Plymouth Magazine-Spring24-FINAL - Flipbook - Page 20
Sustaining Plymouth today and in the
future: Our church’s one Foundation
By Chuck Offenburger (he/him)
When you notice Ron Sallade coming
down the aisle at Plymouth Church, you
see an 86-year-old man, well-dressed and
groomed in a blazer and slacks, but a
little stooped, walking slowly and using
a cane. You probably don’t immediately
think “visionary,” or “hero.” You probably
should.
to be used especially to enhance any of
those funds “that will have some impact
on disadvantaged youth,” Sallade told me.
Our senior pastor, the Rev. Dr. Jared
Wortman, does.
That will probably make the SalladeLaverman total gift the largest in
Plymouth Church history.
“When I learn about those wanting to
leave substantial parts of their estates to
Plymouth, I know that they have a vision,
for both who we are and for all we can
continue to be,” Wortman said. “It is
heartening, encouraging, and inspiring to
walk alongside visionaries who can see a
future beyond the present.”
Sallade, to memorialize his late spouse
Marlon Laverman, who died in 2020
after a 13-year battle with multiple
myeloma cancer, has been following the
plan the two of them made to leave most
of their estates to Plymouth.
To initiate that bequest, Sallade has given
the Plymouth Foundation $50,000 each
of the last four years, requiring that the
money go first to matching the special
offerings the church has through each
year. Those generally happen at the big
services at holiday time. Plymouth gives
those funds from the special collections
to local non-profit organizations
providing social services. The SalladeLaverman matching contributions are
20
“And when I die,” he said, “the rest of the
estate will also go to Plymouth.”
What’ll that amount to, I asked.
“Around $1.5 to $2 million,” he said.
So, when you see Sallade, thank him. I
did that, genuinely, right when he told
me. And as sort of a humble bonus, I
bought the pie, iced tea and coffee we’d
shared at a Perkins Restaurant.
I’ve come away from two weeks of
doing more than a dozen interviews
and reading lots of old records and
more recent reports, with a whole new
understanding and appreciation for the
Plymouth Foundation. It’s given me
many new additions to my own list of
Plymouth visionaries and heroes.
They would include not only the major
donors, who’ve left substantial parts of
their estates, but also those who’ve given
lesser amounts – like many who have
directed memorial funds Plymouth’s way.
It all adds up.
The Plymouth Foundation today has
more than $9 million in total assets. The
total has been higher in the past, but the
financial markets where some foundation
Ron Sallade
funds are invested have softened some
from the more robust years. And more
foundation funds have been used for
expensive maintenance and repairs on
our nearly-century-old church building
and escalating operational expenses.
More on that later.
Another point of new appreciation is
my realization of the financial expertise
the church has received – free – from
dozens of people who have served the
past 45 years on the foundation’s board
of directors, investment committee, and
advisory committees.
Let me add to that list those who served
on a special Financial Sustainability
Study Group, from 2019 to 2021. They
