2023 Impact Report
For the Loving World God Imagines
Dear Friends,
On behalf of Texas Methodist Foundation, we’d like to share with you stories of impact that we are making together, emboldening cultures of purpose, generosity, and courage for the world God imagines.
First, let us share a few numbers that mark a very strong year for us. We had $95.7 million in new investments bringing us to $442.5 million in total funds managed for investors. The loan portfolio ended the year at $281.6 million. We received $4.6 million in gifts to support churches and ministries and made $4.3 million in donor-directed distributions. Our grants ministry made $1.5 million in grants to 76 churches and ministries, serving over 316,000 individuals. And we invested $3.2 million in learning and innovation for leaders across the church.
The numbers matter because of the impact they make possible, and that impact lives in the stories of the people and communities served through our collective efforts. Each story in this report is representative of all the ministries the foundation is grateful to support across Texas and New Mexico. They include stories of child development centers improving the well-being of entire communities, a church embracing all people through God’s love and grace, churches knowing and loving their neighbors, and launching leaders and innovators bringing new beginnings for congregations and communities. Each story embodies what’s possible when we follow Christ, expressing love and a generous spirit.
All the stories of impact are also your stories because they are made possible by your partnership with us. So, when you or your congregation opens an investment account, takes out a loan, or establishes a donor-advised fund or an endowment, you’re supporting your local church and the larger work of strengthening the church’s witness that is so needed today.
Thank you for partnering with us to do the loving work of Christ in the world and investing in bold new ways to steward potential toward the world God imagines.
So dear friends, with deep gratitude, we give thanks for you and for the ministry we share.
Rev. Lisa Greenwood
President & CEO
Texas Methodist Foundation
Mr. Tom Toevs
Board Chair
Texas Methodist Foundation
Empowering A Cycle of Generosity
We believe the church is called to the gap between the world today and the world of God’s imagination. We are grateful to be one among many partnering to strengthen the church by sustaining a continuous cycle of generosity.
The cycle is propelled by impact investing that provides positive returns* and funds a lending program that grows churches and by charitable giving that funds ministries and grants and supports leaders across the spiritual landscape who are learning and creating bold new ways to build cultures of purpose, generosity, and courage.
Together, all of us are doing Christ’s work, bringing about the loving world God imagines.
Investments
Investing in Strengthening the Church
Investments with TMF can earn positive financial returns* while growing churches, building ministries, and igniting the imagination of the next generation of church leadership across Texas and New Mexico.
Investing Impact Story
Investing in Children
You only get one chance at a great childhood.
The Children's Coalition of Aransas County provides vital year-round and day-long childcare that nurtures the spirits and talents of young kids. This quality childcare frees moms and dads to comfortably go to work, improving the quality of life for their entire family and growing the local economy.
TMF's investors in Impact Certificates enabled us to support the Children's Coalition by providing seed funding that launched this community-changing program.
Loans
Helping Expand Ministry
TMF offers loans with flexible interest and principal payment terms favorable to those offered by traditional commercial lenders, empowering churches and nonprofits to achieve their God-inspired dreams.
Lending Impact Story
Including Everyone in the Community
Grace Church in Palestine embraces all people through God’s love.
Partnering with the local school district, Grace Church revitalized the 9-hole golf course on church property, creating a space for fellowship and welcoming the school and the community to enjoy time together playing golf.
Thanks to a loan from TMF, the former golf restaurant and bar is now a bustling coffee shop and kitchen, licensed for commercial use and open to all, supporting the local small business food vendors across the community.
Philanthropy
Creating a Giving Legacy
TMF helps individuals create a giving plan to support the charities and communities they care most about and take care of the people you love, now and in the future.
Philanthropic Impact Story
Expressing a Generous Spirit
Cathy Bell never imagined herself as a philanthropist.
While serving on church finance committees for many years, Cathy saw firsthand that “any amount you can give is important” and that generosity is about so much more than the amount one can give. It’s about expressing your generous spirit.
After providing for her family, Cathy’s generosity will benefit both her congregation at Lovers Lane UMC in Dallas, Texas, and the community it serves through ministries, outreach, and evangelism.
Grants
Responding to Needs
TMF expands donor impact by partnering with our grantees to empower the church's work in the communities it serves and create the opportunity for meaningful, systemic change.
Grants Impact Story
Loving our Neighbors
Neighbor2Neighbor lives out a simple truth – in God’s world, each person matters.
Following the vision of Locke Innovative Leader De’Amon Harges and his approach to asset-based community development, and supported by a grant from TMF, Neighbor2Neighbor helps local churches become the vital heart of their community, nourishing community members as seeds of life through shared lives and stories.
Learning and Innovation
Connecting Leaders in Conversation
TMF connects leaders in brave conversations that blend tradition and innovation, creating enduring relationships of courage and learning that empower the church to stand to its full height and witness.
Investing in Courageous Leaders
Inspiring New Beginnings
Launch 3.0 was a Spirit-led three-day event that brought together entrepreneurs and church leaders from around the country.
Participants gathered in a brave balcony space to connect and flow through an intensive ideation design process to generate innovative, actionable ideas to better serve their congregations and their communities.
Igniting Imagination Podcast
Sparking Conversation
Every movement for change starts with a generative conversation. The Igniting Imagination Podcast features rich conversations with leaders across the church landscape that invite listeners into new possibilities for themselves, their church, and their community.
Nurturing the Spiritual Core
The generative conversations in the Igniting Imagination Podcast this year called us to innovate for love through holy friendships and do the challenging and hopeful work of facing reality to claim the leadership the world needs in this moment.
The podcast supports leaders in their efforts to ensure that churches and congregations, as well as organizations that nurture people's spiritual lives, remain vibrant heartbeats of our communal lives.