Northwest Baptist Foundation

After celebrating 50 years of serving the Northwest, year 51 could feel a little anti-climactic. Yet God still surprises us in many ways. As Psalm 118:23 says, “The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” Let us share with you the marvelous things the Lord is doing in the Foundation.

The Baptist General Convention of Oregon-Washington (now the Northwest Baptist Convention) authorized the creation of the Northwest Baptist Foundation. On May 4, 1956 final documents were filed with the state of Oregon and the Foundation became a corporation. Since then the Northwest Baptist Foundation has served as the trust agency for the Convention and our churches.

The Foundation is incorporated under the laws of the State of Oregon as a nonprofit organization. The Foundation provides interim financing for church construction, bond financing services and student loans and scholarships; serves as trustee for various revocable and irrevocable trusts, charitable trusts and endowments; and assists individuals in their estate and financial planning.

The auditing firm McDonald Jacobs, PC performed the annual audit of the Foundation’s financial statements for 2006. The Foundation has continued to receive an unqualified opinion, meaning that the auditors believe that the financial statements are presented fairly and in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles.

This was the first year of a three-year engagement with this accounting firm. The Board of Directors of the Foundation have requested that the Foundation change auditors every 3 to 5 years, so that we have a fresh look at the financial statements and offer any recommendations on accounting polices and procedures.

The Foundation has shown steady growth, ending 2006 with $34,018,645.00 in assets under management. This growth has continued in 2007. As of August 31, 2007, the Foundation’s assets exceeded $37.8 million.

The total unrestricted net assets of the Foundation were $684,714.00 as of December 31, 2006. This amount represents the Foundation’s reserves, and is more than equal to one year’s budget expenses. This indicates the strength of the Foundation’s current financial condition.

In 2006 we assisted over 170 of our Northwest Baptists in the preparation of wills, trust documents, power of attorneys, or advance directives. We also continue to provide assistance with several individuals and families in need of personal care services. Personal care services can include helping with monthly check writing, acting as power of attorney, or making sure the individual is cared for during their lifetime. We consider this to be assisting individuals with the transition from here to heaven with dignity. Sometimes this is in concert with family members, other times the Foundation is the only involved entity. The Foundation acts as an extension of the local church when we serve in this capacity.

Managing trusts and estates continues to be a core service that the Foundation provides to Northwest churches and clients. More than half of the $37.8 million in assets managed by the Foundation are in revocable trusts managed on behalf of individuals and churches. A little more than 25% of the total is in Endowment or Memorial Funds which provide income to support Baptist ministries and other charitable causes. In 2006, $507,742 was distributed to charitable causes, including $56,616 to fund scholarships for undergraduate and seminary students.

As of June 30, 2007, there were 18 outstanding loans from the Church Loan Fund with a current balance owed of $5,535,081.00. In addition, the Foundation manages other loan funds for several associations and churches. Out of those funds, there were a total of 18 loans to Baptist churches or other Baptist entities with a total balance due as of June 30 of $574,198.00. This makes a total of 36 loans to Baptist churches and entities in the Northwest totaling $6,109,279.00.

The Board commended four Board members for their recent years of service to the board: Ron Bryant (2000 - 2007) a member of Highland Baptist Church in Redmond, Ore.; Steve Fulton (2004-2007), a member of Faith Community Baptist Church in Ocean Shores, Wash.; Thomas Smith (2004-2007), a member of Trinity Baptist Church in Springfield, Ore.; and Tim Crownover (2005-2007), President of the Northwest Baptist Convention and pastor of Northside Baptist Church in Vancouver, Wash.; and Gus Suarez (2005-2007), Executive-Director of the Northwest Baptist Convention and member of Crosspointe Baptist Church in Vancouver, Wash.

We now have 3 employees that have 10 plus years of service for the Foundation. This type of stability is a very great asset to the Foundation. This allows the Foundation staff to have wonderful relationships with our Baptists across our Northwest Convention.

We thank all of the staff for the way in which they minister to our Northwest Baptists:

Tom Hixson, 14 years as the President;
Karla Inman, 10 years as Admin Asst/Office Manager;
Robin Smith, 10 years as Bookkeeper;
Clint Overall, 9 years as Legal Counsel & Estate Planner Officer;
Steve Brock, 4 years as Chief Financial Officer; and
Heather Wright, 2 years as Admin Asst/ Public Relations.

In addition, the Foundation has been blessed to have three volunteers helping around the office: Pat Fuller, Wayne Fuller, and Anita Wilson.

We now have on our full-time staff individuals with the following credentials: MBA, CFP, JD, & CPA (and 5 notary publics!). Having all of these professionals on staff is indeed a tremendous benefit for the Foundation.

The Foundation and Strongtower (formerly California Plan of Church Finance) enjoy a relationship that began more than two decades ago. The Northwest Baptist Foundation is now pleased to welcome Strongtower Financial and Shannon Andrews to the Northwest Center.

Strongtower’s focus is to provide exceptional financial advice and competitive products to individuals and institutions desiring to faithfully manage their money. Strongtower’s presence allows Northwest Baptists to benefit from a blending of resources. While the Foundation continues to offer estate planning, gift annuities, charitable giving, trust management, church loans and scholarships, Strongtower is your resource for CD’s, annuities, insurance, mutual funds and IRA plans. Contact the Foundation to find out how our combined efforts can benefit you.

We ask that you would join us in praising the One who truly owns it all. Let us help you Leave a Legacy for future generations. We continue to look forward to many more years of experiencing God’s hand in our ministry.