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“You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else” (2 Cor. 9:11-13).
The Mississippi Baptist Foundation serves as the trust agency of the Mississippi Baptist Convention, offering a means whereby Mississippi Baptists can provide perpetual support for Mississippi Baptist and Southern Baptist causes until our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ returns.
As the trust agency of the Convention, the Mississippi Baptist Foundation promotes Christian estate stewardship, receives, invests, and manages endowment gifts. Additionally, the Foundation distributes earnings from these endowments to many Baptist ministries. In essence, the Mississippi Baptist Foundation serves as a money-management partner for Mississippi Baptist churches, institutions, and agencies. The Mississippi Baptist Foundation ministers under the direction of a Board of Trustees elected by the Mississippi Baptist Convention and the Foundation receives primary funding through a Cooperative Program allocation. As a Mississippi Baptist agency, the Mississippi Baptist Foundation desires to advance the goal of “helping bring Mississippi and the World to Jesus.”
“Praise God from whom all blessings flow!” Despite the opportunity to retreat and pare back on giving to Kingdom causes as a result of the continuing deterioration in nearly every economic category, Mississippi Baptists exhibited admirable stewardship during Fiscal Year 2009 as the Mississippi Baptist Foundation received $5,722,562 (28.0% increase) in new contributions for the 12 months ending June 30, 2009. Since 1943, Mississippi churches and mission causes, our Mississippi Baptist colleges and the Baptist Children’s Village, North American and International missions, and the six Southern Baptist Seminaries have received encouragement and financial support from the generosity of faithful stewards. As a result of these historic and recent blessings, income distributed by the Foundation to various Baptist causes totaled $3,218,034 (2.77% increase) during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2009. Income distributions to Baptist ministries are summarized by the following graph:
During this same period, however, total assets managed by the Foundation decreased by 8.40% from the previous year to $82,760,441. The continued volatility in financial markets, the increase in unemployment, a deepening drop in consumer confidence and spending, the burden of accumulated debt, and the continued instability in the housing and mortgage industries contributed to these declines as recessionary pressures continued to plague every aspect of our economy.
Presentations were made by the Foundation staff at associational meetings, Sr. Adults rallies and retreats, and to various church groups. These visits provided the opportunity to share information on the benefits and blessings of Kingdom stewardship that are available through a Last Will and Testament, an Advance Health Care Directive, Powers of Attorney, and Charitable Gifts. Many Mississippi Baptists responded to the invitation to promote Kingdom ministries by favoring Baptist causes in their will or through a charitable trust.
One of the key resources offered by the Foundation designed to assist Mississippi Baptists with their stewardship and estate planning is a booklet entitled Your Personal Planning Toolkit. This resource affords the opportunity to outline a vast array of personal and financial information that will prove helpful both in the present and in the future. In addition, this “toolkit” will prompt readers to consider many important aspects for making adequate preparation for the day when the Lord calls them to “higher service” with Him.
The Mississippi Baptist Foundation promotes estate stewardship by offering seminars that focus on Last Will and Testament, Investments, and the nature, method, and benefits of making Financial Gifts. The format of each seminar is appropriate for Discipleship Training sessions, group luncheons, and other gatherings. Please call the Mississippi Baptist Foundation to schedule these seminars.
The Foundation assists individuals who desire to make a gift, generally an endowment or a life income gift, to any Mississippi Baptist or Southern Baptist cause or mission. Not only does the Mississippi Baptist Foundation provide information to prospective donors and their advisors, but the Foundation often also serves as Trustee of the gift. Life income gifts include the Gift Annuity, Charitable Remainder Trust, Pooled Income Fund, and Charitable Lead Trust.
The Mississippi Baptist Foundation provides money management services for Mississippi Baptist churches, institutions, agencies, and for other Foundation accounts. Available Foundation investment services include the following.
MBF Equity Fund – This growth stock fund is designed for capital appreciation with little emphasis on income. Invested in stock offerings of U.S. and international corporations, the Fund is managed by four outside professional money managers.
MBF Fixed Income Fund – This bond fund is designed to produce income with little attention given to capital appreciation. This Fund, which is managed by three outside professional money managers, includes U.S. government securities, corporate bonds, and international investments.
MBF Short Term Cash Fund – This fund is a money market-type fund, which is designed to out-perform both the current yields associated with six- and twelve-month certificates of deposit and the 91-day Treasury bill rate. With this approach, the Short-Term Cash Fund matches a competitive rate of return with full liquidity. The Fund is managed by the Southern Baptist Foundation.
MBF General Endowment Fund – The General Endowment Fund is designed to address the long-term investment objectives of perpetual endowment accounts. The Endowment Fund seeks to provide income while guarding against the effects of inflation. The Endowment Fund is invested in stocks and bonds according to a preset allocation. The current investment allocation of the Endowment Fund is 30% in the MBF Equity Fund and 70% in the MBF Fixed Income Fund.
Please call the Mississippi Baptist Foundation with questions or for assistance regarding any of the services offered through the Foundation.
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