Why Invest

The Methodist movement is strong because of connectionalism principles, which empowers all members through shared resources, leadership and mission, enabling collective impact beyond individual efforts. 

That spirit of connectionalism has long been a defining characteristic of the Methodist tradition.The Methodist Impact Fund shares that vision. Connectionalism guides everything we do.

Reliable Alternative Investment

The Methodist Impact Fund is not a bank or a credit union. We are a church extension fund and a ministry that accepts investments from members and private trusts of the Methodist community, including the United Methodist, Global Methodist, and Wesleyan Methodist traditions, in Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. We also welcome investments from churches and designated charitable organizations nationwide. We use our funds to provide loans that benefit our churches.

Our interest-bearing Certificates of Participation offer investors a safe place to grow savings with competitive interest rates and offer an alternative to traditional bank investments or the financial markets. 

No church has ever defaulted on a loan, and no investor has ever lost principal on their investment with our Methodist Impact Fund.

Shared Values

The Methodist Impact Fund is rooted in the core Methodist value of connectionalism. This is not a donation, but rather an investment in which investors pool resources to strengthen churches and help build, renovate, expand, or sustain operations. 

As of December 31, 2025, investors in the Fund are participating in loans to 31 churches across Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah.

In exchange, investors earn reliable returns on their investment with the added benefit of positively impacting the Methodist community.  

Every dollar invested through the Methodist Impact Fund helps support a Methodist ministry, such as building improvements, repairs, or new construction. The church loans benefit congregations, members, and their families, strengthening the Methodist movement for generations to come.

The work looks different among each ministry, with loans funding a variety of construction projects that support and expand the vision of churches in their communities. 

Invest With Confidence

The Methodist Impact Fund is a ministry rather than a traditional lender like a bank or credit union. We are a church-investment fund backed by more than $1 million in reserves and a bank line of credit. As added security, all loans are secured by a first or second lien on church real property.

While our funds are not backed by FDIC insurance or any other government insurance or private insurance, we offer strong assurances to investors. Since the Foundation assumed management of the fund in 1996, no member has ever lost their investment, and no church has ever defaulted on their loan.

How the Methodist Impact Fund loans have helped these churches ministries  

• Churches have refinanced debt to pay off higher interest rate mortgages or bonds saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest and improving church cash flow.

• Solar panels and energy improvement projects: Loan payments are offset by the savings in energy, net zero dollars for the church, and a huge win for climate justice.

• Buildings: boilers and HVAC systems

• Major and minor renovations, including structural repairs and new roofs

• Childcare center expansions

• Parsonage purchases

How It Works

The Methodist Impact Fund is a faith-based investment fund built on the spirit of shared responsibility and purpose-driven investing that benefits both investors and Methodist ministries.  

The Methodist Impact Fund accepts investments from churches, individuals, and private trusts in Montana, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Additionally, we work with aligned 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations nationwide,  including the Wesleyan Impact Fund and the Texas Methodist Foundation.

We work with every church borrower to carefully evaluate each borrower to ensure the loan is affordable and sustainable, and offer loan terms to fit individual goals and situations.  

The Methodist Impact Fund offers contractually guaranteed interest rates based on your selected term.

We call our investments Certificates of Participation because every investment helps strengthen Methodist ministries while earning interest for the investor.

Flexible Investment Options  

Choose Your Desired Investment Term

Methodist Impact Fund investors can choose terms of 6 months to 5 years based on their investment goals. By offering a range of options, this investment fund welcomes more investors to participate on terms that meet their needs.   

Select Your Preferred Amount

We understand that investors come with different investment goals and budgets, so the Methodist offers participation options to accommodate and include as many investors as possible. Investments start at $500, with additional levels of $1000, $5000, or $10,000 or more. 

More than half of our investors have invested between $10,000 and $25,000, but investments of any amount from $500 up to $1,000,000 are eligible. 

Set Interest Preferences

Investors can opt to receive quarterly interest payments or reinvest their interest to compound their returns. 

