Have you ever wondered about the Grace Lutheran Church Foundation and how it works? Perhaps the questions and answers below will help you become more familiar with the Foundation who’s purpose is to encourage bequests and gifts which benefit Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church and which further its religious and benevolent purposes.

Who manages the money?

The Foundation's Articles of Incorporation specify that Foundation cash assets must be invested through a bank trust department licensed to do business in Oregon. The Foundation selected Union Bank of California to manage 99% of the money in the Foundation. The money is invested in a variety of mutual funds, bonds and cash to optimize growth. The other 1% is kept in cash accounts at a local bank to facilitate distribution of money.

Since the Foundation’s funds are invested in the stock market, what happens when the stock market declines?

As the market fluctuates, so does the market value of the Foundation’s investments.

Does the Foundation have any non-monetary investments?

The Foundation is the outright owner of the property on the corner of Tyler and Kings, which provides a relatively stable flow of rental income to the Foundation. This property is known as Little Grace #1. The Foundation utilizes the services of a professional property management firm to rent and help maintain the property.

What do you mean by “fund”?

The Foundation’s money is divided up into various funds. These funds have specific programs they support. There are endowed funds and non-endowed funds.

What is an endowment?

An endowment is a donation in which the donor’s instructions state that they wish their donation to remain intact, with only earnings (income and/or interest) to be available to fund projects. The donation is known as the irreducible principal of the fund.

What happens to the principal of Endowed Funds when the stock market drops?

When the market value of a fund drops below the initial value of the endowment, any earnings (income and/or interest) go towards maintaining the initial value. On occasion, this means that there are no funds available for distribution to support a project.

What are the various funds within the Foundation?

Information on current funds within the Foundation and their specified programs, is available on the funds page.

I made a donation in memory of a friend, what happens to that donation?

A donation made in memory of someone goes into the Memorial Fund. Family members are notified of all donations made in a loved one’s name.

Who controls what happens to memorial donations?

Family members are encouraged to contact a member of the Foundation Board to communicate any wishes they might have for the use of memorial monies made in their loved one’s name. When a family member makes a specific request, the Board makes every effort to honor that request. If the family has no specific recommendations for memorial monies, the Board makes decisions on appropriate projects to support with memorial monies.

How do I find out where the Foundation is spending money?

The quarterly report, included in our quarterly newsletter, includes a list of “projects funded/pending”. In addition, the annual report contains a list of all projects funded since the beginning of the Foundation.