Funds
A means of practicing stewardship beyond our lifetimes…
The PINE STREET FUND has been established as a means by which we may make gifts to the church of a portion of our accumulated resources.
Much of what we enjoy at Pine Street was made possible by dedicated members of past generations whose gifts have provided the endowment fund that we currently possess. This endowment fund, although the result of loving and faithful generosity, is not adequate for the future needs of Pine Street Church.
The PINE STREET FUND is designed to enable us to pass on to future generations the blessings of God’s love in our lives. It is now our great privilege to use our resources so that Pine Street will be enabled to continue the Lord’s work beyond our lifetimes.
Both the physical plant in and through which we serve and the programs of service to nurture our members and our expanding mission fields are now our responsibilities. By our regular giving we must, accept and meet this obligation during our lifetimes, and we can continue to support Pine Street beyond our lifetimes through the PINE STREET FUND.
The PINE STREET FUND was established in 1993 by an act of Session in response to a growing awareness that a larger endowment fund was required to ensure the long term goals and plans of the church. The purpose of the fund is neither to replace or supplement regular annual giving of Pine Street members nor to supplant our current endowment funds. Rather, it is an additional avenue for stewardship, providing Pine Streeters with even greater opportunities for service than we enjoy today.
Several endowment funds, special project funds, a capital expenditures fund and a general purpose fund are envisioned as specific parts of the PINE STREET FUND, each with its own purpose and management.
Four specific endowment funds have been planned, each with a special role to play in strengthening and expanding ministry at Pine Street. In future years, our dreams for mightier uses of endowment may be expanded by new visions!
1. The Building Endowment Fund
Session has approved a goal of two million dollars for this fund, to be reached within ten years. Approximately this principal amount will be required to provide for the maintenance and insurance of our buildings. Imagine the opportunities for greater program and mission activity if our buildings went fully endowed!
2. The Mission Endowment Fund
This endowment fund will provide an ongoing source of revenue for a vital and expanding mission program at Pine Street Church. Think of
the blessings to be realized from an endowment ensure the continuation of missions such as Downtown Daily Bread and other projects yet to
be envisioned at home, in other states and around the world.
3. The Christian Education Endowment Fund
The purpose of this endowment is to provide continuous funding for expanded Christian Education opportunities. Church educators may see dreams for new youth activities and adult, nurturing programs become realities.
4. The Worship and Music Endowment Fund
This fund will be used for such needs as maintenance of the organ and sanctuary, new choir robes, or other projects and improvements to
enhance our worship.
1. The Special Projects Fund
This fund is for special projects of the church, either property or program. One example is air conditioning of the sanctuary. The goal of the fund is to accumulate resources to moot the financial requirements of a special project. When the fund goal is reached, the project is undertaken and paid for by total principal and earnings. Any number of such funds may be established and maturing at the same time.
2. The Capital Expenditures Fund
This fund has been established to finance improvements to church properties and to provide for emergency or extraordinary repairs to church buildings and equipment. The expenditure of principal as well as income is permitted.
3. The General Purpose Fund
Undesignated as to specific purpose by its nature, the use of this fund is limited only by our imagination, our dreams, and our sense of commitment.
Background
This protocol was developed in response to the lack of an established procedure for dealing with Undesignated Gifts. The goal of the protocol is to allow the faith community to see that these Gifts exist, determine which Gifts are undesignated, establish how the Church will hold the funds, institute an allocation process for determining how the funds are to be used, and provide a structure for the expenditure to take place.
Definitions
For the purpose of this protocol, Gift shall be defined as any and all income, monies, cash receipts or gifts, in-kind gifts, grants, or any other type of revenue received by Pine Street Presbyterian Church (Church). As a subset of Gifts, Undesignated Gifts shall include the following: (i) any Gift that is not a pledge payment, memorial gift or reimbursement, or revenue that is not otherwise designated for a specific and definitive purpose; (ii) all Gifts that have a designation implying use for “general purposes or operations” of the church; (iii) any Gift that carries an instruction or designation to exclude a certain use or uses (for example, if a Gift is received that forbids use toward the purchase of heating fuel and paper, but otherwise has no use restrictions.). In the event a Gift is received with ambiguous and/or incomplete instructions or designations as to its intended use, it shall come before Session for a determination as to its status.
