Donors who are 70 ½ or older can make a gift of up to $100,000 from their IRA (Traditional or Roth) to support their church. This strategy works for both itemizers and non-itemizers. This gift counts against their Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) for the year but it is excluded from taxable income. This gift option […]
My wife has been on my back all year. “Why do we have fixed income investments when the market is doing so well,” she keeps badgering me. “They don’t pay very much!” As I’ve rolled our maturing Investment Certificates into new ones offering the latest, higher yielding rates, she has become a little less grumpy. […]
If it seems like we’re a bit picky from time to time, please forgive us. Some people wonder why we insist on Transaction Directives and Organizational Investment Applications and updated Authorized Signers Lists. “We’re all Methodists,” they say. “Why can’t I just tell you what we want to do and you make it happen?” We’d love to be able to […]
I did an interesting exercise this week. I did a search for Interest Rates for savings accounts. The results were amazing. The highest I found was 2.1% at an on-line bank. Most of the rates that have just been raised were at 1.80 to 1.85%. Savings accounts can play a crucial role in your financial […]
Oak Grove UMC is a small church in Page County, close to the town of Shenandoah. Oak Grove UMC burned to the ground several years ago. It happened at night and by the time the Fire Departments got to the church, it was fully engulfed. I was at a Cabinet Meeting in Richmond and by […]
When you apply for a DevCo investment, you are encouraged to complete the Beneficiary section on the back of the application form. Most of you have done that. But many of you have had your investment(s) with us for several years now. So it’s appropriate to ask …. Are your beneficiaries up to date? Keeping […]
In our travels around the Conference, we have encountered a handful of churches that have Prayer Shawl Ministries. These involve groups of women (and some men) who love to knit or crochet. They normally get together on a periodic basis – either monthly or bi-weekly or even weekly – to practice their handiwork, pray for […]
I have been having the “Time of My Life” visiting churches this summer. Everywhere I go, churches are asking for a “change of culture”. They want to educate and create something new in the church. I read an article by Jim Hoffman about the Steps for Putting Good Ideas into Action. Jim is a pastor […]
Several people have asked us why there is currently so little difference between our current 24 Month Certificate rate (3.00%) and our 36 Month rate (3.20%), our 48 Month (3.30%) and our 60 Month (3.40%) rate. The short answer is that following the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike in June, we surveyed major banks to […]
Church loans are not a residential mortgage. Many times, we have heard church leaders inquire about the church receiving a 30-year mortgage loan. Since a church mortgage loan is considered a commercial loan, it’s structured differently. When seeking a property acquisition or new construction loan, church leaders are encouraged to compare loan terms and conditions […]