Aside from a very thorough treatment of Calvin College's fiscal mismanagement in a Canadian Christian periodical, Christian Courier, I haven't seen or heard much about it in The Banner or on The Network.
It must be disheartening for all of those donors to Calvin's various capital campaigns to discover that those financial gifts were reinvested in the stock market rather than applied to the capital expenditures. It is little wonder that Calvin College is in serious financial trouble.
It seems as though a serious discussion about stewardship needs to take place. Imagine if my weekly church offerings were invested in stocks and bonds rather than going to ministry causes for which they were intended. That would be considered most inappropriate.
It is my hope that those who mismanaged those funds — and those board members who encouraged the investment of donor dollars in the stock market rather than cover the cost of the capital expenditure — have been dismissed from their positions of authority and responsibility.
How on earth will Calvin College regain even a morsel of its integrity among potential donors? Why would any potential donor and any parent of a potential student trust Calvin with their financial resources?
Comments
Is the Synod legally liable for Calvin College's debts? In other words, will the congregations be asked to pay off the debts if worst comes to worst?
Hey, Keith, while I do share some of your concerns, I think the language and tone of your post is unnecessarily inflammatory. Are you intentionally inviting (or inciting) alarm and dismay? Is it true that Calvin is in "serious financial trouble"? i don't have inside information , but what I read and hear suggests to me that people HAVE been let go, that Calvin and especially its new president have handled this situation with candor and transparency, and I know of at least one major donor whose giving has INCREASED in the light of the way Calvin and its president are handling the challenge. In any case, I think your rhetoric is overblown, and therefore contributes less than it could to a healthy community response to the problem Calvin is facing.
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