As I near the end of my term on the Vestry, I want to report on the series of actions approved by the Vestry concerning the Church’s investments. In 2019 the Vestry formed an Investment Committee consisting of parish member Carolyn Chamberlain, Treasurer Julie Knudsen and myself as a member of the Vestry. This committee continued the work of a previous investment committee whose 2012 documents served as our point of departure.
We began our work by reviewing the documents associated with each fund: the General Endowment, the Dorothy S. Blackmore Endowment, the Elizabeth Rudisill Homann Music Fund Endowment, the Linda Hoff Frost Endowment, the Belfry Endowment, as well as several other restricted funds. The Vestry approved an Endowed and Restricted Funds Information Sheet describing the purposes and restrictions of each fund in September 2020. This document is updated regularly and can be used by the Vestry and other committees for planning.
Our second task was to bring our policies for drawing from these funds into alignment with current best practices for non-profit organizations. The Vestry adopted a “Total Return Approach” and set the annual draw of 4% of the value of each fund calculated on a twelve-quarter rolling average (endowments such as the Frost that specify that only income may be spent are excluded from this policy). We also took several actions to simplify bookkeeping: moving the Homann Fund to the Diocese, and scheduling a single disbursement each January. The calculation of the disbursement now happens in October so that the income can be taken into consideration during the budget process.
The final step was to improve the way the Church manages cash (funds that are either in checking at First Northern Bank or in a money market at Edward Jones). The Vestry approved the creation of two new funds at the Diocese, in the new ESG fund (screened to be responsible in terms of Environment, Social Justice and Governance): a Columbarium Fund to provide for eventual expansion and a Capital Reserves Long Term Fund to provide for replacement of major items such as roofs and HVAC. The income from these funds will be reinvested, and the funds will grow over time. We also solicited proposals from three firms to manage the remaining funds.
Following review by the Budget and Finance Committee, the Vestry voted to move from Edward Jones to Soesbe Financial, based in Sacramento, and to establish an Operating Reserves Fund and a Capital Reserves Medium Term Fund for smaller capital needs. Both funds will be invested in low-fee ESG funds. With these changes we now have approximately $777,000 invested with the Diocese and $216,000 with Soesbe Financial. The Church also maintains an operating reserve of $100,000 at First Northern Bank.
St. Martin’s has been blessed by the generosity of generations of parishioners. The Vestry is proud of its role in stewarding these assets so critical to fulfilling our mission, now and in the future. As someone who loves this church and the many ways that it contributes to me personally as well as to the larger community, I would encourage each of you to join me in making a bequest to St. Martin’s part of your estate plans.
With best wishes,
Jessie Ann Owens, Junior Warden
