The Board of Trustees of the Kansas Methodist Foundation, after an extensive review through the last six months, voted to adjust the asset allocation for both the Balanced Fund and Equity Fund, effective October 1, 2024. The allocation adjustments will reduce the investments in international equities in both funds, and will integrate more use of an index fund for the U.S. equity portion. The Board believes that these modifications will help KMF better meet the needs of the churches and agencies in Kansas, as well as slightly reduce the risk of the two funds.
The new asset allocation for the Balanced Fund offered through KMF is as follows:
25% US Equity Fund,
20% US Equity Index Fund,
20% International Equity, and
35% Fixed Income Fund.
The new asset allocation for the Equity Fund offered through KMF is as follows:
40% US Equity Fund,
30% US Equity Index Fund, and
30% International Equity.
If you have questions about this change or would like to visit about modifying your asset allocation, please contact us. We seek to continue to offer strong investment options that serve your ministry well. We also welcome your feedback for how we can continue to improve. You can contact Gloria (gloria@kansasmethodistfoundation.org) or Dustin (dustin@kansasmethodistfoundation.org).
Throughout the past year KMF has moved our sub accounting system to a new platform. This upgrade allows our donors and partners to see their funds via an online fund portal. To access this portal, you can to go to our website, www.kansasmethodistofundation.org, and click on a button called Access My Fund at the top right of our homepage. You can also use this link: https://kmf.fcsuite.com/erp/fundmanager.
You will need to establish a username and password, most likely the username is the email address that the fund statement was emailed to you at. If you click on “Forgot Password”, you will receive a link via email to create your password. If this way doesn’t work, please contact the Foundation to manually set up your username.
This portal will allow you to see the current fund(s) we have in our system connected to you, asset allocations, documents related to each fund, and recent activity. Additionally, you can review past activity and see previous statements. Another benefit provided in this new upgrade, is that fund advisors can initiate distributions or withdrawals from the online access.
If you have questions or problems, please connect with us as we continue to improve this new technology. Thank you for our relationship and your generosity.
Notice of Certificate of Participation Changes Effective May 2024
Grace and Peace to you in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you for partnering with the Kansas Methodist Foundation through a Certificate of Participation. Through your investment, the Foundation is able to provide loans to Methodist churches and organizations to further their ministries. We are grateful for you.
Recently the Kansas Methodist Foundation transitioned to a new sub-accounting system for our total ministry to better serve our churches, organizations, and families. We have discovered in this transition that we will have to make two changes to our Certificate of Participation program, which we seek to share with you in this notice letter.
- Effective May 1, 2024, the maturity date for all Certificates of Participation will be adjusted to be the 15th of the month for the month in which it matures. That is, if a Certificate of Participation had previously matured on January 27, 2025, its new maturity date will now be January 15, 2025. Interest will continue to accrue until the new maturity date. All future Certificates of Participation can be purchased at any time within a month, however, its maturity date will be the 15th of the month for the maturity month, either after one-year or two-years depending on the investment choice.
- The second change, effective May 1, 2024, is the interest strategy options we can facilitate. All Certificates of Participation will receive interest on one or the other strategy. KMF will automatically apply the closest related strategy to a current Certificate, which can be changed at maturity if desired. Here are the interest strategy options:
a. One option is for Certificates of Participation to be set to receive a “monthly compounding” interest strategy. Thus, interest will be earned and applied to the Certificate on a monthly basis, providing a slightly higher return for investors upon maturity because of the compounding. A full or partial distribution, upon request, can occur at maturity.
b. The other option is for the Certificate to make distribution of earned interest for a period of six months and distributed to the Investor semi-annually. This interest strategy is termed, “semi-annual distributed”. The interest will not be compounded on a monthly basis, but rather will be distributed to the investor every six months.
If you should have any questions regarding your investment or our services, please contact our office
Sincerely,
Rev. Dr. Dustin D. Petz
President and CEO
Change in KMF Fee Calculation Effective May 2024
The Kansas Methodist Foundation is grateful to serve your ministry through our sustainable and socially responsible investment program. Thank you for our ministry together and for investing with us. We seek to help you steward well and grow your resources for ministry. We appreciate you.
In our effort to continue strengthen our administration, KMF has updated our accounting software to better serve our partners. This change comes with it the option to assess our KMF administration fee more accurately for the funds we manage. The administrative fees are not changing. What is changing is that we will base the administrative fee on the average daily balance for the fund for the month, instead of based on the fair market value of the fund as of the last day of the month. This change will be effective starting in May 2024.
For the most part, this change will not impact funds very much, but will more accurately reflect the appropriate administrative fee.
If you would like to visit with me about this change or anything else related to your investment funds at KMF, please let me know. I would be honored to visit so that we can serve well. You can contact me dustin@kansasmethodistfoundation.org or by calling the office at (620) 664-9623.
