Endowment Fund & Legacy Circle

MVUC’s Endowment Fund was established to build a strong financial foundation for MVUC and to ensure that our Church and our liberal spiritual values will endure.

This fund is managed by the Endowment Committee, a standing committee responsible to the Board of Trustees for management, administration, and promotion of the MVUC Endowment Fund.

In accordance with the MVUC Bylaws, the Endowment Committee is restricted from transferring to the church any part of the adjusted principal of any endowment fund without a two-thirds vote cast at a congregational meeting.

MVUC’s Endowment funds are invested in the UUA’s Common Endowment Fund, a professionally managed, well-diversified, institutional investment portfolio which integrates UU values and reflects UU principles.

In 2012 MVUC established the Hill of Dreams Legacy Circle to honor people who have stated their intention to include the MVUC Endowment Fund in their wills or estate plans.

The goal of the Legacy Circle is to enhance our Endowment Fund by increasing the visibility and importance of remembering MVUC in estate planning. There are no membership fees and no gift size is mandated to be recognized as part of the Legacy Circle. 

Anyone who has included Mount Vernon Unitarian Church in their will or estate plan and filled out a Legacy Circle Commitment Form is invited to become a member of the Legacy Circle. Paperwork showing the actual designation of “Mount Vernon Unitarian Church” as a beneficiary would be appreciated but it is not required.

Legacy Circle members are recognized on a plaque in the Commons. (While donors can opt to remain anonymous, planned giving experts stress the importance of listing the names of donors to encourage others to follow their example.) Charter members — those who joined the Legacy Circle by April 2012 — are listed on the plaque in the order in which they joined MVUC. Subsequent members have been added to the plaque as they complete their declaration of commitment.

For further information please contact any member of the Endowment Committee or send an e-mail to endowment@mvuc.org.

Additional information:

MVUC Hill of Dreams Legacy Circle Declaration of Commitment Form.

Hill of Dreams Legacy Circle Members as of January 4, 2023.

More Information for Potential New Legacy Circle Members as of March 2023.

Suggested Planned Giving Bequest Language:

Below is suggested bequest language for you to share with your attorney to assist in drafting estate planning documents that will achieve your charitable estate planning goals.

  • General Bequest:
    “I give and bequeath the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, both real and personal, to the ENDOWMENT FUND of the MOUNT VERNON UNITARIAN CHURCH, Alexandria, Virginia, or its successor organization.”
  • Contingent Bequest:
    “If [insert name] does not survive me, I give and bequeath the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, both real and personal, to the ENDOWMENT FUND of the MOUNT VERNON UNITARIAN CHURCH, Alexandria, Virginia, or its successor organization.”
  • Specific Bequest:
    “I give and bequeath [dollar amount, description of property, or percent of estate] to the ENDOWMENT FUND of the MOUNT VERNON UNITARIAN CHURCH, Alexandria, Virginia, or its successor organization.”
  • Residuary Bequest:
    “I give and bequeath all the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate, both real and personal, to the ENDOWMENT FUND of the MOUNT VERNON UNITARIAN CHURCH, Alexandria, Virginia, or its successor organization.”
  • Beneficiary designation for Life Insurance or Retirement Plans:
    Mount Vernon Unitarian Church can be designated as the primary beneficiary or a contingent beneficiary of a life insurance policy or retirement plans such as IRA, ROTH IRA, 401(k), 403(b), KEOGH plan, etc.
    “The ENDOWMENT FUND of the MOUNT VERNON UNITARIAN CHURCH, Alexandria, Virginia, or its successor organization.”