THORPE LEGACY COMMITTEE POLICY

Background:
  In October of 2017, Marilyn Thorpe provided in her will, a gift to the Northside United Methodist Church (NUMC) of $1,077,000.00. The gift has no restrictions or limitations and was directed to the church’s endowment committee for investment.
  A special committee, the Thorpe Legacy Committee (TLC) was established to help determine how and under what circumstances the distributable income generated annually from the endowment investments might be used.
  Thorpe Legacy Committee was created through action of the church’s Administrative Council (Ad Council) in February 2019 and consists of five members and the Pastor. This committee met for the first time in March of 2019, elected a chairperson and began developing a process by which the Endowment funds would be utilized by the NUMC, giving strong consideration as to how Marilyn Thorpe might best be honored and recognized based on her interests and pursuits while attending NUMC.
Policy:
The formula for determining the generation of distributable income is as follows:
  “Funds distributable” in any calendar year will be based on the previous year’s total investment return (principal appreciation/depreciation and earned income).
  “Funds distributable” to the Thorpe Grant Funds (TGF) will be comprised of the greater of one third of the annual investment return (net change in principle value and earned income) or earned income.
  The Endowment committee, at the end of each calendar year, shall notify the TLC of the earnings resulting from the Endowment fund investment portfolio. The TLC, at this time, shall make it known to the Church how much money is available in the TGF and that applications for grants may be submitted to the TLC for review. The TLC will make a recommendation to the Ad Council who has the responsibility for how the TGF are dispersed. In the event of an emergency, the Ad Council is granted the authority to spend up to ten percent of the total value of the endowment fund, provided approval is obtained from the Church Conference by a two third vote of its members.   
Procedure:
This procedure defines two different scenarios for requesting money from the TGF

1. First, a committee having developed plans/programs to support an activity in alignment with our strategic vision, can then apply for funds during the planning cycle by completing an application (see attached) and submitting to the TLC. The requesting committee shall describe in the application how and why the use of TGF is being requested. What the estimated costs will be and how it applies to our strategic vision. The use of these funds shall not be for the purpose of supplementing or making up any deficit of the churches normal recurring budgeted items.

Second, when a committee/member has an urgent/unplanned request that supports our Church vision and mission as identified by the Ad Council. May request TGF at any time using the application mentioned above.

1. The TLC shall carefully review each application, ensuring that it is both complete and meets the intent and guidelines outlined in the previous paragraphs. The applicant will be encouraged to attend the TLC meeting for their application review. When the TLC has completed their review of the application, they shall forward it with an appropriate recommendation and present the application to the Ad Council for their consideration.

1. If the application is approved (in total or in part), the applicant and the financial secretary shall be informed by the TLC for implementation and funding.

1. If the application is not approved the requestor will be notified by the Ad Council of the reasons for the denial.

2000.  Expenditure requests should be accompanied by at least 2 cost estimates. Expenditures over $2000.00 are required to have 3 estimates, if possible, from reputable suppliers. If cost estimates are not available for some reason an explanation shall be attached to the application.
2001. All requests for TGF will receive serious and complete consideration.