Our History

The United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana was established in 1975 to provide financial services to local United Methodist churches and church-related institutions throughout the state.

The first organizational meeting of the Board of Trustees of the United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana was at First Church in Alexandria, Louisiana, on Monday, November 17, 1975. Dr. James J. Caraway served as temporary chairman for the first official meeting. The four persons who signed the Articles of Incorporation on that day are: Bishop Finis A. Crutchfield, Jr., New Orleans; James J. Caraway, Lafayette; W. Davis Cotton, Rayville; and John E. Coleman, Jr., Franklin.

The minutes of that historical meeting state: “Mrs. Cadwallader presented a check for $5000 to the Board which was accepted with gratitude and heart-felt thanks by Bishop Crutchfield.” That $5000 seed back in 1975 took root and has now grown to over $145 million in managed assets, which help distribute hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to Christian ministries in Louisiana and throughout the world.