Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gifts each of you has received. I Peter 4.10

The Endowment Fund of the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia comprises a cluster of seven funds for future ministry:

• Bishop Marmion Resource Center (BMRC) Fund
• College Endowment Fund
• New Work Endowment Fund
• Grace House Learning and Training Center Endowment Fund
• Phoebe Needles Center Endowment Fund
• Stewardship of Bricks and Mortar Fund
• Youth Endowment Fund

BMRC Endowment Fund - It is important that our parishes have access to a variety of resources in one central location. The BMRC has the ability to provide consultants, speakers, and trainers to work directly with parishes. Books, video tapes, curriculum samples, kits, and puppets are available to help develop parish programs and styles of learning.

College Endowment Fund - Episcopal Campus Ministries often has profound influence in leading young people to consider ordained ministry as their vocation and train them for roles of lay leadership. Funds are used to provide chaplains, support staff, and programs at Virginia Tech, Radford, Washington and Lee, VMI, Roanoke College, Hollins University, Ferrum College, and the community colleges in the diocese.

New Work Endowment Fund - It is part of the mission of the diocese to reach out to our neighbors by planting new congregations in areas experiencing population growth. A committee of the diocese identifies candidates for new congregations, and this fund provides resources needed for new church planting.

Grace House Learning and Training Center Endowment Fund - Grace House is the Episcopal center for outreach to the Appalachian community. It is a training center for orientation and work projects in areas long depressed by declines in the coal mining industry. Close community ties allow Grace House to provide unique opportunities of ministry for groups of all ages. Included are work projects for groups from all parts of the nation that benefit local inhabitants in need.

Phoebe Needles Center Endowment Fund - For over 100 years, the Phoebe Needles Center, Inc., has played a significant role in the lives of people of a mountain community and the diocese at large as a school, mission center, retreat and conference center, and summer camp. It has seen significant growth in recent years and is finding new ways to reach out to the community. This fund will assure that this great work is continued into the future.

Stewardship of Bricks and Mortar - Evans House has been the center for adminstration, meetings, hospitality, and communication of the diocese for over 50 years. A recent capital campaign funded long-needed restoration and expansion. It is important that the plant be kept up to the standard that the campaign provided. This endowment provides funds to assure that goal.

Youth Endowment Fund - It is a goal of the diocese to support and strengthen the faith of our young people through a variety of programs and experiences. Some of these are diocesan retreats, exchange programs with companion dioceses, and mission trips overseas and in the US. Young participants in these programs are strengthened in their faith and become the future leaders of the church.

Contributions may be made directly to one or more of these funds or to the Endowment Fund itself, in which case the annual income is distributed equally to each participating fund. Checks should be made out to the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia and marked for the Endowment Fund.

The Fund is managed by a board of trustees elected by Annual Council.

Parish Endowments

It is a goal of Bishop Powell that every parish of the diocese have its own endowment fund and that parishioners be encouraged to remember the church in their wills. There are some key steps that a parish vestry should take to ensure that the parish endowment fund is established and maintained in the right way:

• a vestry resolution establishing the endowment fund, stating the purpose, and setting forth guidelines for the receipt of gifts and distribution of funds
• an Endowment Board to manage the fund, make decisions about investments, distribute funds according to policies established by the vestry, and make regular reports to the vestry and the congregation
• a plan of operation for the Board, to include how membership is determined, meeting dates, audit policies, record keeping, etc.

The Episcopal Church Foundation has published a comprehensive guide entitled "Funding Future Ministries" for church leaders with everything necessary to establish and maintain parish endowment funds. Copies are available from Evans House.

Members of the Planned Giving Committee of the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia stand ready to assist any parish in establishing an endowment fund or to deal with questions regarding planned gifts.

For these or any other resources call Evans House or e-mail Bill Lindsay at blindsay@dioswva.org.