

E-Devotional- Week 28

Creative Giving Ideas-Week 2

Giving Out Of Assets Vs. Income 

The churches, associations, institutions and agencies of the Kentucky Baptist Convention and Southern Baptist Convention are making a difference for the Kingdom of God in our state, nation and around the world. They are worthy of significant and sacrificial support that will enhance and undergird their missions and ministries.

Perhaps you would like to make gifts above what you give out of income as tithes and offerings to provide on-going support to one or more of these causes, but you may be concerned that such gifts could affect your financial security and that of your family. This lesson will provide ideas about how you may give out of your assets.

Scripture References: Proverbs 3:9; Luke 16:10-12; 1 Timothy 6:7.

Please read these passages in your Bible now.

How Can I Honor God With My Wealth?

“Wealth” refers to your assets, your estate. Tithes and offering giving is, generally, giving out of your income. Honoring God with your wealth means giving out of your assets, whether it’s to a church building program, Baptist college’s capital campaign, or to establish an endowment fund to benefit state, national and/or international missions. This is giving out of your principal cash, stocks, bonds, mutual fund shares, real estate, life insurance and/or retirement assets.

When Should I Honor God With My Wealth?

Giving out of assets can be done during your lifetime through outright gifts, endowment gifts and life income gifts. Consideration should also be given to giving out of your estate at your death through a bequest in your Will or Trust or a life insurance or retirement account beneficiary designation that sets up a gift of a designated amount or share of your estate to pass to one or more charitable causes at your death.

Is There A Way to Make A Gift That Keeps On Giving?

Many people would like to make a gift that provides on-going support to the cause or causes they want to benefit. This can be accomplished through the creation of an endowment fund. An endowment fund is a permanent, perpetual fund created during your lifetime and/or at your death for the support of one or more charitable causes. Only the earnings of the endowment fund are paid to the causes you designate; the original value of what you place in the endowment fund is never distributed. Endowment fund giving provides the opportunity to make gifts that keep on giving.

Prayer Focus: Take some time now to ask for God’s guidance in how you can honor God with your wealth and extend your Christian witness.

Next Week: Appreciated Asset Gifts 

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.

Endow Your Tithe

By: Laurie Valentine- COO & Trust Counsel 

Tithing is part of our Christian stewardship responsibilities. It is a discipline practiced by many all of their lives and it is vital to the continued viability of the programs and ministries of our churches.

When you die, will there be someone to “step into your shoes” to provide the funds your tithe has been providing to your church?

To assure your church will have the financial resources it needs, until the Lord returns, consider including in your estate plan a provision for the creation, at your death, of an endowment fund for the benefit of your church. Or, establish an endowment fund now to which you can make modest gifts at regular intervals with provision in your estate plan for a final gift to the endowment at your death.

To assure the funds will be used as an endowment fund, you must specify that in the bequest or beneficiary designation.

To create an endowment fund large enough to have sufficient earnings to fund your tithe in perpetuity requires a gift at your death (or a combination of gifts during life and at your death) equal to approximately 28.5 times your current annual tithe. This assumes an annual distribution rate of 3.5%.

For example, if the current amount you tithe each year is $2,000, the endowment would need to have $57,000 in it ($2,000 x 28.5) by the time you die. Assuming the endowment is invested to grow its value over time, the amount it will distribute to your church will also grow over time.

Assure your tithe will last forever by endowing it.

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.

Advancing the Kingdom Through the Kentucky Baptist Foundation

By: Laurie Valentine-COO & Trust Counsel 

Using the Kentucky Baptist Foundation to accomplish your legacy giving objectives can benefit both you and the Baptist causes you wish to support.

The Kentucky Baptist Foundation receives and administers legacy gifts for the support of all Kentucky Baptist and Southern Baptist causes. As a “member of the family”, the Foundation has a special appreciation and affection for the mission and ministry of the causes that will be supported through your gifts. This connection assures you, as the giver, the Foundation has each cause’s best interests in mind as it manages the gifts made for that cause’s benefit.

Many donors want to provide support to more than one cause and realize that dividing their gift may result in lower total support. A single trust or endowment fund can be set up with the Kentucky Baptist Foundation to provide support to multiple Baptist causes. This can result in more consistent levels of support for all----each cause will have the benefit of the same level of competent investment management oversight services and the economies of centralized fund management.

Designating the Kentucky Baptist Foundation as the manager of your gift assures the causes you want to support are left to do what they were called to do---missions, Christian education, child care, evangelism, disaster relief, etc. You relieve their board and staff of the responsibility for investment research, analysis, decision-making, transacting and reporting, and place those responsibilities with the organization whose mission is to provide competent, prudent financial management for the causes selected by its donors.

