MMBB Launches Centennial Celebration at ABC Biennial

FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact:
Harold Leibovitz – 212-870-8053 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The ABC biennial marked the beginning of MMBB’s centennial celebration. This momentous occasion calls on us to remember with gratitude our long association with ABCUSA (full coverage of this event can be seen in our Centennial section ). To that end, we launched initiatives to develop a new service model, extended support to those hit hard by the economic downturn, and reorganized our outreach model to focus on employers.

We undertook these initiatives after evaluating what makes MMBB unique, and it boils down to three simple facts. Because we are a church-based plan, we understand the challenges of churches and other faith-based organizations. We are big enough to offer world-class benefits, but flexible enough to customize plans to suit the needs and resources of the institutions we serve. And our people take the ministry seriously: our staff combines years of church service with expertise in investment, financial and retirement planning.

Personalized service is our hallmark, and we implemented changes in 2010 to continue to improve upon it. We moved member service into MMBB’s central office to allow our members to interact with staff in real time, every day. We also restructured our investments to maximize returns for our members. We did this by adding the Stable Value Fund—a fund with a guaranteed rate of return—engaging a new manager for our Social Awareness Fund, and reallocating assets across all of our investment options.

We also returned to our evangelical roots, with a renewed focus on outreach to those currently without the benefits we offer. This emphasis on growth is part of our missional imperative, “to promote interest in the better maintenance of the ministry.” It recaptures our missionary zeal while allowing us to continue to serve faithfully those already in the fold.

The past year also afforded us the opportunity to mobilize assistance for our members more quickly—and more substantially—than ever before. While MMBB shielded its annuitants from the worst impact of the economic downturn, we also know that many of our members suffered. We expanded our efforts to identify those in need and distributed more than $4.5 million in 2010 for purposes ranging from educational grants to emergency assistance.

As I look forward to MMBB’s next 100 years, I am reinvigorated by our mission and restored in its works. Our strategy is sound, our staff is wholly dedicated and our financial leadership is second to none. I look forward to reporting to you next year on our continuing success in reinterpreting the founding vision to meet today’s challenges.

Sumner M. Grant
Executive Director