wfn.org | UMDF offers double benefits to investors

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

Dec. 13, 2000 News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
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By United Methodist News Service

Bishop Jonathan Keaton wants United Methodist investors to know how they can
get a double bang for their buck.

As the recently re-elected president of the United Methodist Development
Fund (UMDF), he will oversee an extensive campaign promoting the fund's
benefits, aimed both at individuals and institutions.

The pitch is simple. "You get a good rate of return," said Keaton, who leads
the United Methodist Church's East Ohio Annual (regional) Conference. "By
investing in the fund, you get an opportunity to participate in the growth
and development of churches." 

The interest rate for four-year investments and individual retirement
accounts, as of Dec. 1, is 8 percent. UMDF directors, who met in November,
also approved a rate of 6 percent for one-year investments. The
flexible-demand investment rate remains at 4 percent.

What the money is used for - assisting churches in building and renovating
their facilities -- is what makes UMDF unique. Thanks to a new FastTrack
system that allows for a preliminary loan approval within 72 hours, the fund
disbursed 88 loans totaling $54.8 million this year, compared to 50 loans
totaling $26.2 million in 1999.

Created by merger in 1969, UMDF is the successor corporation of the
Methodist Investment Fund and Evangelical United Brethren Investment Fund.
The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries elects its directors, who
serve four-year terms. The board's evangelism and church growth program area
administers the fund. Directors are in the process of hiring a new staff
executive for UMDF.

Although UMDF has a healthy $83 million in total assets, Keaton's goal is to
increase that amount to more than $200 million in the next four to eight
years. Increasing assets means increasing the number of new loans the fund
can disburse. 

For now, the allocation to new loans has been fully committed. But UMDF
directors are hoping to lift the loan moratorium by next spring by targeting
not only new individual investors, but also foundations and agencies with
denomination ties that have money to invest. The minimum investment is $100
and the fund pays dividends twice a year.

More information on UMDF is available by calling toll free at (800) 862-8633
or visiting http://gbgm-umc.org/units/evgrowth/umdf.html online.

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United Methodist News Service
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