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.

Baptist Campus Ministry-Making a Difference

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

If you are like me, you are concerned with the high rate of young people dropping out of church once they go to college. There is a solution. It’s Baptist Campus Ministry (BCM).

Based upon the results of a recent study conducted by Brian Combs, the full-time Baptist campus minister at Northern Kentucky University, 94% of college graduates of Kentucky colleges from 2000 to 2010, who were involved in BCM, now attend church at least weekly. WOW! Furthermore, 67% of those graduates serve in church leadership positions. According to Brian, “they go into churches with an understanding of what it means to relate to each other and what it means to work with ministries.” What good news that should be to our churches!

Kentucky Baptists have recognized for many years the Kingdom-advancement value of BCM and have been committed to providing the strongest and most effective BCM among all of the state Baptist conventions. There is a BCM presence on all of the major college and university campuses in Kentucky as well as some community and technical colleges. A number of those campuses have a full-time or part-time campus minister as well as a Baptist student center.

BCM is exciting, important and challenging. The mission of BCM is to disciple and mobilize every generation of students to model the Great Commission, become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ, discover their calling in life and be on mission to connect other people to Jesus Christ. By focusing students on missions, evangelism, leadership development, discipleship, worship and fellowship, these students emerge with hearts of service and skills to strengthen churches.

Such a mission, and especially with the highly effective results it has achieved, is worthy of your consideration for a legacy gift. I am pleased to inform you of the establishment of the Baptist Campus Ministry Endowment Fund. Your legacy gift will provide perpetual support for the continued development and mobilization of the next generation of servant leaders who will change the world for the sake of Christ.

For more information, please call us at (502) 489-3533 or toll free 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.

Simplify…Multiply…Dignify

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

With all of life’s complexities with which we are bombarded daily, the idea of simplifying anything sounds refreshing, does it not? Even though we Christians know the reason for the season we still seem to get caught up in the complexities of shopping, cooking, entertaining and traveling and miss the full blessings of giving.

So, why not simplify your life, avoid some of the complexities of the holidays, do more for Christ and make sure your giving reflects the true spirit of Christmas.

And while you are at it, why not multiply your giving to make your gifts go further? If you are about to write checks to your church and other charitable organizations let me suggest you consider instead gifting appreciated stocks or mutual fund shares, if that is an option for you. By gifting appreciated assets you avoid the capital gains tax, and therefore, lower the cost of your gifts or multiply the value of what you give versus cash gifts.

In addition, why not consider establishing with the KBF a donor advised fund to which you can make cash gifts and appreciated stock gifts to take advantage of the tax deduction in 2011 but defer the distributions to your church and other charitable organizations to 2012 or later? This is another practical way to multiply your giving. Call Laurie Valentine or me toll-free for more information on this simple, but effective tax-advantaged giving option.

Finally, why not dignify your giving by considering a legacy gift that pays tribute to someone you love, or one that would perpetuate your own Christian witness beyond your life time? A legacy gift to the KBF to establish a permanent endowment for the perpetual benefit of your church and other charitable organizations near and dear to your heart would be a wonderful way to dignify your 2011 giving. You could start with a modest gift and make additional gifts in the future, including a bequest or beneficiary designation in your estate plan. Laurie and I are just a toll-free phone call away to assist you.

Tis the season to simplify, multiply and dignify.

Faithful Couple's Lasting Legacy

In June 1998, a friend of the Foundation connected the KBF to Fred and Eleanor Dorris with whom he had had a long personal relationship. They were his and his parent’s neighbors during his growing-up years, and fellow church members. Over time he became not only a trusted friend but also a trusted advisor.

The Dorrises had come to the place in their lives, age-wise and health-wise, where they needed to update their estate plans to reflect what they understood to be God’s purposes for the things of this world with which He had blessed and entrusted to them for continued use in His mission after they died.

What an inspiration it was to Laurie Valentine, KBF trust counsel, and CEO Barry Allen to meet and to assist them in putting in place what became their final plans. Working with them, their advisor, and their attorney, the necessary documents were executed by them in August 1998.

Eleanor died in 2003, 14 months after Fred; both were in their 90’s. How fortunate it was for them and their beneficiaries that they had completed and documented their plans long before they became incapacitated prior to their deaths.

What a legacy they left! What a difference for the cause of Christ they will continue to make beyond their lifetimes! After distributions to family, friends and various charities, the remainder came to the Foundation to fund the perpetual endowment, which bears their names, for the benefit of the ministries of their local church, a KBC-related institution, and an SBC-related institution. This represented the largest single bequest the Foundation had ever received.

