Six Decades of Service, 1940–2000
In the Nov. 21, 1940, issue of The Alabama Baptist, Editor L.L. Gwaltney noted the Alabama Baptist State Convention meeting in Decatur “brought into being a Baptist Foundation. It is an agency chartered by the state consisting of nine trustees which will receive and hold and administer gifts, legacies and contributions of any kind from anyone who wishes to give to any cause whatever which is fostered by the Alabama Baptist State Convention. … Please pass this word along so that everyone may know that such an agency exists.”
December 2000 will bring to a close six decades of service of The Baptist Foundation of Alabama. Assets at Sept. 30, 2000, of $123,743,463.29 and income of $7,454,814 eamed for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2000, speak to the permanency of the work and the contribution of the donors to the ongoing Baptist causes.
The growth of The Foundation, especially in the 1990s, indicates a trend toward more and more awareness of The Baptist Foundation, more utilization of its services and sharing in the benefits by donors and Baptist causes.
The Baptist Foundation of Alabama continues to be supported by Cooperative Program gifts with the exception of some designated cost recovery and cash flow income. For this, we are grateful for it has provided opportunities of service otherwise not possible as well as generating more funds for designated causes. Basic guidelines established in the very beginning have made The Foundation unique and strong.
The Foundation is different from most other foundations in that it does not exist for itself but to serve Baptist institutions and agencies as well as individuals. The Foundation makes no grants of its own, but rather manages property and funds held in trust for designated causes, distributing the income earned from investments according to the specific directions of the donors, or in the absence of specific directions, at the discretion of the Board of Directors.
The Foundation has no authority over any institution or cause it serves. The Directors, both past and present, have given freely of their time, energies, expertise and resources. They have contributed significantly to the success of The Foundation. The tenure of service of many has added much to the strength and stability of the work. For this we are grateful.
Pat Roberson, who was elected the first president of the Board of Trustees (Directors), served for 23 years. Three Lifetime Directors, N. J. Bell III, George F. Wooten, and E. B. Odom Jr. served 40 years, 19 years and 20 years respectively. At the same time the Board has maturity and experience, with new life reflected by more than one-half of the Board members currently serving a first or second term.
An office staff has been assembled that renders prompt, efficient, courteous service to both donors and beneficiaries. Their efforts provide a strong, dependable backup for the President. The efforts of the Directors, the Administration and the office staff working through the vehicle of The Baptist Foundation make it possible to further the cause of Christ around the world.
The Baptist Foundation services begin with disseminating information and progress from estate planning to generating funds, investing and accounting for funds and distributing income to causes specified by the donors.
We are indebted to those who have left a witness for Christ that will be active long after their deaths.
We are grateful for the increasing response of the Baptists in Alabama to the services of The Foundation. Thanks be to God for His blessings over these past 60 years. We face the future with renewed faith and confidence in His leadership.
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