Receipt and Management
When an Undesignated Gift is received by the Church in the form of cash, it shall promptly be placed in an interest earning, permanent special fund (UG Fund) created by the Treasurer and supervised/managed by the Board of Trustees. In the event the Gift is in a form other than cash, such as stock, other personal property or real property, it shall promptly be converted to cash by the Board of Trustees and immediately placed in the UG Fund. The UG Fund shall be managed in a way that preserves the principal balance and anticipates only one annual distribution to maximize the interest earned thereon. In the event an Undesignated Gift is received that excludes a certain use or uses, it shall be placed in a sub-account of the UG Fund to ensure that it is not used for the excluded use or uses. As part of its monthly report to the Finance and Administration Committee (FAC), the Treasurer shall provide a year-to-date report that itemizes all Undesignated Gifts.
Announcement of Available Funds for Allocation
Each January upon the close of the Church’s prior year books, the Treasurer shall release to FAC the full principal balance(s) of the UG Fund and any related sub-account(s) as of December 31st of the prior year. The balance(s) shall include any interest, fees or appreciation earned thereon. FAC shall divide the year ending principal balance of the UG Fund and any sub-account by three (3) and announce the combined result to the congregation as the Available Funds for Allocation (AFA) for the next fiscal year, noting the amounts of any exclusions. FAC may use an estimate of the AFA, as agreed to by the Treasurer and FAC, prior to the close of the Church’s books to ensure that the announcement is made as early in the year as possible. Any estimate should understate the anticipated AFA.
Application Process
Any individual, group of persons or entity associated with the faith community of the Church may submit an application to receive a portion of the AFA. The broad description of qualifying applicants is intended to be as inclusive as possible since God can call anyone into service.
FAC shall make an application readily available in both electronic and hard-copy form that will undergo periodic revisions as deemed necessary. At a minimum, the application shall include the following information: (i) the name of the person(s) or entity submitting the application (Applicant); (ii) the contact information for the Applicant; (iii) a detailed description of how the funds shall be used; (iv) the amount of funds requested, along with an itemized list of anticipated expenditures; (v) the time period in which the funds will be used; (vi) an explanation of how God will be served/glorified and who will be touched/impacted as a result; (vii) name of board, committee, or task force who will be responsible for oversight of the Applicant’s program or project, and to whom the Applicant will report on a monthly basis; (viii) signature of chair of the board, committee or taskforce that agrees to oversee the purchase, program or project; (ix) an explanation of how the purchase, program or project is consistent with the strategic plan of the Church.
Applicants must complete all aspects of the application and return it to FAC prior to March 31st of each year.
Clearinghouse and Allocation Functions
FAC shall act as a clearinghouse for all applications. Clearinghouse responsibilities shall include collection of the applications, evaluation of each for completeness and compliance with the information requested, recommendation on the ultimate allocation, and submission of the applications and recommendations (including notations of exclusions) to Session prior to the April Session meeting.
Session shall decide on an allocation of the available funds prior to the expiration of its then current term on May 31st of that year. Session should avoid any allocation that is contrary to any exclusion of use(s) that may apply.
Budgets and Accounting Recognition
Once Session has made its allocation, FAC shall include the amounts in the respective budgets of those boards, committees, and task forces that are responsible for the oversight of the purchase, program or project. Session should strongly refrain from removing any such allocations from the budget during the budget approval process.
On the first business day of the following January, the Treasurer will direct the UG Fund and its sub-account(s), if any, to be debited by the amounts allocated by Session in the prior year. To avoid the proliferation of sub-accounts, the debits should first be made to any sub-account(s) of the UG Fund, as exclusion may allow, and then from the primary UG Fund. Corresponding credits should be made under the restricted funds account for the coming year to reflect the allocation made by Session.
Expenditures
After the allocation has been placed in the respective budget of the board, committee, or task force that is responsible for oversight of the applicant’s purchase, program or project, no other authorization shall be necessary for the approved expenditure of funds. However, the entity responsible for oversight may deny or temporarily suspend the expenditures of an applicant in the event they are inconsistent with the description provided in the approved application. All requests for payment shall be made through the entity responsible for oversight.
Assumptions
The Protocol described below shall have a retroactive commencement date of January 1, 2007. However, no Announcement of Available Funds, Application Process, Clearinghouse and Allocation Functions, Budgeting and Accounting Recognition or Expenditures shall have occurred for the fiscal years of 2007 and 2008. These portions of the protocol shall begin in 2008 for the 2009 Fiscal year. The Definitions and Receipt and Management of Undesignated Gifts shall remain unchanged and shall be deemed to be in place since January 1, 2007.
The above protocol is a repetitive process that repeats itself on a twelve (12) month cycle, with the exception of Expenditures, which each have a specified time period.
Limiting Conditions
Any material change to this protocol must first be approved by Session. Session shall have full and complete discretion on how the funds are to be allocated. Nothing contained herein is intended to change, limit or usurp that authority.
Protocol developed by: Finance and Administration Committee
Date of Session Approval of Committee Motion: January 15, 2008
To download the application as a PDF file click here.