Throughout their lives, they lived well below their means, and they believed financial independence and helping others were more important than displaying high social status. They discovered the truth of Jesus’ teaching about being “rich toward God” and that one’s life does not consist in the abundance of one’s possessions (Luke 12:13-21).

May the Lord add His blessings to the lives of the multitudes who in the unfolding future will be connected to Jesus Christ by this couple’s faithful generosity.

Mary Pat Price: A Kingdom-Minded Steward

Mary Pat Price was known to Baptists around the world as a kingdom-minded steward. She demonstrated in a variety of ways with her time, talents and treasures her love for Christ and His mission in this world, and her love for family.

She was born in Shelby County, Kentucky, three miles outside Shelbyville “not in a hospital.” Upon graduation from Bagdad High School, she attended Bethel Junior College and graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1943. Her ministry assignments were as Youth Director at the First Baptist Church Clarksville, Tennessee, and then at First Baptist Church Frankfort, Kentucky.

While attending the 1957 state WMU convention at Jonathan Creek Baptist Assembly, she met J. Brandon Price, a young lawyer who was in attendance on youth night. Actually, a mutual friend prearranged their meeting. They married soon thereafter. She and the late Judge Price had two sons, J. B. and Kent. J. B. is a computer analyst, and Kent is an attorney. She has two grandchildren.

As a long-time resident of Paducah, Kentucky and a long-time member of First Baptist Church, Mary Pat’s service to Christ through her church and community is legendary. The Kentucky Baptist Foundation had the good fortune of having the benefit of her service for two terms on its Board of Directors.

On March 26th, 2010, God welcomed Mary Pat Home. While we will miss her, her lagacy will live forever.

Over the years, Mary Pat utilized all of the services of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, including our private estate and charitable gift planning consultation service with trust counsel Laurie Valentine. She made regular and on-going cash contributions to endowment funds that provide perpetual support for ministries near and dear to her heart. She purchased life insurance policies on the lives of her two sons the death proceeds of which will fund two perpetual endowments in their names. Each endowment will provide support to five different ministries. And, finally, she and her sister, Jane Kent, each established a charitable remainder trust with the gift of their Shelby County family farmland. In addition to significant tax benefits Mary Pat received an income benefit during her lifetime. At her death the trust assets funded an endowment for her perpetual support of 8 more ministries.

Collectively, Mary Pat set in place a kingdom-minded stewardship plan that will perpetuate her Christian legacy and provide on-going financial support, until Jesus comes again, through 17 ministries from Paducah to the ends of the earth.

The Lord blessed us with the life of Mary Pat Price. May He add His blessings to the multitudes that will benefit from her faithful stewardship and may others emulate her example.

Advance Directive- Memorial Gifts

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

When you die, to what charity(s) do you want your friends and family to send gifts in your memory? Perhaps you are like most people who do not give this any advance thought. As a result, that decision is left to family or other legal representatives, who may not know what your wishes were. Because you did not make your wishes known in advance, those charitable causes near and dear to your heart may not be the ones your family or others choose. What a missed opportunity for you and for those charitable organizations!

Interestingly enough, more people understand the need for advance directives and the right to make informed decisions when it comes to medical care and life prolonging treatment. The most common advance directives are a living will, healthcare surrogate designation, durable power of attorney, mental treatment directive and organ donation. Just as the decision to execute one or more of those types of advance directives is a very important matter, and one of personal choice, so is the decision about directing memorial gifts.

On this Memorial Day week I want to encourage you to consider what charities, including your church, you would want to be the beneficiary of gifts in your memory, and to make those known orally and in writing to the one(s) who will be handling your affairs at death.

Furthermore, I want to encourage you to consider using the KBF to facilitate your desires regarding memorial gifts. One idea is for you to establish now a permanent endowment fund that would provide income in perpetuity to the charities you want to be the beneficiary of memorial gifts. An endowment can be established with a modest gift of cash or appreciated securities or real estate. You and others can continue to make periodic contributions during your lifetime to grow the fund. Then at death, you could have a bequest in your estate plan to add to the fund along with the memorial gifts that will come from family and friends as a result of your advance directive.

Call Laurie Valentine or me at (502) 489-3533 or 1-866-489-3533 (Toll-free, Kentucky only)
for more information about how we can assist you.

More For Christ Via CP Endowment

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

            The Cooperative Program enables us Kentucky Baptists to accomplish more for Christ together than we ever could on our own.  CP funds provide the foundational support for statewide, nationwide and worldwide missions and ministry efforts.