Select Your Investment Type

For maximum financial flexibility, the Methodist Impact Fund offers investors two options for Certificates of Participation:

Demand account: 

• An open-ended investment with a variable interest rate. Investors can withdraw money at any time without penalty. 
• Funds are provided within two business days once the fund verifies the request with the account holder. 
• Investors must maintain a minimum balance of $500.

Timed account:

• Investors select a fixed duration and lock in a guaranteed interest rate
• Fixed rates are guaranteed for the duration of the investment term.
• At maturity, investors may reinvest, adjust, or withdraw funds with no penalty
• Early withdrawals may be subject to a an early termination penalty

How We Set Rate Terms and Conditions

A dedicated investment committee reviews market conditions and interest rates each month before setting rates for new investments.

How Investors Can Help Their Individual Churches

Sometimes church members want to help their church by personally loaning money for a building project. The Methodist Impact Fund offers an alternative to a direct loan. Members can indirectly participate in their church’s loan through an investment in the Methodist Impact Fund.

With the Methodist Impact Fund, church members can directly benefit their individual congregations. If multiple members invest and the amount equals at least 50% of that church’s principal on its loan, the loan committee may discount the loan interest rate at the next adjustment period, which occurs every three years. 

The adjustment could result in meaningful interest savings for the church, benefitting the congregation and its ministry. 

Who We Are

The Methodist Impact Fund is a Methodist church investment fund managed by the nonprofit Methodists Helping Methodists Foundation. Our fund pools investments exclusively to support church construction, renovation, growth, and ministry initiatives across Methodist churches in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Montana, guided by our shared commitment to strengthening the Methodist movement.  

As of December 31, 2025, the fund holds $13,778,700 in investments that support $9,689,656 in loans to churches. More details can be found in the Offering Circular, which contains the most recent audited financials. 

Originally established by the annual conference in 1964, the fund was acquired by the Foundation in 1996. Since then, it has funded more than 120 loans to churches across four states, totaling about $30 million. 

The Methodists Helping Methodists Foundation, an IRS-approved charitable organization, was formed in 1987 to cultivate and conserve endowments for churches. This strong financial stewardship soon included the oversight and administration of the church extension and development fund for the region, branding the fund as the Methodists Helping Methodists Foundation. Today, the fund is known as the Methodist Impact Fund, a name that better reflects the fund’s mission and purpose to positively impact churches, ministries, and investors.  

The foundation is governed by a Board of Directors, which sets policy and provides oversight, and is led by longtime Executive Director Kristi Kinnison, who has served in that role since 2010.  A dedicated staff oversees day-to-day operations, and an investment committee of veteran financial professionals provides financial oversight.

While our name has changed, our mission remains the same: to build stronger churches, enhance our service to investors, and promote faith-based investing that strengthens ministries and serves the common good.

Or, as we like to say, “We speak church.”

Why Investors Trust Us

Invest with confidence. The Methodist Impact Fund is a ministry and church extension fund dedicated to serving Methodist churches—not a traditional bank or credit union. We are backed by the full reserves of the Methodists Helping Methodists Foundation along with a line of credit from our bank.

As an added layer of security, all loans are secured by a first or second lien on church  real property assets. We lend up to 90% of investments and maintain a 10% reserve as added security.

While our funds are not backed by FDIC insurance or any other government or private insurance, we offer strong assurances to investors. Since the Methodists Helping Methodists Foundation assumed management of the fund in 1996, no investor has ever lost principal, and no church borrower has ever defaulted on its loan.

More than half of our current investors have participated in the fund for more than 15 years—a testament to the trust they place in the Methodist Impact Fund.

Through investments from members and churches from the Methodist community, the Methodist Impact Fund provides capital that helps churches build, grow, and sustain their ministries. 

In return, investors receive guaranteed interest rates, typically higher than those offered by banks and credit unions, with flexible terms ranging from six months to five years, and investment amounts starting at $500.

Whether saving for retirement, education, or future financial goals, many investors appreciate this fund’s combination of reliable returns and meaningful impact.

For nearly three decades, we’ve helped investors grow their savings while strengthening Methodist ministries, and without a single investor losing principal.

We speak church.

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