FOUNDATION NEWS Caring for the Ministry of Grace: "Ecclesia Perpetua" July 2015 | |||||
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By Carolyn Warloe Last week I was talking to a friend who had started a scholarship at a club we belong to, and had asked that it be anonymous. It took less than a month for the word to get out that she had started the scholarship. She had just wanted to do something nice in a very quiet way, and not be identified. I could tell that now three years later she was still unhappy that her identity was revealed. My folks never had a great deal of money. They had grown up during the depression. They were however lifelong charitable givers. Most of their giving was to their church, but Mom kept a list of other charities that she wanted to contribute to during the year. I think monthly she would send $50 or so off to one of the charities on her list, carefully recording that she had done so. When I started helping her more with her mail and bills because of her failing eyesight, I was shocked to see how many requests for funds she received every week. Some were from the charities she gave to and some from ones who had received her name from another charity. Some charities were sending three or four requests a month. Even now, a year after her death, Kris and I are still playing the "Who Got More Mail Today, Us or Mom" game. Mom often wins. And almost all her mail is from charities asking for funds. The result of this is that I am now very hesitant to give money to some charities for fear I will be hounded for years after "I" die. In thinking about these two examples of giving with unintended consequences, I can proudly reflect on the Foundation. Back when the Grace Foundation started, a couple in the congregation gave the Foundation a house. I think only a very few people on the Foundation Board ever knew where it came from. The Foundation went to great lengths to keep the identity of these donors a secret even from most of the Board. A few years later, a member of Grace asked to set up several funds to benefit some of her interests in the church. She asked that her identity not be shared during her lifetime. The Board carefully set up the funds and followed her wishes, but didn't identify her to the congregation. I think that she was very happy to spend her last years at Grace without having her identity revealed. The Foundation won't send endless mailings asking you for additional money. We do not share your information with other charities. This is one of four newsletters a year that we hope are more informational than fundraising. We are always interested in feedback from the congregation and donors as to how we Continued on next page... |
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