UUC Endowment Foundation-Board of Trustees hold “Legacy of Love” event
By Margie Manning
Posted March 6, 2023
Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater hosted “How to Leave a Legacy of Love,” a program focused on the tools individuals need for estate planning and to ensure loved ones have peace of mind and financial stability after their passing.
The Jan. 21, 2023 program was sponsored jointly by the Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater Endowment Foundation Inc and the UUC Board of Trustees. It featured Erica K. Smith Roodhouse, senior counsel at Trenam Law.
Ms. Roodhouse discussed three key areas:
• Planning for life, including durable powers of attorney, health care advance directives, nomination of preneed guardian and recordkeeping.
• Planning for death, including last wills and testament, revocable trusts, and prepaid funeral planning.
• Planning for legacy, including gifting during life, gifting at death, IR charitable distribution and charitable trusts.
Endowment Foundation presents annual grant to UUC
by Margie Manning
Posted Dec. 6, 2021
Bob Buesing, board chair of the UUC Endowment Foundation, presented a check for $48,716 to Margie Manning, president of the Board of Trustees of Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater. The presentation was made during the Dec. 5, 2021 Sunday Worship service at UUC.
Here’s a script of the event:
BOB: Once a year an important event occurs in the life of this congregation and this year we are going to do this publicly so you can all learn more about it. I have the honor of serving as Board Chair for the UUC Endowment Foundation, a support organization that helps UUC and its mission. Margie Manning is President of the Board of Trustees. She along with the rest of the Board of Trustees manages the many programs and ministries and community outreach programs for the members of UUC.
The endowment foundation was created decades ago by UUC members who saw the value of establishing an endowment fund for those who wanted to donate to a fund that would be used to create in perpetuity, annual support for UUC. And over the decades dozens of donations have been received, many from members who have passed away. And the investment has been carefully managed by the Endowment Foundation Board who volunteer their time and talent so that we can meet the intent of these donors which is help UUC forever. Thank you Board members.
This year I am pleased on behalf of the Endowment Foundation board members and the donors to the endowment to deliver this check to UUC in the amount of $48,716.
MARGIE: On behalf of the Board of Trustees and all the members of UUC I accept this annual grant from the Endowment Foundation. This payment will help us fund the many ministries and projects of UUC and keep us as a strong beacon of hope and social justice for this community. Many, many thanks to the Endowment Board and especially to the donors themselves who funded this important annual gift for UUC.
BOB: To see the names of those donors, go onto the Endowment Foundation website at uuclearwaterfoundation.org. What will strike you is these are people just like you, not Elon Musk or Bill Gates. The donors are people like Pat McGivern, a flute teacher who put the Foundation in her will. Like beloved member Sue Hegner who recently passed away who provided for the endowment. And many have chosen to honor the memory of a deceased member with a donation in honor of that member.
MARGIE: Legacy giving is preplanning donations at the time of your death and thereby making a statement about your values. Tomorrow at 6 by Zoom, UUC and the UUC Endowment Foundation are jointly sponsoring our annual Legacy giving information session. It is by Zoom and all are invited to learn how easy it can be to leave a legacy to your spiritual home through either UUC or the Endowment – or like Bob did, to both. Come learn how you too can leave a legacy.
BOB: Click in on Zoom at 6 tomorrow to learn more.
Foundation name change and clarification of purpose
By Margie Manning
Posted August 2020
On Aug. 19, 2020, members voted to change the name of this organization from “Unitarian Universalist Church of Clearwater Foundation, Inc.” to “Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater Endowment Foundation, Inc.”
The name was changed to better reflect the nature of this organization, and it occurred in conjunction with the following resolution:
Whereas, healthy non-profits (such as Universities, Colleges, and non-profit Hospitals) encourage donors to donate in any fashion they choose based on their styles and preferences with or without restrictions. Examples include annual operational support campaigns; capital campaigns for building improvements; and endowment donations for support in perpetuity for the organization; or completely unrestricted donations. Endowment donors tend to be highly motivated by the belief that they are creating a benefit that will last in perpetuity, a strong selling point.
Whereas, by honoring the restrictions of its donors, non-profits earn the trust of donors which helps the organization obtain more donations because most new donations come from those who previously donated (which shows that they support the mission and have a capacity to donate) or from new donors who observe the positive way previous donors were treated,
Whereas, any attempt to breach donor restrictions without donor approval has legal and moral implications and would violate the trust of the donors, leading to fewer donations in the future,
Whereas, UUC has greatly benefited from the creation of the Foundation which established an endowment and all UUC members should be forever grateful to those forward-thinking donors,
Whereas, there is no reason to believe that the Foundation donors did not intend for the funds to last in perpetuity and create annual unrestricted income for the church, and in fact by establishing the mechanism of a separate Foundation they made clear that these funds were not for immediate church needs,
Whereas, the Foundation’s endowment has donated many, many hundreds of thousands of dollars to UUC for its annual budget but the Foundation would lose that ability to donate if the invested funds were raided for current needs,
Whereas, this clarity will improve and create better relations between the Foundation and the UUC Church Board and will help UUC be more successful and it will help stop any UUC members from feeling resentful about the Foundation Board for simply doing its job correctly,
Accordingly, I move that the UUC Foundation continue its policy of making an unrestricted annual grant to UUC equal to 4.25% of the average of its total assets on June 30th and December 31st of the previous year.
Socially Responsible Investing
by Margie Manning
Posted March 2019
The Clearwater Unitarian-Universalist Church Foundation recently invested $20,000 in the Unitarian Universalist Common Endowment Fund.
The fund is a diversified investment fund seeking current income and long-term investment returns through portfolio allocation and professional asset management with UU socially responsible investing goals. Investment decisions reflect UU values and contribute to positive social and environmental change. A portion of the funds are used for direct investment in low-income communities. The Common Endowment Fund and the UUA also engage in shareholder advocacy to change corporate behavior.
The Clearwater UU Foundation considered this step carefully before making this investment. A subcommittee (Bill Norsworthy, Joe Pace and Margie Manning) explored a few socially responsible investment options and felt the professional advisors and management the UU Common Endowment Fund offered made it an optimal choice.
The board of the Foundation voted unanimously to approve the investment on Jan. 27, 2019.
Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater Endowment Foundation, Inc. 