United Church Foundation Becomes United Church Funds
When the United Church Foundation updated its Strategic Plan in 2008, remaining “constituent driven” was reaffirmed as one of the organization’s Guiding Principles, with a goal of including constituent participation in the development of UCF’s services. While investors are regularly invited to offer feedback through surveys and in-person meetings, the Foundation decided to reach out in a new way in the first quarter of 2009, conducting focus groups to research several key questions.
So in January, 84 people and representatives of two UCC-related organizations in Connecticut, New Jersey, Missouri and California participated in six focus groups that discussed a range of issues around church finances, investment services, and awareness of the United Church Foundation. Half of the groups included current Foundation investors, while the other half comprised prospective investors.
What did we learn? When asked to describe the UCC as a person, half of participants said welcoming, 44% said compassionate and 40% described the “person” as open-minded. When asked to choose their top five descriptive words from a list of 30, 65% described the UCC as inclusive, 56% chose Christian, 51% selected open-minded, 45% picked welcoming, and 39% chose liberal. Of the Foundation’s current investors, 23% said their churches derived 90% of their operating income from offerings, while among prospective investors, 21% derive over 31% of their operating income from savings or investments. More than 65% of prospective investors said they use local banks or trust companies to manage their church assets, and just 11% of all participants reported that a committee manages their church investments.
We were pleased that Foundation investors continue to rate the safety and performance of their investments relatively high, despite the difficult economic climate. When asked what they liked best about their current investment manager, participants chose good performance, representation and experience as the top three qualities they value. Foundation investors also noted that having a socially responsible portfolio remained a high value for them as well, with 89% of all participants stating that socially responsible investing had either a positive or neutral impact on overall portfolio performance. Nearly 70% of participants believe that denominational investment management services offer either the same quality or better services than commercial managers.
One of our key questions for the focus groups: as the United Church Foundation enters its second century of service to the UCC: should the organization update its name to be more easily understood as a provider of high quality investment management services? Those who already know or use the Foundation are, of course, familiar with what we offer. But when leadership changes, or when a church sees our ads, does the current understanding of the word “foundation” suggest a donor or solicitor of funds, rather than an investment manager? Would another name more clearly announce our services to UCC churches and organizations?
The resounding response: yes! As we suspected, many people found the current name a bit confusing. When presented with six options for a new name, 88% chose United Church Funds. “It’s straightforward and specific,” said one participant, while another remarked, “it sounds more related to the UCC.”
So as of General Synod 2009, the United Church Foundation will become United Church Funds. While we will continue to offer our services under the legal umbrella of the current name, everything from our business cards to your quarterly statements will reflect the new name. Same low fees, same great service, same timeless mission. Keep an eye out for more exciting changes coming soon!
Net Asset Values
as of 09/03/2010
| Fixed-Income | 4.7382 |
 |
|
| EQUITY FUNDS | |
| Domestic Core | 8.7884 |
| International | 10.3561 |
| Small Cap | 8.2327 |
| Total Equity | 9.1517 |
|
|
| BALANCED FUNDS | |
| Conservative | 10.2429 |
| Moderate | 7.4552 |
| Aggressive | 9.4655 |
Learn more about our funds