The Kansas Methodist Foundation is grateful to serve you in support of your stewardship and generosity. Thank you for our ministry together.
Sincerely,
Rev. Dr. Dustin D. Petz
President and CEO
In 2022, KMF continued growing our ministry with Methodist families, churches, and organizations. We are called into this unique ministry of stewardship and generosity so that together we make a lasting difference in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you for joining us on this shared journey.
Change to Equity Fund Asset Allocation
The Board of Trustees of the Kansas Methodist Foundation voted, after an extensive review through the last six months, to adjust our Equity Fund asset allocation starting at the beginning of October 2022. The allocation change includes reducing the Equity Fund’s allocation to international equities by 10%, and to begin using a socially responsible US Equity Index fund. The Board believes that these modifications will help KMF better meet the needs of the churches and agencies in Kansas, as well as slightly reduce the risk of the Equity Fund.
The new asset allocation for the Equity Fund offered through KMF is as follows:
45% U.S. Equity Fund
20% U.S. Equity Index Fund, and
35% International Equity Fund
This change will only impact the Equity Fund. It will not change the asset allocation of the Balanced Fund.
If you would like to make changes to your asset allocations, or if you have questions about this change, please contact us. You can contact Gloria (gloria@kansasmethodistfoundation.org) or Dustin (dustin@kansasmethodistfoundation.org).
Memorial Planning Guide Available
A booklet titled, To My Loved Ones, is now available from the Kansas Methodist Foundation. By sharing your preferences today, your loved ones will experience greater peace of mind later. Proper planning equips the people you care about with the information they need to settle your affairs and make the right choices.
This guide is designed to help you think about questions your family will need to answer when you pass away. Please share with loved ones that you've recorded your wishes and personal information. Keep your completed planner in a safe but familiar place so that your family can find it, perhaps alongside your estate documents and other important papers like deeds, titles, insurance policies, and tax returns. You may also want to provide a copy to loved ones who are likely to assist with your end-of-life arrangements.
For questions, please contact us at info@kansasmethodistfoundation.org or 620-664-9623.
End of Year Giving Brochure Available
A tri-fold brochure promoting year end giving is now available from the Kansas Methodist Foundation. The brochure highlights ways congregation member can support the church through their giving this year, as well as in the future.
Churches have permission to add their logo and contact information to the brochure. All other text and graphics should remain unaltered.
For questions, please contact us at info@kansasmethodistfoundation.org or 620-664-9623.
KMF Announces Named Seminary Scholarship Funds
A key to the future of our church is strong, theologically-educated, pastoral leaders.
The Kansas Methodist Foundation is working to help fill the need though partnering with families, like yours, to create a named scholarship fund to support seminarians as they answer God’s call in their life.
“One of the most profound gifts I was given when following the calling God placed in my life to go to seminary, was the vital support of scholarships,” said Dustin Petz, President of KMF. “Strong leaders often lead to strong and vibrant congregations. With more pastors retiring, the church needs new strong leaders. At a time when the base cost for a Masters of Divinity program averages $50,000, scholarships help pave a path for seminarians to follow their call.”
Through a named scholarship fund, you can impact the life of a seminarian through creating a scholarship that will have a minimum impact of $1,000 per year. The fund can be in your name or in the name of someone you would like to honor, such as a pastor who has impacted your life.
Depending on your goals for the scholarship, either a term fund or an endowed fund can be created. An endowed fund will generate seminary scholarships in perpetuity and is created with an initial gift of at least $25,000, which may be contributed over a period of up to five years. The scholarship amount is designed to increase over time and keep pace with normal inflation. If you want to make an impact over a set number of years, a minimum gift of $5,000 will create a fund that is fully distributed over a period of five or more years.
If you are ready to create a named scholarship fund, or would like additional information, please contact Tyler Curtis, Chief Development Officer of KMF, at Tyler@KansasMethodistFoundation.org or 620-664-9623.
Pathways for Discipleship Grants Available
The Kansas Methodist Foundation is offering Pathways for Discipleship Grants to Kansas churches and organizations in four key areas of ministry: Justice Ministries, Children and Youth Programs, Ministry and Outreach, and Leadership Education.
The matching grants are awarded to churches and organizations across Kansas to advance ministries, especially in ways that are creative, innovative, and new. Grant applications will be accepted from June 1 – September 1, 2022. For more information, visit kansasmethodistfoundation.org.
The Kansas Methodist Foundation is grateful for the individuals and families who help make the ministry grants possible. If you are interested in learning more about how you can get involved in supporting ministries across Kansas to meet the needs of our changing world by exploring new possibilities, contact Tyler Curtis at tyler@kansasmethodistfoundation.org or 620-664-9623.
If you have any questions, please contact KMF at info@kansasmethodistfoundation.org or 620-664-9623.