The Iowa United Methodist Foundation held its annual meeting at the 2020 Annual Conference Legislative Session. The report was presented by Rev. Dr. Katharine Yarnell the Executive Director of the Iowa United Methodist Foundation.
“First of all, I want to share our sincere prayers for the health and wellbeing of all and pray that God will grant us wisdom healing, and strength. Also, in light of the postpone 2020 General Conference decisions, we wanted to remind you that your investments are secure regardless of denominational affiliation and the mission of the Foundation continues,” said Yarnell. “We want to serve as a prudent, socially responsible investor for all nonprofit ministries.”
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The Foundation had a great year for investment funds. They started the year on January 1, 2019, with $46,147,899.48 of total assets and ended it with $60,409,716.18. This was the result of $13,136,519.50 in new gifts and deposits—an increase of 28%. They were also able to distribute $5,557,766.00 for ministry.
In 2019, the Foundation awarded $204,755.00 in scholarships to 58 students. Applications will open again on December 1, 2020, Yarnell said, so encourage your congregation’s students to apply.
The Foundation is anticipating an income of $465,565 and expenses of $446,884 with a net operating income of $18,681.
The Foundation voted in two new Board Members—Mr. Pat Gorkow of Van Horne and Mr. Blair Templeton of Slater.
Services offered by the Iowa United Methodist Foundation are the following;
- Socially responsible investments
- Assistance with capital campaigns
- Encourage gifts to your church and ministries through wills and estates
- Low-interest building loans to churches and agencies
- Endowment programs
- Workshops and seminars for your church – virtual option available for Stewardship or Finance committee meetings
- Special COVID-19 resources on our website at https://iumf.org
There are also two additional services offered by the Foundation. The first one is the H.E.L.P. program that helps pastors by offering a low-interest rate to refinance their student loan debt. Applications are open June 1 through September 1. The second service is the Carma Mohler Grants that are offered to United Methodist-affiliated groups addressing the issue of hunger in their communities. Applications are open July 1 through October 1.
Yarnell concluded the annual meeting by recognizing and thanking the Foundation’s board members and staff.
The Iowa United Methodist Foundation annual report to the Iowa Annual Conference Session was approved.
