Asheville, North Carolina
EXPLORE FAITH. EMBRACE COMMUNITY. MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
60 Church Street, Asheville, NC 28801 | info@trinityasheville.org | Tel: 828-253-9361
TRINITY CHURCH
ANNUAL REPORT - 2025
FINANCE
Financials and Stewardship
The finances at Trinity Church are divided between the Investment Team, the Stewardship Team, and the Budget Team. All three are committed to bringing recommendations to the vestry and being good stewards of the money entrusted to Trinity Church.
Investment Committee
Chad Hardy
Investment Committee
Chair
The Investment Committee was established over 13 years ago to supervise, monitor, and evaluate the investment assets of Trinity Church and to recommend an annual distribution from these assets to the church budget. We make recommendations to the Vestry regarding investment matters.
We meet four times per year to review investment performance, meet with our investment managers (Modera and the Community Foundation of WNC), and formulate recommendations for the Vestry to review and consider, such as portfolio allocation changes and improving interest returns on cash reserves. Trinity’s recent property acquisition across the street at 75 Church Street was made with funds overseen by our committee.
This year, our committee membership consisted of Rev. Dr. Scott White, Senior Warden Tom Williams, Junior Warden Nancy Dexter, Treasurer Jennifer Weidemann, Finance Director Jan Hildebrand, Finance Assistant Robyn McNeal, Fred Groce, Jeff Howden, Vince Childress, Jim Gunn, and recently, Tim Owings. I am grateful for the dedicated service of this talented group of Trinitarians.
If you would like to be part of our committee, please contact Jan Hildebrand or myself. Financial expertise is not a prerequisite for service. In fact, some of our greatest decisions have come from members who did not see themselves as finance people. As Chair, I am particularly interested in attracting additional members in the coming year who reflect the diversity of our parish in age, gender, and life experience. I sincerely hope you will join us if interested.
As of September 30, 2025, Trinity’s assets included three Money Market deposit accounts, at First Citizens Bank, Self Help Credit Union, and Vanguard with combined balances of $356,100; and an operating checking account and an investment portfolio managed by Parsec Financial that is comprised of restricted, unrestricted, and Legacy assets of Trinity Church with a balance of $1.4 million.
Additionally, Trinity is blessed to be the income beneficiary of three endowed accounts at the Community Foundation of WNC with combined balances of $1.7 million.
Trinity also receives income from a portfolio that is managed by Wells Fargo as Trustee. This account was established in the 1960s by a gift from a generous parishioner, Ann Perry Carr. Currently, Trinity is in the process of receiving the assets from this Trust from Wells Fargo, who is resigning as Trustee. These assets will be under the direct oversight of our committee going forward.
Trinity has received several very generous unrestricted bequests this year and over the years. One such gift is a living endowment. This endowment has been invested with Vanguard Funds, adding an additional investment manager to our portfolio. Other bequests received have allowed us to formally establish an independent Legacy gift portfolio at Modera Wealth Management.
You may be curious as to how these bequests and gifts came about. These can come from many sources, including:
-
Naming Trinity in your will as you review your estate planning documents.
-
Naming Trinity as a beneficiary of an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). These assets will avoid probate and pass to Trinity tax free.
-
Gifts of cash and highly appreciated securities
-
Qualified charitable contributions from IRAs for people over the age of 73. These count toward satisfying your Required Minimum Distribution, and such distributions are not included in your taxable income.
-
Grants from Donor Advised Funds
2025 has been a remarkably strong year of investment performance, the fourth in the last five years.
As you enter a period of Thanksgiving and reflection on your many blessings, my Committee and I sincerely hope you will consider Trinity as you express your thanks in your giving.
Our focus continues to be on being good stewards of the assets of the parish.
Our stewardship efforts should inspire the confidence of our parish that we are seeking to get the best possible returns on our funds, by using active and passive investment strategies.
It has been a great blessing to have served yet another year as Chair, and to have served on this committee since its inception.
