At Zion we talk about both the Zion Foundation and the Memorial Fund, but what is the difference?
One major difference is that the dollars donated to the Zion Foundation are invested, and only the gains from the investment are spent on projects (often called an “endowment”). All dollars given to the Memorial Fund are spent.
Another difference is that the Zion Foundation is a separately incorporated entity created to serve the ministry of Zion and the Foundation Board is comprised of Zion members. The Memorial Fund is a committee and fund inside the congregation’s structure.
The Zion Foundation supports a broad range of ministries connected to Zion while the Memorial Fund is used for physical items often placed around the church building and property. In either case, these are items not included in the general church budget.
In both the Foundation and the Memorial Fund there are individual purposes or projects to which someone can designate their financial gift. Again, those purposes in the Foundation are broad and general categories such as mission, education, or internal Zion ministry, and within the Memorial Fund they are specific items or projects such as hymnals, music equipment, landscaping, or carpet.
One similarity is that gifts are usually given to each in honor or in memory of loved ones.
Both the Zion Foundation and the Memorial Fund are great places to give a gift to honor your loved one, it kind of depends on what you want that gift to do.
