General
CURF’s mission is to grow the kingdom of God by providing financing for churches, schools, conferences, and other eligible entities within the Columbia Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist church. CURF does this by raising cash for its loan program by offering notes to Adventist investors within the Columbia Union territory.
No, we are not a bank, we are a non-profit organization that sells 90-day demand promissory notes to Qualified Offerees and pay our Noteholders interest on those notes. We use the funds from note sales to fund our corporate operations and to provide affordable loans to Seventh-day Adventist churches, schools, conferences and other SDA entities that are within our territory.
Yes! Sort of. We can give you multiple copies of the Offering Circular, which includes a perforated Subscription Agreement at the back. Recipients should review the Offering Circular before they fill out a Subscription Agreement. CURF can only sell its Notes to Qualified Offerees, which means they must live in CURF’s territory and be a member of an SDA church in the territory.
Borrowers
Seventh-day Adventist Church entities listed in the Adventist Yearbook and located in the Columbia Union territory are eligible to apply to become borrowers of CURF loans.
CURF loans are made for the purposes of construction, acquisition, renovation, and other capital improvement projects, or for temporary operating capital.
Capital purchases can also include church vehicles and certain equipment. We have even granted a loan for a lawn mower. Talk to your conference to see if your purchase is eligible.
No, only Seventh-day Adventist Church entities listed in the Adventist Yearbook and located in the Columbia Union territory are eligible to apply to become borrowers of CURF loans.
Loan applications are first reviewed and approved by the Conference. Applications approved by the Conference are then reviewed by the designated CURF committee who approve or deny loan requests.
The head elder can sign as pastor if your church does not have a pastor.
No, all our loans are written to be variable interest rates. However, rather than making changes to the required payment when interest rates rise or fall, we allow the monthly payment to remain the same and let the time to pay off the loan fluctuate. As a result, if interest rates rise and you continue to make the minimum required payment, you will end up taking longer to pay off the loan than you originally were expecting. We do this so that churches can more easily form an annual budget.
There are many hidden costs associated with getting an outside loan. For example, most outside loans will require an annual audit performed by an independent CPA firm that you will have to pay for. Additionally, most local banks require a checking and/or savings account be held at the bank with a minimum account balance that must be maintained. Also, they may charge loan origination fees that you pay up front, effectively increasing your total cost for the loan. CURF does not have any of these requirements and no hidden fees. CURF is not a bank. CURF operates on the small margin between the amount we charge for interest on loans and the amount we pay in interest to our noteholders. Sometimes the rate for your loan goes up because we need to raise the interest rates we pay to the noteholders. Our Board strives to balance maintaining the most competitive interest rates for our Borrowers while offering the best possible returns to our Noteholders.
No, our interest rates are the same for all loans from a 20 member to 2,000 member congregation.
Interest is calculated monthly for Borrowers. We process statements and send them out between the 2nd and the 10th of each month. You can expect to receive your statement any time after the 5th of each month. Please see the Borrower information page on our website for current interest rates.
You can request your funds be received through bank wire transfer which has a $12 service charge.
You can complete the draw request form and email or mail it to us. See Contact Us for email and mailing information.
You are able to change your draw schedule a maximum of five (5) times.
You can send payments by check, money order, or cashier’s check. We do not accept cash.
First repayment will begin the first of the next month after your final draw.
Statements are usually mailed out each month for those who have active Loan Accounts. You can request to receive your statements via email by Contacting Us.
Entity loans are available to eligible Adventist churches and non-educational organizations in the Columbia Union. Institutional Loans are available to eligible Adventist conferences, academies, church schools, colleges, and universities in the Columbia Union.
Noteholders
When you save/invest money through CURF, you help Adventist ministries in the Columbia Union increase their outreach through building or property acquisition, renovations, or equipment or vehicle purchases. You earn a return on your investment, and CURF is able to make loans available to Adventist entities at a lower rate. Investing in CURF is a way to do ministry differently. You can know your investment is helping spread the Adventist message in the Columbia Union. Click here to learn more.
