St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church Endowment Fund was established over 25 years ago to enhance the worship, ministry and mission outreach of St. Matthew’s. It is separate from the general operating budget and no portion of the income generated by the Fund may be used for the annual operating budget of the parish. The Fund is managed by the Endowment Fund Board which accomplishes the goal of the Fund by disbursing grants to individuals and organizations whose objectives are in line with those of the Endowment Fund.
Donations to the Endowment Fund are not spent. The donations are invested and only the income from the investments can be used. In essence a gift to the Endowment Fund will continue to benefit the worship, ministry and mission outreach of St. Matthew’s year after year.
In past years, the Endowment Fund has received bequests from the estates of members of St. Matthew’s. In one case, the Fund receives a yearly donation on behalf of a particular estate. This year the Fund was blessed by receiving a major contribution through estate disbursement. Such gifts are the lifeblood of any endowment fund and we are especially grateful to all parishioners who have considered estate planning in this manner.
St. Matthew’s Endowment Board distributable income for 2009 was $6,919.90 to be used to fund the 2010 Endowment grants. Six applications were receive at the end of June for grants. After prayerful consideration, the Endowment Board approved the following to receive grants.
Lee Davis, financial assistance for work to be done on the Bertha Mason Center in Manley.
Belle Mickelson, financial assistance for Dancing with the Spirit, to be used for Fairbanks fiddle, guitar and dance on Saturdays, October 2010 through January 2011. *This will be the last time this group is issued the grant.
Doug Blankensop, partial financial assistance to help bring the Rev. Patrick Eastman to Alaska for presentation on Contemplative Prayer. He will need to find other resources to complete the financial needs.
Dora Powell, St. Andrew’s Sunday School, financial assistance to purchase books and songbooks. *This will be the last year of support for this grantee.
Tom and Bonnie Marsh, funding for a Quadro FX 3800 graphics card for use on the website.
In keeping with the permanent request before he died, money was distributed to Dr. Wood’s fund established for St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church land acquisition and improvement.
The official announcement was made on September 19, 2010 at the Harvest celebration of St. Matthew’s Day.
The investment committee worked hard to assess and make changes to the portfolio. Overall, the investments made a positive recovery, however, because of the loss of our high earning interest-bearing accounts, the amount available for grants in 2012 has dropped dramatically to $2,635.22. The committee will be working in future to convert some of the dividend earners, currently re-invested, into cash dividends, the earnings of which can be used for grant disbursements.
The Advent Sale in November and early December produced additional income for the Endowment Fund and several substantial gifts were received.
Elections for new members will take place at the Annual Meeting. Marty Thomas, who has served for over 12 years, will be leaving the committee. Laura Bender and Helen Burrell have offered their names for re-election to three-year terms. The Board encourages any St. Matthew's member with financial and/or investment expertise to come forward and assist.
On behalf of Board Members Laura Bender, Helen Burrell, Maggie Castellini, Ray Cockerille, Karen Kiss, Alan Todd, Lori Gorsline, Marty Thomas and Fr. Scott Fisher, I would appreciate hearing any and all questions or comments you may have. Thank you.
Marty Thomas, Chair
