Permanent Endowment

About Us

 In 1999, Mountain View established an Endowment Fund to help all of us work together to further the work of the body of Christ in the future. A gift of any size is important to this effort. This is a separate fund and will not be used for Mountain View’s operating budget. The Fund is invested through the United Methodist Foundation, managed professionally and invested according to the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church.

Grants are offered from the fund’s earnings each year. Grants are available for a variety of special projects, with priority given to church projects and Mountain View members. Recent grants have helped to support youth mission trips, the Kid’s Hope program, Buckhorn Camp, our 50th Anniversary celebration, the Mtn. View Preschool scholarship fund, Cooking Matters classes, Single Parents Empowered, UMCOR health kits, refreshing the Barker Hall kitchen, support of African mission projects, the Little Free Library, Mountain View’s flood recovery efforts, and our website redesign project.

Often Mountain View members, constituents and others wish to honor the memory of a loved one. As a permanent fund, your gifts will earn dividends and interest and be available to support Mountain View in perpetuity. Also, gifts can support a favorite ministry, or can be used for a specific need that Mountain View has now or will have in the future. The Endowment Committee and the United Methodist Foundation can furnish the detailed information you may need. Just ask.

 Committee Responsibilities

• Provide oversight and administration of the Mountain View Permanent Endowment fund.  The fund gives members and friends of Mountain View UMC an opportunity to provide charitable gifts that become a permanent financial support to Mountain View.  Contributions to the Fund become a living memorial to donors and those that we honor.

• Distribute grants from the fund’s annual investment earnings as to support projects or programs that demonstrate the advancement of Methodist goals.

• Emphasize the need for adults of all ages to have a will and an estate plan and provide information about the preparation of these legal documents to the members of the congregation.

• Stress the opportunities for church members and constituents to make provisions for giving to Mountain View, United Methodist churches, institutions, agencies and causes by means of wills, annuities, trusts, life insurance, memorials and various types of property.

• Arrange for the dissemination of information that will be helpful in retirement planning, including such considerations as creating a living will, a living trust, and the need to designate someone to serve as a responsible advocate in case the ability to make decisions independently is lost.

Committee History

• 1998: Mountain View all-church conference approves creation of a Permanent Endowment Committee;

• 1999: All-church conference approves Committee charter;

• 2000: Committee invests funds with the Rocky Mountain United Methodist Foundation, Inc.;

• 2007: Committee funds first grants;

• 2009: Fund balance reaches $100,000 in assets;

• 2013: Committee grants support Mountain View flood restoration;

• 2013: Fund balance reaches $200,000 in assets;

• 2016: Fund balance reaches $300,000 in assets.

Investments

• The Permanent Endowment Committee funds are managed by the Rocky Mountain United Methodist Foundation, Inc.

• The Foundation’s policy is to invest in institutions, companies, corporations or funds whose practices are consistent with the goals outlined in the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church.  The Foundation seeks to avoid investments that support: racial discrimination, violation of human rights, sweatshop or forced labor, gambling, the production of nuclear armaments, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, pornography and companies that build prisons.

• The Foundation seeks socially responsible investments in companies that make a significant contribution to society through their products and services and that provide growth of capital or current income.  Potential investments are first screened for financial soundness and then evaluated according to the Social Principles. The Foundation has four Fund portfolios, each with a different investment objective.

• The Committee funds are invested in the Foundation’s Balanced Fund which holds a pre-specified allocation of domestic and international stocks, bonds, commodities and cash.

Grant Process and Timeline

• The Committee’s policy is to distribute a portion of the annual earnings from the investments in the form of grants to support projects or program that demonstrates the advancement of United Methodist goals.

• Applicants can be organizations of the Mountain View church, members of the church, or Mountain View staff members.

• Grants will not be made for projects or programs typically funded by the Mountain View’s annual operating budget.

Typical Grant Timeline:

• January: Committee determines range of dollars available to fund grants based upon the Fund’s previous year’s financial performance.

• March: Grant application deadline.

• April: Committee determines successful grants.

• Memorial Day: Grants (and sponsoring applicants) are recognized during worship services.

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Projects Funded By the Permanent Endowment Committee

• During the years 2007 through 2016, the Committee provided approximately $38,000 in financial support to 38 projects.

• Individual grant awards have ranged from a low of $100 to a high of $3,600.

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Legacy Makers

Legacy Makers are:

Nearly 30 individuals or couples who have indicated that they included Mountain View in their will or estate plan.

Wills, Estate Plan, Living Wills

This section is under construction.

Planned Giving

This section is under construction.

Committee Membership

• Gary Schmitz, Chair
• Max Coppom
• Jim Rhoads
• Bruce Fest
• John Stewart
• Russ Osgood
• Martha Swanson
• Kay Lathrop, Ex Officio

How Can I Contribute?

Here are some ways you can make a gift to the future of Mountain View:

• Gifts of cash, memorials, honors

• Appreciated stock

• Bequest through your will

• Gifts of life insurance benefits

• Real estate

• Retirement and pension plans

• Charitable gift annuities