In a recent article we promoted the idea of giving to an endowment or permanent fund. One immediate concern is whether that will take a lot of effort and time. However, it will not take either time or effort because The Idlewild Foundation already has a permanent fund, an endowment begun several years ago by generous donors who love the Lord and Idlewild Baptist Church. Even better, that fund has been added to over the years.
Anyone can give to the fund with a simple donation of cash, check, an appreciated investment account, appreciated stock or property. The Idlewild Foundation manages the permanent fund and annually pays the income to Idlewild Church, keeping the principle intact so the fund can continue to provide income to the gospel and the ministries of His church.
The permanent fund of The Idlewild Foundation is very humble compared to the endowment of mighty institutions like Harvard university which is made up of over 13,000 individual funds and had an endowment value in 2018 of over $39 billion. Our permanent fund is only a little over $39,000 as of 2019. Generally, The Idlewild Foundation has determined that God is better at handling investments than we are – so we have preferred to put unrestricted donations to use immediately for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the mission of the Foundation. However, some donors wish to give to a permanent fund and we want people to know that is a practical and simple alternative.
An alternative means of giving over a long term is through a Donor Advised Fund or a giving fund established through The Idlewild Foundation and the National Christian Foundation. The money used to establish a giving fund may be a tax-deductible donation at the time the fund is established or at the time additional donations are made. Giving funds are flexible and help the donor and the donor’s family learn good stewardship. See Ways to Give.
To learn more, give us a call at (813) 264-8713.
About the Author
John Campbell has retired from a 40-year legal practice as a trial attorney in Tampa. He has served in multiple volunteer roles at Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz, Florida, where he met Jesus. He began serving as the Executive Director of the Idlewild Foundation in 2016. He has been married to the love of his life, Mona Puckett Campbell, since 1972.