Membership of the Cremonesi Committee
The Cremonesi Committee is a committee of the Board of Deacons. The Committee will consist of the Vice-Moderator of the Board of Deacons (who will serve as chair of the Committee), the Treasurer of the Board of Deacons, two deacons who currently serve on the Board, a member of the Board of Trustees (who will not have a vote on the Committee), and a pastor to serve as the staff liaison.
Duties of the Committee
The Committee:
1) will establish, subject to the approval of the Board of Deacons, policies and procedures related to the distribution of funds available for the Board’s work among the poor and shut-ins.
2) will disburse funds available annually or when requested in accordance with its procedures.
3) will maintain a checking account consisting of funds that are available for distribution. This checking account will be subject to auditing and regular review by the Board of Trustees or an agent designated by the Board of Trustees (e.g., an approved auditor, the Pastor, or the congregation’s Business Manager).
Determination of Available Funds for the Use of the Cremonesi Committee
The total amount of funds available on an annual basis for the use of the Cremonesi Committee will be determined by the Board of Trustees’ policy on income allocation that is applied to all the church’s trusts and endowments.
Allocation of Available Funds
1) Ten percent (10%) of the funds available each year will be given to the Deacon Benevolence Fund.
2) The Committee will distribute the remaining funds available through a grant procedure outlined below. The Committee may also decide at its discretion not to spend a portion of the funds each year in order to have money available for emergency requests or other needs that arise which are congruent with the terms of the Cremonesi will.
Grant Procedure
1) The Cremonesi Committee is open to receiving requests for funds from agencies, groups, or individuals who serve the needs of “the poor and shut-ins.” The Committee will normally receive grant requests between January and March of the calendar year but will also accept these requests during the course of the year.
2) These requests can be submitted to any member of the Committee or to the pastor liaison. To download the grant request form as a PDF file click here.
3) After funds have been disbursed to a grantee, the grantee is to provide to the Committee six months after the receipt of the funds a report that explains the use of the grant. Failure to comply will result in future ineligibility.
4) All programs supported by the Cremonesi Fund and approved by the board of Deacons will be reviewed and evaluated annually.
5) The Committee may approve requests that do not exceed $5000. Grants that exceed $5000 will require the approval of the Board of Deacons.
6) The Committee will publish annually to the Congregation the results of its work.
WHY GIVE TO THE PINE STREET FUND?
To give to the PINE STREET FUND is to affirm a belief in what Pine Street Church does, and to support Pine Street in the doing of it. Giving is important because it is a tangible symbol of offering to God all that we are and have. By supporting Pine Street Church through the PINE STREET FUND, you also affirm your belief in the future of our church and its place in God’s ministry on earth.
Financial benefits for the giver to the PINE STREET FUND may include:
- Substantial income tax deductions
- Substantial estate and/or gift tax savings, which can increase amounts passing to loved ones
- A substantial increase in net income
- Sale and diversification of assets given to the Fund without capital gains tax and from which you or a loved one can still derive a stream of income
- Relief from the stress and anxiety which can accompany management of personal assets
Please contact any member of the Planned Giving Committee for more detailed information on the advantages, spiritual and financial, that can be realized by supporting the PINE STREET FUND or by engaging in other types of financial stewardship.
HOW CAN WE GIVE TO THE PINE STREET FUND?
OUTRIGHT GIFTS
The simplest and most common form of gift to the PINE STREET FUND is an outright gift of money, stocks, bonds, life insurance policies or other property. This type of gift provides most quickly for growth of the Fund, and consequently the most immediate opportunity to fulfill the Fund’s objectives. These gifts take a number of forms.
Lifetime Gifts
A lifetime gift to the PINE STREET FUND may be a substantial one-time gift representing a special sacrifice by the giver. Alternately, a giver can choose to make a series of gifts to the Fund. A series of annual gifts often results in a larger total contribution to the Fund, but either method will provide for the giver the special feeling of satisfaction which comes from being of immediate assistance to the church.
Lifetime gifts of appreciated property, such as stocks or investment real estate, are especially attractive because the giver can deduct, for income tax purposes, the fair market value of the property at the time of the gift. No capital gains tax will be paid on the appreciation in value of the Property.
Life insurance purchased for a purpose no longer needed, such as to ensure a college education for children who have completed their schooling, would be a welcome gift to the PINE STREET FUND.
Gifts through Wills
Making a will is the only way to be sure that your property will be distributed to the people and institutions, including the PINE STREET FUND, that you choose. A will also provides important protection for your family in preserving and managing your property after your death. A regular, perhaps annual, review of your will is wise. Your attorney can help you make any desired changes, which may be as simple as making a codicil to your will.
