Commissions & Task Groups:
Assets & Funding Task Group

A Discussion Paper

A) Introduction

Over the past several years, several issues have continually come up concerning the governance structure and presbytery concerns within the Toronto Conference (TC). They included: too many conference committees, resources not in the right place and not close enough to the people, too many regulations, and not enough people to do the work.

As a result, two task groups were established by TC to further investigate these concerns and to make recommendations.

On the issue of Presbytery concerns, several recommendations to bring the resources of the Conference closer to the congregation were presented to the Toronto Conference Annual Meeting in 2007, including a recommendation that the boundaries of the Presbyteries be redefined to create 4 new Presbyteries of approximately equal number of Pastoral Charges. It was also recommended that these new Presbyteries be defined by June, 2008, and take effect June 30, 2009. All these recommendations received strong support at the 2007 annual meeting.

A Steering Group and four commissions were then established to move forward with the project. The steering group for the restructuring process is responsible for general oversight of the restructuring process, for identifying gaps, and for assigning work to enable the completion of the project.

In November 2007, the Steering Group identified the need for a task group which would work with the Conference and the current nine Presbyteries and existing Corporations to determine the disposition of assets held by the Presbyteries and Corporations. Executive members were invited to submit names for task group members. In January the Assets and Funding Task Group was established and their role and mandate defined. (See Appendix A for Members of the Task Group).

This paper has been created to assist Presbyteries, Corporations and the Task Group in the consultation process ahead. It contains a summary of the Task Group’s role and mandate, an outline of important principles and considerations that the Task Group has identified to guide its work, and some questions and suggestions that can facilitate the discussions and decisions that lie ahead.

B) Role and Mandate of the Assets and Funding Task Group

The Task Group has been directed by the Steering Group to work with the current Presbyteries and Corporations of the Toronto Conference in determining how the assets held by these Presbyteries and Corporations are to be shared and managed in the new Conference structure.

Specifically, the Task Group has been directed to i) develop an inventory of all financial assets in the current Presbyteries, Corporations and Toronto Conference; ii) identify commitments that are dependent on these assets and iii) recommend how these assets should be managed, including a recommendation on the most appropriate investment, management and oversight structure and policies.

The Task Group’s responsibilities raises three important questions:

· first, how are assets defined? Has the Toronto Conference and other courts of the church established this definition?

· second, what are the oversight responsibilities of the Conference that relate to the role of this new Task Group?

· third, what direction has the Task Group be given by the Steering Group in terms of how and when it should complete its work?

On the first question – the definition of the term ‘assets’ - the Task Group will be guided by the following definition: assets are those items detailed on the balance sheet, especially in relation to liabilities and capital.

On the second question – the oversight responsibilities of the Conference that relate to the work of this Task Group – the Toronto Conference Steering Group is guided by the oversight responsibilities of the Conference, as set out in the United Church Manual . Amongst others, the Manual states that Conferences have a responsibility to address all issues connected with any restructuring of the Presbyteries, including the determination of how the assets of the existing Presbyteries are to be shared and adjusted. However, the Conference must also ensure that in fulfilling these responsibilities, it does so with the full participation and consent of the Presbyteries involved, to the maximum extent possible.

On the third question – how and when the Task Group has been asked to complete its work and finalize its recommendations to the Steering Committee - the Task Group will begin its consultations and complete its work as soon as possible, so that there are clear policies in place for the management of existing assets, as we move towards the implementation of the new Conference structure in 2009.

C) Guiding Principles and Other Important Considerations

In all the work that it is being called to do, the Task Group must be guided by the fact that this work is being carried out on behalf of a court of the church, and for the good of the church as a whole. To meet this important standard, the Task Group believes it should be also be guided by the following principles and considerations:

• There must be clear, transparent and effective consultations with the existing Presbyteries and Corporations. The Task Group is well aware that it faces a difficult and important task. It cannot complete its work effectively unless it works closely with the Presbyteries and Corporations, seeking their wisdom and participation in determining the most appropriate recommendations, on all aspects of its work. The Task Group must do so with no preconceived views on the recommendations it should make. It must also ensure that current commitments of the Presbyteries and Corporations are honoured.

• The final recommendations of the Task Group must create maximum benefits for the work of our congregations and the Toronto Conference. Whatever oversight, investment and management tools are recommended by the Task Group, they must create the maximum benefit possible for the work and mission of our Conference congregations: what is most advantageous to them? What would best assist them in their work? What model and administrative structure would generate the maximum rate of return on investments?

• Simplicity and transparency. We must create an administrative and oversight structure that is cost-effective, easy to manage and with clear lines of responsibility and accountability.

• The One-Stop Shopping Option

Although there may be other models able to achieve these guiding principles, it would seem that the “one stop shopping” model offers several benefits:

1. funds would be available from one source for social ministries, chaplaincies, congregational use, education and camping
2. applicants would fill out one application from one source rather than a variety of forms from multiple sources
3. current commitments of funds would be honoured
4. pooling of resources could generate a higher return on the investments
5. a more level playing field will be established, giving equal access to funds, rather than having some applicants who are more expert at getting grants because of greater knowledge of the sources available.

A one-stop model could include but is not limited to the following partnering options:

· partnering with the Toronto United Church Council who have worked extensively in partnership with the Toronto Conference in camping, communication, leadership development and church development;

OR

· partnering with The United Church of Canada Foundation, who invests its

endowments and congregational funds in a professionally managed pooled investments’ funds

OR

· working with multiple partners, with each having a defined area of responsibility.

While the one-stop shopping model is a possibility, it is important to emphasize that the Task Group must ensure it has examined all possible options that may be presented in the weeks ahead.

D) Consulting with the Presbyteries

As a starting point for consultations with Presbyteries and Corporations, the Task Force believes it would be helpful to outline several questions that might be used as a basis for discussions.

This list of questions is by no means exhaustive, and consultations with the Presbyteries and Corporations will no doubt generate other questions and issues that need to be addressed.

The following questions are offered, therefore, as a starting point for these consultations:

1) When looking at the role and mandate of the Task Group, are there issues or considerations that your Presbytery or their Corporations feels are of particular importance and that the Task Group must ensure it addresses?

2) What are your Presbytery or their Corporations’ commitments that must be honoured? What should the process be to identify commitments that should be honoured, as well as those that must be honoured?

3) How can we best determine the future use of the funds and what uses are a priority for your Presbytery or their Corporations?

4) Are there specific investment and administrative models that the Task Force should look at, aside from the partnering options listed above?

5) What should the decision-making body for ongoing grant requests and asset administration and investment decision look like?

6) What are the investment performance expectations? What are acceptable administrative fees?

7) What should be the nature and structure of the oversight function, including but not limited to fund management performance?