First Presbyterian Church of Bryan Foundation
First Presbyterian Church of Bryan Foundation was established in the early 1980s when the church received substantial bequests from the Cavitt and Lee families. With careful stewardship and additional gifts, both large and small, Foundation assets have increased to more than $2,000,000. Of even more importance, through the years the Foundation has provided more than $2,500,000 to support the missions and programs of the church.
Contacts for Contributions
You may contact the moderator of the Foundation Board of Trustees, Dr. J. Creighton Miller, Jr., at 690-6035. As an alternative, you may contact any member of the board. Any of these individuals will be happy to visit with you confidentially and will enlist the aid of the Texas Presbyterian Foundation when appropriate. In addition to cash gifts, typical methods of donating monies that will further the ministries of First Presbyterian Church in perpetuity include memorial gifts, donations of stock, mutual funs and real estate, listing the Foundation as a beneficiary of life insurance policies, charitable IRAs, unitrusts, life income plans and charitable gift annuities.
Questions and Answers About the First Presbyterian Church of Bryan Foundation
Q. What is the purpose of the foundation?
A. To receive and invest undesignated bequests and gifts to the church.
Q. Who is responsible for oversight of the bequest funds?
A. A board of 9 trustees, elected by the congregation and governed by policies approved by the session.
Q. How large is the current invested bequest fund balance of the foundation?
A. Approximately $3,100,000. In addition, trustees oversee management of three smaller accounts totaling more than $150,000.
Q. How much income does the church receive from these funds?
A. In 2007, the church will receive approximately $112,000 from bequest fund earning. This is 4.5 percent of the last 12 quarters average balance of the fund. This amount has been increasing steadily in recent years.
Q. How is the bequest fund invested?
A. 60 -70% of the fund balance is invested in equities; the remainder is invested in bonds and cash equivalents.
Q. Who actually manages the bequest funds?
A. The current manager is The Texas Presbyterian Foundation in Dallas.
Q. What was the source of the bequest funds?
A. The source was predominately two large bequests from the Cavitt and Lee estates, totaling slightly less than $1,000,000 and donated in the early 1980s.
Q. How much income from the bequest funds have been provided to the church since the foundation was established in 1984?
A. More than $2,500,000 has been provided to the Session to support the ministries, missions and programs of First Presbyterian Church.
Q. Have there been other large undesignated bequests to the church or direct bequests to the Foundation since the initial gifts from the Cavitt and Lee estates?
A. There haven’t been any gifts of the size of the original bequests. There have, however, been a limited number of bequests in the $50,000 range over the years as well as many much smaller donations.
Contacts:
Charles Bankston
Mary Helen Bowers (Secretary)
Judy Childs (Treasurer)
Harry Green
Fain McDougal
Susan McGrail
Creighton Miller (President and Moderator)
Haskell Monroe (Vice-President)
Rose VanArsdel