Foundation History
An Ad Hoc Committee of First Baptist Church was formed upon approval of the Church Council and Finance Board in April 1993. The members of the Committee were Lee Gean (Chairman), Evelyn Rolan (Secretary), Clifton Cox (Treasurer), Wayne Church, Edith Coggins, Richard Wilkes, and John Hubley (ex officio). The purpose of the Committee was to study and, as appropriate, establish a foundation. The Articles of Incorporation for the foundation were drafted and approved at the May 25, 1993 meeting. After reviewing and approving the Articles, Richard Wilkes withdrew from the Committee. The Articles were approved by the Arizona Corporation Commission January 27, 1994. The Bylaws were drafted in late 1993 and approved by the Committee in January 1994.
The first meeting of the Foundation was March 7, 1994. Members of the Board were elected and officers selected. They were Lee Gean (President), Clifton Cox (Treasurer), Edith Coggins (Secretary), Gary Hamman, Al Longanecker, Warren Ledbetter, and Al Thomas. Pastor Bruce Schipul is an ex officio member of the Board. Application was made to the IRS for 501(c)(3) status of the Foundation. This was approved May 23, 1994 by the IRS.
In May of 1994, Edith Coggins donated property to the Foundation in exchange for a Charitable Gift Annuity Agreement for the Foundation to pay her a fixed amount each quarter for the rest of her life. The property was sold by the Foundation and $6,500 of the initial funds received were deposited in the Common Investment Fund of the American Baptist Home Mission Society. The remaining funds were deposited into the checking account. Subsequent monthly payments by the buyer were also deposited in the checking account. Quarterly payments to Edith were paid from the checking account until her passing in early 2005.
The Foundation held several meetings and seminars at the church to inform people of giving options and to provide some basic information on estate planning. No other significant contributions were received by the Foundation, however. The Foundation activities were minimal from 1996 until the time when it became clear that FBC was going to be dissolved.
In September 2006 four Board members were added to the existing five. Amendments to the Bylaws and Articles were being drafted to accommodate the dissolution of FBC and the probable receipt of a substantial amount of money from the sale of the church property. The amendments were approved at the October 24, 2006 meeting. The amendments allowed up to fifteen Board members. Five more were elected at this meeting, bringing the total to fourteen. One more was added in March 2007 bringing the current Board to fifteen members.
Under the leadership of President Bill Beamon, the Board has formulated its mission statement, a procedure for grant applications, and a policy for investment and distribution of its funds. The Foundation received $1,004,373 from Living Streams Church in October 2006 as the first payment for the church property. The funds were invested and the value was $1,092,817 at the end of 2007.