Last week, we shared the story of Richard and Peggy Ziglar and their desire to help the ministries they care about continue for the long term.
Their story also illustrates an important point about endowments: a gift made today can keep working for years to come.
Richard and Peggy established their endowment in 2008 with a little more than $5,000. Additions to the endowment continued over the years. Additionally, annual distributions were reinvested, allowing the fund to continue growing. By the end of 2025, the fund had grown to more than $97,000.
In 2015, the ODF Board Cloud of Witnesses Endowment was established with $30,750. Additional gifts over the years brought total contributions to about $53,000. During that period, the endowment distributed more than $20,000 to support ministry through ODF grants and still ended 2025 with a value of more than $82,000.
But there isn’t just one way an endowment can grow. The Ziglar Endowment and the ODF Board Cloud of Witnesses Endowment also benefited from the Howard matching funds program implemented by ODF in 2015. Only 18 organizations applied for matching funds during that time. Think of the possibilities you or your church could have if you developed a matching funds program to establish an endowment or add to an existing endowment.
Sometimes, there’s more to the story.
When University Place Christian Church in Oklahoma City closed, it established endowments to continue supporting ministries important to the congregation. One of those funds, established in 1993 with $160,000, supports Twin Cedars Camp (formerly Central Oklahoma Christian Camp). No additional gifts have been made to that endowment.
More than three decades later, that fund has distributed more than $322,000 and still holds more than $308,000 to support ministry in the years ahead. That is the purpose of an endowment – to put resources to work for ministry today while helping provide for ministry tomorrow.
An endowment can begin with a modest gift ($10,000) and grow through additional generosity. It can also grow through reinvestment. Or it can begin with a single gift that continues to serve for generations.
The important part is asking the question: What ministry matters enough to me that I can do something today to guarantee it receives funding for years to come?
The Oklahoma Disciples Foundation is here to support you and your desire to support tomorrow’s ministries.
Because building what’s next is easier when we build it together.