St. Paul's Parish Endowments

Our Legacy for the Future

The endowment resources of a parish represent a link between its past, present, and future members. Part of that link is the common belief, across generations, that everything we possess comes as a gift from God and is rightly shared with others.

Stemming from that belief, our generosity may take many forms, but when it is put toward parish endowment funds, it enables the growth of existing ministries and the development of new promptings from the Holy Spirit that cannot be undertaken with other resources.

These gifts for the future development of St. Paul's ministry are subject to the most careful stewardship. The corpus of each fund is invested under the supervision of a quasi-independent Endowment Board named by the Vestry and subject to special investment rules, and the earnings of each fund are used to realize the purposes of that fund.

Where do our endowed funds come from?

They come from each of us and from those who have gone before us—the benefactors of our parish, both large and small—most often although not exclusively from wills or other planned gifts. A planned gift may be the largest gift one makes to the Church and is often a once-in-a-lifetime gift. Typically, the planned gift donor has contributed time and money to the Church regularly, for a long time.

Planned gifts are given in response to a deep love of God, an affection and concern for his Church, and a desire to support its continuing work.

What do our specific endowed funds support?

Some parishioners and friends of St. Paul’s have left funds to our parish for special purpose endowments, whereas others have remembered the parish in a more general way. Here are our current special endowed funds, with their current value and how they are put to work for the advancement of St. Paul’s and its mission:

Birchby Music Endowment ($34,000), initiated by funds given in the late 1970s in memory of our late organist and choirmaster, E. Douglas Birchby, and used for the support of music in connection with the worship of the parish.

Father Richards Memorial Scholarship Fund ($15,000), started from memorial gifts for our late rector, the Rev'd Fr James Richards, in the mid-1970s and used to fund scholarships for seminarians.

Ritchie Memorial Endowment Fund ($24,000), started by funds given in the late 1980s in memory of our late music director, J. Marcus Ritchie, and used for the support of musical events, such as recitals, concerts, and special services, in St. Paul’s Church.

Outreach Endowment ($23,000), begun with funds raised for this purpose as a part of the One Glorifying Voice Capital Campaign in the 1990s, used to support outreach activities.

Matthew Rutkowski Music Fund ($26,000), initiated with a bequest by the late Matthew Rutkowski in the late 1990s and used for instrumental musicians for special services, concerts, and recitals, and for sponsoring instrumental or chamber music recitals to raise money for parish outreach programs.

Bishop Board Music Fund ($75,000), from a bequest in 2003 by the late Robert B. Board and used to support the music ministry of St. Paul’s.

Each of these funds is not only providing support for its purposes but also receiving dedicated contributions to expand its potential.

What about our general endowment?

St. Paul’s has long had a general endowment fund that has functioned in a manner similar to funds with similar names in other parishes, i.e., in theory as an endowed fund but in actuality as a reserve fund available for critical parish needs.

Over the years, our general endowment has provided needed support for the following capital projects above and beyond the funding ability of our annual operating revenues:

• Significant church roof repairs

• New components for the HVAC system

• Loaned funds to complete organ and capital campaign costs

• Foundation for line of credit and mortgage

• Resources to enable completion of current building project  

The Vestry has made a strategic decision to construct both a reserve fund and a general endowment fund. The former is to receive money from special gifts, undesignated bequests, and fiscal year surpluses and is to be used for emergency situations, operating fund overruns, and the like. The latter is a classic endowed fund, with its corpus inviolate and invested and its earnings used for enhancing the work of the parish.

More specifically, as described in its authorizing resolution, the earnings of the general endowment are to be used for capital needs not otherwise funded (such as by capital campaigns), outreach ministries and grants, seed money for new ministries and special one-time projects, and such other purposes as are specifically designed by donors whose gifts are included in this fund.

In other words, our general endowment makes a difference in the future of St. Paul’s—a continuing difference ensured by the legacy gifts of all.