            Traditionally, the Cooperative Program is supported primarily by the collective giving of the churches.  However, there are other ways for you to support the Cooperative Program directly through the Kentucky Baptist Foundation.  Let me encourage you to consider one or more of these as you prayerfully plan your longer term stewardship goals.

            If your goal is to make a gift at death, then consider a bequest in your will or a beneficiary designation of life insurance or retirement assets.  If your goal is to avoid capital gains on the transfer of real estate, then consider a real estate gift.  If your goal is to avoid the potential double taxation at death of your retirement assets, then consider gifting those assets at death.  If you goal is to make a simple gift now, then consider an outright gift of cash or appreciated securities.  If your goal is to make a gift larger than you ever dreamed possible, consider a life insurance gift.  If you desire flexibility in timing the decision as to what charities will benefit from your gifts versus the tax advantaged timing of your gifts, consider a donor advised fund.  If your goal is to make a gift now, but receive in return a fixed income for life, consider a charitable gift annuity.  If your goal is to make a gift now and create a hedge against inflation over the long term, then consider a charitable remainder unitrust. If your goal is to reduce the cost of passing assets to your heirs, then consider a charitable lead trust.

            A legacy gift to the KBF for the CP Endowment Fund is a perpetual investment with eternal implications that will be working literally 24/7 to connect people all over the world to Jesus Christ.  Please call us to assist you.

A Hybrid Giving Idea

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

           You may desire to provide a perpetual stream of contributions for the benefit of your church, a favorite Baptist cause and/or other Christian ministries, but you are unable at this time to fund fully the perpetual endowment fund to make that happen.

            A flexible endowment fund, administered by the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, is an option worthy of your consideration.  It allows you to have a plan that establishes a permanent endowment fund over a defined, but flexible time period.  During this flexible funding period, you also make on-going contributions directly to the cause(s) you intend to benefit.

            A simple example would be to establish a flexible endowment to provide scholarship assistance for students to attend one of our Kentucky Baptist Christian education institutions.  To provide $1,000 of annual assistance the endowment fund would need to be $25,000 assuming a 4% annual distribution rate.  The distribution rate is not the same as the investment earnings rate.  The distribution rate takes into consideration the rate of inflation and the investment costs so the fund will have an inflation-adjusted growth to the principal over time.

Let’s assume you could establish the flexible endowment fund with a $10,000 gift, and you would agree to contribute the remaining $15,000 over the next five years.  Alongside your $15,000 pledge to fund fully the endowment, you also pledge to contribute directly to the institution during the funding period the difference in the $1,000 scholarship assistance and the distributable earnings from the invested principal in the endowment fund.  As you fund the principal of the endowment, the principal should grow in value to produce an increasing amount of distributable earnings, and therefore, your direct annual contribution to the institution should decrease.  Once the endowment has been funded fully with the $25,000, you would have no more responsibility to make contributions related to this flexible endowment.

Scholarship assistance is just one of many ideas that lend themselves to this hybrid giving idea.  Call Laurie Valentine or me toll-free for more information about how you can make a lasting difference with a flexible endowment fund.

Giving During Life To Provide Perpetual Support

By: Laurie Valentine-Trust Counsel & Chief Operating Officer

You do not have to be a millionaire to be able to provide financial resources that will change peoples’ lives in the Lord’s name.

 Providing support that will continue to give until the Lord returns for your church; state, national and/or international missions; ministries to hurting children and their families; disaster relief; and/or other causes important to you can be accomplished through the creation of a new endowment fund or by making gifts to an existing endowment fund.

An endowment fund is a permanent, perpetual fund managed either by the cause benefited by your gift or another entity such as the Kentucky Baptist Foundation. Only the earnings from the endowment fund are distributed for use by the cause(s) you have designated; the original value of what you give is never spent.

A large gift is not required to establish an endowment fund with the Kentucky Baptist Foundation. It can be started with any amount, to which you may add from time to time over your lifetime. This permits even those of modest means to do much more than they ever dreamed possible. As the endowment fund grows, more lives will be touched and blessed through the support provided.

Endowment fund giving does not have to be an all or nothing proposition. You may want to use a life income gift to fund an endowment fund. Life income gifts allow you to make a gift now that will provide an income stream to you and/or others for life with the endowment fund funded with the remainder of your original gift at your death.

Establishing (or adding to) an endowment fund during your lifetime may provide income tax savings if you itemize deductions and capital gains tax savings if you use appreciated assets to fund your gift.

All with which we have been blessed comes from God. Establishing an endowment fund, whether through a single large gift or a lifetime of more modest levels of giving, permits you to demonstrate your gratitude for God’s blessings and your desire to be involved in touching lives in His name.

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.