The following overview provides information about us – the govenance structure, staff, and history of the PHUMC Foundation. The Foundation is governed by a Board of Directors who are also members of PHUMC.  There are three groups of four directors, each serving a three-year term.  The PHUMC Board of Trustees appoints three members to serve with these three groups of directors, bringing the total voting membership of the Board to 15 members.  Additionally, there are five Ex-Officio members serving as non-voting members of the Board: PHUMC Senior Paster, PHUMC Executive Pastor, Chairman of the PHUMC Board of Trustees, PHUMC CFO, and the Foundation Executive Director.       

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2024 PHUMC Foundation Board of Directors

R.T. Fendley, Chairperson
Ken Gill, Vice Chairperson

Joyce Babin, Board of Trustees
Karen Barnwell
Tony Boyzinski
Daryl Coker, Board of Trustees
Emily Erkel
Tom Hatcher
Susan Hoskyn
Jordan Johnson
Troy Lampley
Sam McSpadden
Roger Page
Jill Penick
Mike Shannon, Board of Trustees

Ex-Officio Members

Dr. John Robbins, Senior Pastor
Rev. Jay Clark, Executive Pastor
Sylvua Borchert, Chairperson, Board of Stewards
Megan Rugg, PHUMC Chief Financial Officer
Virginia Porta, Executive Director, PHUMC Foundation
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PHUMC Foundation Staff

Virginia Porta, Executive Director  –  Virginia joined the PHUMC Foundation in July 2023, after serving two terms on the Board of Directors, and one term as the Board Chair.  She chose to join the staff after a short retirement following a 35-year career with the Arkansas Department of Transportation.  Her goals for the PHUMC Foundation include including more donors of every size, enhancing the support from the Foundation to PHUMC, and increasing the number and size endowments within the Foundation. 

Yui Teryua, Administrative Assistant – Yui joined the Foundation staff in 2022 after serving almost 20 years with the PHUMC Children’s Learning Center.  Her support provides the daily bookkeeping and administrative support necessary to keep the Foundation running smoothly.  When you make a contribution to the Foundation, Yui is the first person to see it and ensure it is directed to the correct destination. 

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A Brief History of the PHUMC Foundation….

 On October 27, 2003, at the request of the PHUMC Board of Trustees and Endowment Committee, a charge conference at PHUMC created the PHUMC Foundation. However, this journey began in 1985 when the late Alton Raney made a gift of $50,000 to PHUMC. The Board of Trustees, under the leadership of Maurice Mitchell, wisely decided to not simply add those funds to the Church budget. Instead, the Board of Trustees used this initial gift to establish the PHUMC Endowment Fund, the forerunner of the Foundation. Since 1985, the principal value of gifts has created many wonderful endowment funds benefitting PHUMC and the many ministries and services it supports. Since its inception, the PHUMC Foundation has grown from the initial gift from the late Alton Raney of $50,000 to over $12 million at the beginning of 2023. The Foundation is a permanent fund separate from the church’s operations budget and other giving and the funds are held and managed by The Methodist Foundation of Arkansas.

Persons may make contributions to ‘named’ endowments or to the General Endowment of the Foundation. Some of these endowments are restricted to a particular program ministry or purpose such as Children, Youth and Adult Ministries, Music and Worship, Caring and Missions, or Broadcast. Others are classified as unrestricted with earnings used for the operation of the Foundation as well as providing additional, discretionary grants to a variety of ministry areas of the church. The Foundation also makes an annual pledge to the PHUMC Operating Budget between $150,000 and $160,000.   

The Foundation encourages members to remember the church in their estate planning and thereby join the Willing Friends Society. As of January 2023, over 300 members have or plan to designate the Foundation in their planning. Those wanting to know more about becoming a Willing Friend are encouraged to contact Virginia Porta Executive Director, at 501.664.3600 or vporta@phumc.com.