McDougall Foundation AGM 2022: President’s Report

Below is a copy of Phil Edward’s President report from the McDougall Foundation AGM that happened on June 12, 2022.

The McDougall United Church Foundation was founded in 2001 for the purpose of promoting philanthropy among the members and friends of McDougall United Church.  The business of the Foundation is to remind, urge and assist giving to McDougall and to the greater community that McDougall supports.  We are able to accept all manner of donations of cash, stocks, bonds, bequeaths, life insurance, and other gifts in kind for the benefit of McDougall and to maximize tax benefits to our members. 

Following payment of the Mortgage in June 2015, the Foundation was charged by Council to look at the funding that will be necessary for the ongoing building maintenance for the structure and grounds at McDougall.  In order for Trustees and the Foundation to be able to plan for future major building repair expenses, we asked for and received a Building Condition Assessment report from Pinchin Engineering which included estimated future major building expenses. The more major expenses for HVAC, furnace, and roof come in the mid range of the 10 year scope we asked for in the assessment. The first year (2021-2022) details some catch-up on regular maintenance. Under this program some video equipment for live streaming worship services was purchased, kitchen grease traps have been replaced, and one HVAC (heating) unit with serious cracks was repaired. Failing hot water heaters will be replaced this year. Cost of these repairs will be covered by the long-term maintenance funds committed to by the Foundation for 2022 . Some items in the regular church maintenance budget including security system upgrades, stucco damage and roof repairs, and parking lot repairs will probably be completed this year.

Although there are no immediate concerns, we need to continue to add to the Foundation reserves as there will be more significant capital expenses in the mid to long term. In 2021, the Foundation continued to receive restricted and non-restricted pledges.  Additional details are in the Financial update.

There are 2 bursaries/scholarships Funds that are supported by the McDougall Foundation. Although they are both in support of post secondary education, there are differences. 

The first is the McDougall United Church Scholarship and Bursary Fund which was created a number of years ago for deserving congregants, their children and grandchildren. An anonymous donor stepped up in Dec. 2015 with a donation of $25,000. to the MUC Foundation to endow this fund. The $25,000 was invested with the Calgary Foundation and generates a minimum return of 5% per annum.  This income is used to provide yearly scholarships. It will continue to complement their existing program in perpetuity to provide Scholarships and Bursaries to students who qualify based on criteria established by The McDougall United Church Bursary and Scholarship Committee. A disbursement of $1,224 was paid in 2021 to our Foundation and forwarded to The McDougall Church Scholarship Fund.

The second Fund is the McDougall United Church Indigenous Bursary. This fund was created to benefit First Nations students at Mount Royal University with an anonymous donation of $25,000 in Dec.2015. This fund is being administered by Mount Royal University and had its first disbursement in 2017.  Current total for the fund as of June 30, 2021 was $49,439.  The Mount Royal University endowment generates a return of 3.5% per annum. This income is used to provide a yearly scholarship ($1900 in 2021) for 1st year Indigenous students based on financial need. MRU advises McDougall Church each year of deserving candidates who are recipients of this endowment and the recipient is invited to participate in an awards ceremony at McDougall. There will be more about this Indigenous Bursary later in this meeting with videos introducing a recent recipient. 

We are proud to have a partnership with Mount Royal University who have a goal of increasing their representation of Indigenous students to equal seven (7) percent of total enrollment .

In conclusion, we greatly appreciate the gifts that have been given to the Foundation in the past and encourage everyone to think about contributing in the future.so we have enough money for future projects.

Please visit the Foundation webpage to learn more.