Gifts through wills may be outright bequests, such as the lifetime gifts discussed above, or may be in the form of charitable lead trusts or charitable remainder trusts.
Charitable Lead Trusts
A charitable lead trust is a tax advantageous way of giving a stream of income to the PINE STREET FUND while retaining ultimate ownership of the underlying assets for oneself or one’s loved ones. A charitable lead trust can result in an income tax, estate or gift tax deduction; and it can increase total amounts ultimately payable to one’s heirs, while at the same time providing important support for Pine Street Church.
DEFERRED GIFTS
All deferred gifts have two basic characteristics. First, the donor retains a present interest in the property gifted, such as the right to all the income generated by the property for a specified period or for life. Second, a future interest, in the property is designated for the PINE STREET FUND.
There are many types of deferred gifts. Some will immediately give rise to gift or income tax deductions, whereas others may allow estate and inheritance tax deductions. Some types of deferred gifts are revocable and others are irrevocable.
The simplest type of deferred gifts would include the designation of the PINE STREET FUND as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, an Individual Retirement Account or other qualified benefit plan. The PINE STREET FUND can be designated the beneficiary of a “pay on death” bank account.
Deferred giving plans can be arranged through any financial institution with trust powers. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation offers a number of professionally managed mechanisms for making deferred gifts. Many types of annuities and trusts may be established through this organization. A description of the plans offered by the Foundation are described in a booklet found inside the back cover of this brochure. Consult with your attorney and/or other professional advisor before making a deferred gift to the PINE STREET FUND.
SPECIFIC TYPES OF DEFERRED GIFTS
A pooled income fund, made up of contributions from many persons, is a fund established and operated by a charitable organization, such as the Presbyterian Foundation. The organization manages the funds and annually distributes earnings on a pro rate basis to its contributors. When a contributor dies, that person’s portion of the fund is given to the designated charitable institution, such as the PINE STREET FUND. An income- tax deduction is allowed for the year the gift to the pooled income fund is made.
Charitable Gift Annuity
A charitable gift annuity involves a gift of cash or securities. The donor designates an annuitant, either self or another, and the annuitant receives income payments for life. The income amount depends on the amount of the gift, and the age of the annuitant. On the death of the annuitant, the remaining portion of the contribution is paid to a designated charitable beneficiary, such as the PINE STREET FUND. The donor may receive an income tax deduction the year the annuity is purchased, and may receive some tax-free income from the annuity.
Charitable Remainder Unitrust
A charitable remainder unitrust is an irrevocable trust which provides a lifetime benefit, called a “unitrust payout”, to one or more persons, with the assets remaining in the trust payable to one or more charitable organizations on the death of all of the other beneficiaries. The unitrust payout must equal at least five percent of the fair market, value of the assets placed in the trust, and the assets must be revalued annually.
The donor of the trust is entitled to a deduction for the value of the interest, passing to the charitable organization. This will be an income and gift tax deduction if made during the donor’s lifetime, and will be an estate and inheritance tax deduction if made through the donor’s will.
Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust
This irrevocable trust, is similar to the charitable remainder unitrust. The primary difference is that the annual payout to the donor or the donor’s designee is a guaranteed annuity of at least five percent of the, fair market value of the assets placed in the trust, The annuity amount will not vary, even if the earned income or asset, value should change.
The same types of tax deductions are available for charitable remainder annuity trusts as for charitable remainder unitrusts, although the deductions are calculated differently.
Revocable Charitable Remainder Trust
A revocable charitable remainder trust is a trust established by a living donor, who receives all income earned by the trust during his or her lifetime. The donor may also reserve the right to withdraw assets from the trust. On the death of the donor (or the donor’s survivor and other specified persons such as the donor’s spouse) the assets remaining in the trust can be paid to the PINE STREET FUND.
A revocable charitable remainder trust, is a special type of the so-called “living trust,” of which much has been written. No income tax deductions can be taken, but the assets remaining in the trust, at the death of the donor may escape federal estate tax and Pennsylvania inheritance tax.
Deferred Payment Gift Annuity
This annuity is similar to the charitable gift annuity. With a deferred payment gift annuity, the annuitant receives no payments for at least one year after the gift is made. Because of this, the income tax charitable deduction will be larger than in the case of a charitable gift annuity.
Many of the ways of making gifts discussed above, particularly the various types of deferred gifts, are subject to strict tax regulations in order to obtain charitable income tax, gift tax, or estate tax deductions.
The manner in which you intend to support the PINE STREET FUND will depend on many factors, including your financial needs and the needs of your dependents. A careful, prayerful study will lead you to a decision that will benefit you, your loved ones, and Pine Street, Presbyterian Church.
