With deep gratitude and sadness, Faith Foundation Northwest remembers the life and service of our beloved board member and friend, Darrell Lowe, who passed away peacefully on September 7, 2025, at the age of 89.

We give thanks for Darrell’s life, his faith, and his many gifts of leadership. Though his presence will be deeply missed, his legacy of faith, generosity, and joyful service will continue to inspire our work for years to come.

At Faith Foundation Northwest, we know that generosity and stewardship can transform our ministries and communities. We recently got to see firsthand that it can also transform the spaces we share and homes that we make. 

Thanks to funding from the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates Program (HEAR), we recently completed the fourth round of grants, bringing a total of 55 high-efficiency electric installations to 22 parsonages across Washington State.

While international stocks have been in favor in 2025, U.S. equities have dominated global markets for over a decade. But is this historical outperformance built to last? In Wespath’s latest blog, Joe Halwax and Jon Morris unpack the three key drivers behind the U.S. dominance and make a compelling case for renewed global diversification.

Wespath’s latest Investment Insights blog explores how a 10% drop in the U.S. dollar is fueling international equity gains, challenging investor assumptions, and redefining diversification strategies.

This month we are saying a fond farewell to Dalcetta Palepale, who has served on our staff as Outreach and Development Specialist since November of 2023. Dalcetta’s positivity lit up our weekly team meetings, and her care and compassion shone through every time she worked with a faith community on the Foundation’s behalf. Please join us in wishing her all the best! Moving forward, you can find Dalcetta at the Burke Museum’s “In The Artist’s studio” events, where her work is featured in the Oceana collection.

Wespath is adopting the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index as the new benchmark for its Fixed Income Fund and Social Values Choice Bond Fund, enhancing transparency and aligning with industry standards. Hear from Connie Christian (Manager, Fixed Income) and Myles Smith (Investment Analyst) about how this shift empowers investors to better evaluate performance without changing the funds’ core strategies in their latest blog.

The U.S. has long dominated global equity markets. However, a strong start to the year from international stocks suggests that may be changing. In Wespath’s latest Investment Insights blog, Joe Halwax and Raj Khan examine this shift, its causes, and whether it may be a temporary pause or rather a fundamental shift away from U.S. exceptionalism.

We understand recent market volatility due to tariff announcements and rising trade tensions can feel unsettling. In this message from Wespath’s CIO, Johara Farhadieh reflects on the impact of these market events and shares a reminder on the enduring principles of long-term investing.

We understand that the transformative shifts in trade policy highlight the critical importance of portfolio diversification. The evolving global landscape—with its dynamic trade relations and rapidly changing policy environments—strengthens our commitment to constructing diversified investment portfolios that can endure various scenarios.

Nonprofits are now eligible to apply for up to $100,000 in federal funding for energy-efficient building upgrades through the Building Upgrades Inspiring Local Transformation (BUILT Nonprofits) program. This is the best grant opportunity we’ve seen so far for churches who need to upgrade their HVAC systems!

Cesie Delve Scheuermann of Inspiring Generosity and Julia Frisbie of Faith Foundation Northwest teamed up to teach an interactive class rich with real-world examples from our own episcopal area. 

If you could not make it or would like to watch it again, the recording is available now on demand at the following link: Click here to access this recording.

Faith Foundation Northwest is thrilled to announce a new mini-grant program, through which faith communities in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington are eligible to apply for $1,000-$3,000 of unrestricted funding to help them carry out their missions. Applications are due September 30, 2024.

We often get asked which type of pledge campaign we recommend. There are a lot of options, and one size doesn’t fit all. The D-I-Y approach costs the least money but requires a huge investment of time and energy to be successful. Buying a book and following the program requires the least time and energy. Hiring an outside consultant comes with the highest price tag, but can produce excellent results if leadership devotes significant time and energy to following the recommendations. Read on our top resource picks for each of these three types of pledge campaigns.

Faith Foundation Northwest is excited to announce its upcoming 2024 Summer Board Retreat, set to take place at Lazy F, a UMC Camp in Ellensburg, WA, from August 7-9. The retreat promises a blend of productive meetings, enriching sessions, and engaging activities, in the theme of the Summer Olympics for board members, staff, families, and friends.

Faith Foundation Northwest has been selected by the Washington State Department of Commerce to receive a $519,300 grant through the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates Program. This funding will allow several dozen Washington churches to install heat pumps in their parsonages at no cost.

To qualify, the gross family income of parsonage occupants must be at or below the 2024 Area Median Income as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban development. Funding will be prioritized to benefit households with the lowest income and/or most vulnerable populations, along with those located in communities that are disproportionately impacted by climate change. 

The “soft landing” scenario in the U.S. is now looking more like “no landing” scenario, meaning cooler inflation with no major slowdown in the economy. During the quarter, the forecast for Fed cuts again shifted lower, from three cuts and 75 basis points (bps) forecast in April to just one cut and 25 bps expected, reflecting growing confidence in the no landing scenario. U.S. equities remain near all-time highs, with the S&P 500 up 15.3% year to date.

Proxy voting isn’t usually as dramatic as the shareholder meetings depicted in shows like “Succession,” but it’s still a key part of our job as investors. From voting on human rights-related issues with the maker of Oreos to advocating for shareholder voice at Facebook’s parent company, this blog highlights what Wespath voted on this year—and explains why proxy voting is important.

Church trustees: take note as funding from the Inflation Reduction Act trickles down through state and local governments. Here at the Foundation, we’ve sorted through dozens of Oregon grant programs, and identified four that we think churches will be eligible for. If any of the following projects are on your wishlist, keep the associated grant on your meeting agendas in the coming months. First up: EV charging stations for church parking lots— apply ASAP before funding runs out!