11 WAYS TO SUPPORT STEWARDSHIP FOR YOUR CHURCH #9

 

            We restarted sharing about the VANCO stewardship booklet on the 11 Ways to support stewardship for your church. This week, we are discussing Investment Capital.

            This is a little different than raising funds and having campaigns. This is a way to have your assets work for you. Much, if not all, of the monies you’re holding are monies that have been given to the church to accomplish God’s work by members and others. You need to get the most return you can. But it’s a little different than investment your own money.

            When you’re investing your own money, it’s yours, so if you decide to be a little more aggressive with investing, that is your decision. If you lost some because of an investment choice, it was your choice and only you are hurt.

            Monies that the church is holding are monies given by others. You need to be a good steward of it. The level of risk you are considering may be different than what you would consider for your own monies. There should be conversation about investing in stock and bonds (in a way that safeguards the principal as much as possible and also is invested in a way that is socially responsible). At the very least interest-bearing accounts, certificates of deposit, savings accounts, etc. Check not only with the bank that you usually use but check with other banks and see what the interest rates are that are available, and how long the funds will be tied up. As an example, you don’t want to choose a long-term certificate of deposit that will make a good interest rate, and then realize that you need to use the funds for regular budget items or for emergency situations. The interest earned will decrease if funds are pulled out early.

            If your church is holding reserves, what is their purpose? What do your members think the purpose should be? If you don’t have a finance committee, you should consider forming one to have these discussions.

            Also, not everything needs to be in the same type of account. Look at what your goals are and decide. One type of account might make sense for one goal but not for another. If something needs to be held long-term, i.e. an endowment account where you won’t touch principle; that would be different from a fund that earns some interest but gets tapped from time to time for regular budgetary needs. If you’ve started collecting some funds for a large capital improvement that you’re not going to start for a few years, a longer-term CD or other investment might make sense.

Form your teams, understand what you have and what you can do with it, and be good fiduciaries of the funds you hold.

            If you wish more information on anything you’ve been reading about, please feel free to contact me at (315) 427-3668 or sranousacctg@twcny.rr.com or susanranous@unyumc.org.  I’d be happy to help or answer any questions.