St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
Endowments and Memorials
St. Stephen's currently administers three
endowments and works with individuals and families who desire to
give a gift as a memorial to a loved one. The three current
endowments are: St. Stephen's Episcopal Church Trust Fund, the
Jonathan Lee Fuller Campership Fund and the Van Harreveld Adult
Education Fund, established in December 1998. The Rector has aslo
been discussing with a parishioner the possibility of beginning a
Music Scholarship Endowment for youth. Endowments and Memorials
are gifts to the church that are given in addition to the regular
pledge. A pledge is essential for the church to meet its yearly
budget. An endowment or gift is given for a specific purpose and
cannot be used for any other purpose.
There are many ways to enhance your Christian
stewardship through an endowment. An endowment maintains the
principal and uses the interest income to spread the gospel of
Jesus Christ. Fr.
Barry would welcome your thoughts on endowments to
existing funds, or new "term-endowments", "endowments-in-perpetuity"
and memorials.
There are a variety of ways to give to an
endowment or memorial and these should be discussed with your tax
attorney or CPA to secure the best tax advantages. These include
securities, life insurance, living trust, wills, annuity trust,
charitable lead trust, retirement funds, tax sheltered annuities,
etc.
St. Stephen's
Episcopal Church Trust Fund
On January 24, 1970, a disastrous fire
partially destroyed St. Stephen's. In 1971, a "Trust Fund"
was established with $2,000. The purpose was to "develop a
fund from donations and gifts, the income [interest] from which
is to be used to help defray the operational expenses of the
church..." The principal has grown a hundred-fold throughout
the years from small and large donations, wills, and estate gifts.
The fund provides the money each year for essential church
maintenance such as termite tenting, furnace repair, roofing,
painting, etc.
St. Stephen's annual pledges and the interest
income from the Trust Fund keep St. Stephen's beautiful, dry and
warm. Any amount of money given to the Trust Fund will be
gratefully accepted.
Jonathan Lee
Fuller Campership Fund
The Campership Fund was established in
1967 as a gift in memory of Jonathan Lee Fuller with an original
endowment of $1,000. The income was to be used to provide funds
for Episcopal youth, especially members of St. Stephen's. The
purpose of the fund is to assist young Episcopalians up to high
school age, so they can participate in activities which would
enrich their spiritual life. Examples of enrichment given in the
original document include church-sponsored camps, conferences and
trips such as those sponsored by the Diocese of El Camino
Real, parish-sponsored retreats or
excursions such as acolyte retreats, and other youth camps and
conferences sponsored by other organizations such as Sierra Club
backpacking trips.
Since 1967, the original $1,000 of
principal has increased ten-fold. The interest income from the
fund has provided about $500 per year for youth activities. In
1998, the youth were able to attend Grace Cathedral
as part of Night-Watch with a side trip to Great America. There
were also barbecues, youth educational conferences and ten
scholarships to the Youth Music Camp. These help to promote a
sense of spiritual well being and an identity with the Episcopal
Church.
Campership Fund application forms are
available in the church office. Once the application is received,
it is reviewed by the Rector to determine if it meets the
criteria for funding and then presented to the entire Vestry (Chuch
Board) for review and awarding of funds.
As the number of young people attending
our church grows, there is a need to increase the principal of
this fund to keep up with the increase in demand. Please consider
this fund as part of your stewardship.
Van Harreveld
Adult Education Fund
This ias a new endowment of $10,000 that
was established in 1998 by Mr. and Mrs. "Dutch" Van
Harreveld for the purpose of providing funds to adult
parishioners of St. Stephen's to further their spiritual growth
and ministry. The specific details of award criteria and
administration of this fund will be developed by the Vestry and
Rector in consultation with the Van Harreveld's.
Music
Scholarship Fund (Proposed)
This is a proposed endowment fund to
encourage the study of music (instrument or voice) by providing
scholarships for the youth of St. Stephen's. Anyone interested in
discussing this proposed fund should contact Fr. Barry.
Memorials
As you look around St. Stephen's you
will see a varity of memorial gifts in memory of loved ones. The
gift may be identified with a small plaque that serves as a
permanent record of the memorial. Our most recent memorials were
the Stations of the Cross and the handbells that fill our church
with glorious sounds each Sunday. The Bell Choir is growing in
numbers and there is always a need to purchase additional bells
and equipment. There are many other possibilities for gifts as a
memorial that would enhance our worship at St. Stephen's. If you
are interested please contact Fr. Barry.
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