Respectfully submitted,
Chad Hardy
Stewardship Team
SStewardship is a joyful act for the sake of God's world, both for the individual and the community. Christian stewardship is the grateful and responsible use of God's gifts in light of God's purpose, as revealed in Jesus Christ. Christian stewards, empowered by the Holy Spirit, commit themselves to conscious, purposeful decisions.
We could not do this important work each year without the help of our Stewardship Team—Scott, Amy, Mike, Rebecca, Robyn, Nanette, our Vestry liaison Tina McGuire, and the many members who have given their time to serve as Stewardship Circle Captains.
Our campaign process again included a two-step approach. We began the process with a “pre-campaign,” inviting the congregation to join a leadership group by making a pledge early, two weeks before the start of the campaign. The pre-campaign happened entirely online. 216 families participated in the Leadership campaign with a pledged amount of $769,504.
The second stage is the full campaign, which began on October 16th, at which time the Stewardship Circle Captains hand-delivered pledge packets to those who had not yet pledged. This part of the campaign will be open until November 20. At that time, we will initiate a follow-up process to reach out to those who have yet to reply.
The campaign's results as of November 4th are in the sidebox. Although we always welcome pledges, the official campaign will run through the end of November, and we expect to hear from many more of our faithful givers by then.
We are grateful to the Stewardship team and all Trinity members for their generosity in ensuring Trinity's mission and ministry.
Respectfully submitted,
Jan Hildebrand & Rebecca Jenkins
Fear not, I am with you. I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you and cause you to stand. Isaiah 41:10
How Firm a Foundation 2026
As of November 4, 2025
273 pledges have been received for a total of $974,913, and the average pledge is $3,571
Of the 273 pledges received:
175 increased for an increased amount of $52,655
19 decreased for a decrease amount of $46,197
63 stayed at the same amount as 2025
16 are first-time pledges totaling $90,465
6 dropped out due to death or moved away for $7,956
At the close of our 2025 campaign, we received 386 pledges for a total of $1,163,231
For this year, we hope to still receive an additional 113 members who pledged in 2025, and others who have not yet made a pledge.
Where were we as of November 4th last year
We had received 270 pledges for a total of $854,786 and the average pledge was $3,166
Treasurer's Report
Jennifer Weidemann
Treasure
The Finance Committee has met four times during the year to review the Financial Reports of Trinity. At the beginning of this year there was much uncertainty about how the finances of the church would be impacted by ongoing effects of Hurricane Helene. The church has been fortunate to receive donations both from local and nationwide sources to meet the needs of the congregation and community during the recovery efforts.
This year, you, the members of the church, have continued to faithfully support the budget allowing for growth to support the increase in the members and activities of the church. Pledged income is above budget for the first three quarters of the year and it looks as if we will have a very strong year. Parking lot income is exceeding the reduced budget for the year and looks as if it may soon return to pre-Helene levels. The expenses for the year are being held at or below budget.
The committee assessed the cash position of the church with a focus begun last year, on the increased investment of temporarily idle funds. This year we began a policy of the Finance Director and the Treasurer monthly reviewing the cash balance and transferring from the checking account to an investment account any funds in excess of the immediate needs to maximize the interest income earned on those funds. The Finance Director has the ability to transfer back funds as needed to pay bills.
This year we again underwent the Agreed Upon Procedures review by the auditors and there were no exceptions found. This is very good news and can reassure us that our financial statements are accurate and correctly reflect the finances of the church.
The committee will soon begin work on the draft 2026 budget for approval by the Vestry. The church is again in a good financial position for the current year with a $67,000 positive variance to budget as of September 30, 2025 and a strong budget will be prepared as we head into a brighter than expected future.
The committee is composed of parishioners and staff members: Treasurer Jennifer Weidemann, Nancy Dexter, Tom Williams, Richard Wrightson, Carole Hedden, Don Weidemann, Jan Hildebrand, Robyn McNeal, and Scott White.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Weidemann
Treasurer
.png)