Yes! Thanks to your investment, churches, schools, daycares and institutions in your conference can grow. Click here to learn how investing in CURF is a way you can do ministry differently.
We use the funds from Note sales to:
- provide affordable loans to Seventh-day Adventist churches, schools, conferences and other SDA entities that are within our territory,
- maintain cash reserves and make investments to preserve liquidity in order to repay the Notes, and
- fund our operations, including general and administrative expenses.
You may purchase Notes and open an account with CURF if you are a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in good standing whose legal residence is within the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, or West Virginia. Also, any Seventh-day Adventist entity found within the annual yearbook and is located in the states listed above may open an account on behalf of the organization, provided that there is approval from said entity’s board. Once you purchase Notes, CURF will open an account in your name.
Individuals who wish to purchase Notes must first review our Offering Circular. Then mail us a completely filled out Subscription Agreement along with a check for the amount of Notes you wish to purchase, made out to Columbia Union Revolving Fund. Click here to learn more and request the Offering Circular and Subscription Agreement.
The Offering Circular is a document for you to review that describes the terms and conditions of CURF’s Note Offering. It provides you with material information about CURF and its Notes to allow you to make an informed investment decision. It is delivered to individuals who are interested in potentially purchasing the newly issued 90-day promissory notes. Click here to request the most recent Offering Circular.
Yes, we have a minimum balance requirement of $100. Your initial Note purchase must be at least $100, and if your account goes below $100 your account will be closed and we will send you a check in the amount of your remaining balance.
As soon as the completed Subscription Agreement is received with the initial investment and approved, the account file number is allocated to the Noteholder account and a statement with the number reflecting the initial investment is mailed to the Noteholder.
You do not have to be present to purchase Notes, but all individuals named on the Noteholder account have to sign the Subscription Agreement. If the account is jointly held, then you must specify whether all of the joint Noteholders’ signatures will be required to request or demand repayment of the Notes, otherwise any of the joint Noteholders will be permitted to access the account and request or demand that all of the Notes held jointly be repaid in full and paid to that holder.
Interest is calculated quarterly for Noteholders. Please see the Noteholder information page on our website for current interest rates.
No, we only offer one type of interest rate for everyone, no matter the size of the investment.
We do not tie our interest rates to a specific rate. Our Board takes into consideration the average interest rates that savings accounts offered by banks are earning in our territory and attempts to price our rate competitively.
The Notes are uncertificated securities, meaning that there is no written document that you would receive. Instead, when you make a purchase, we simply update our books and records to reflect your purchase, and send you a statement of your account.
Statements are usually mailed out quarterly for those who have an active Noteholder account. A separate statement is sent to Noteholders anytime there is a change in their account such as a new investment or withdrawal request. If you provide your consent, account statements can be made available electronically and sent to you by email.
Yes! A portion or all may be withdrawn at any time without penalty. Your money is invested via a 90-day demand note, which means that we have up to 90 days to send you your funds after you request them. However, in most cases, we are able to mail the check the same week that you request the funds.
If you move within the Columbia Union territory you can continue holding Notes with CURF, but if you move outside the Columbia Union territory, you can no longer invest funds, or have your interest reinvested. You may continue to receive interest, but you will have to receive an interest check.
Check with your local conference. Sometimes a conference will open an account in their name on behalf of a newly formed church.
CURF Notes are not savings or deposit accounts or other obligations of a bank and are not insured by the SIPC, FDIC, NCUA, or any other insurance or guarantee fund or any other governmental agency You must rely solely on our income and assets for the repayment of the Notes, which are generated from repayments on our loans to churches and institutions in the denomination, and our investments. Substantially all loans issued to non-conference entities are guaranteed by the respective conferences in our union.
You can reinvest your interest each quarter instead of receiving a check by selecting the box that says “Reinvest to purchase additional Notes” when you fill out your Subscription Agreement, unless you live outside of the Columbia Union territory. You also may add to your account by making additional Note purchases.
We do not accept incoming ACH or wire transfers. You can coordinate with your bank to have a check mailed to us with your file account number printed on the memo line of the check.
