In 1995, Beulah Davis of Plain City, OH chose to put her faith in the future and make a planned gift with the West Ohio Conference Council on Development in honor of her parents Paul and Lucile Davis. The gift was to benefit their church, Plain City UMC, specifically for maintenance of the building or parsonage. Unfortunately, the church closed some years ago and since that time the gift that was made to the COD became dormant.

“We wanted to put those funds to use, but in situations like these, we have limited options,” explained United Methodist Foundation of West Ohio Executive Director, Susan Black. “Since the original donor is deceased, and it is impossible to meet her original intent, and the amount is under $20,000 and over 20 years old, we sought permission from the Ohio Attorney General to use the funds for a purpose that is closest to the donors’ original intent.”

That purpose is the maintenance of the church or parsonage for the newly formed Beloved UMC in Marysville, OH. “We’re delighted that we can make a grant for the full amount of the fund to help Beloved cover anticipated capital costs and free up current dollars for operating purposes,” said Black.

Beloved UMC will receive a grant of approximately $15,000 from the Foundation this month and has pledged to uphold the original intent of the donor as closely as possible.

“Donor intent is important,” said Black. “In fact, it’s the bedrock of our work because if donors don’t trust that we will be good stewards of their gifts, they won’t give. While this is an unusual case for the Foundation, it’s resulted in new life for this new congregation, and we couldn’t be more pleased with that outcome. We hope Ms. Davis would agree.”

For more information about how to make a planned gift to benefit your church, contact Susan Black at sblack@wocumc.org.