A retired certified financial planner, Bill Coffeen is a former member of the Georgia United Methodist Foundation Board of Trustees and now serves on the Strategic Purpose Task Force Committee.
In 2016, he established the Bill and Inez Coffeen Scholarship Endowment with the Foundation to honor his parents while supporting students and future Christian leaders who attend Methodist higher education institutions.
As chair of Due West UMC’s Legacy Ministry Committee, Bill encouraged the church to enroll in the Foundation’s Legacy Ministry Training Program. In this Q&A, Bill provides insight into the training, which allows members to give or leave a gift to the church endowment.
Q: Why did Due West UMC enroll in the Foundation’s Legacy Ministry Training Program?
Bill: We enrolled to increase the likelihood of success in building an endowment of lasting value. Why reinvent the wheel when the template for success was available? Using the videos and related support materials helped us as a committee to stay on track. While the concept of an endowment is quite simple, creating the framework to sustain it is far more complex and requires thorough due diligence. The Foundation’s tools and readily available phone consultations greatly benefited our church as it would any other Methodist community of believers.
Q: How does the Foundation help Due West UMC fulfill its mission?
Bill:Â Participating in the United Methodist Dollars for Scholars program for many years and recently creating an endowment for future generations helps Due West as a church and as individuals expand its stewardship role in our community and the world.
Q: Why is this endowment critical to the church’s future?
Bill: This endowment reminds us that everything comes from God and that our ability to help future generations doesn’t stop at death but continues in perpetuity.
Q: Why should Due West UMC members leave a legacy to support the church?
Bill:Â Just as daffodils multiply over time and blossom annually, so too does an endowment whose earnings (blossoms) can be distributed periodically while the principal (the bulbs) keeps growing and spreading. The blessings of such activity live on forever.
