Welcome to this fourth part in our series on Generosity. Part 1 and 2 focused on the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of giving. While part 3 focused on the “where and when” of giving. In this final installment I share about identifying a giving focus which will make the process more fulfilling for you and your family.
Giving is a practice that is developed over time and comes in different stages. By way of recap let us look at the 3 stages of giving again (I share about these stages in more detail in Generosity – How):
Spontaneous Giving – giving at this stage is mainly based on needs we are aware of. It is often triggered by empathy and sympathy and does not require much planning. As much as it’s an excellent way to help others it is often not sustainable in the long run.
Regular Giving – giving at this stage is done on a regular basis, like monthly, to your church, a specific individual, charity or organization you believe in supporting. Regular giving involves planning and commitment and is a more sustainable method of giving.
Sacrificial Giving – giving at this stage is now a lifestyle and involves significant planning and sacrifice. It involves giving a significant percentage of one’s income to a charity or organization or giving up a comfortable lifestyle to serve others.
As you move towards regular and sacrificial giving, it becomes important to identify your giving focus or calling. Take time, think through and develop a more objective focus to giving. Consider some of these questions as you sort through: What areas of giving bring you the greatest joy? What areas connect with something personal about you or your family? What areas can make giving even more rewarding? What percentage of your giving would be to Christian organizations and what percentage to secular non-profit organizations that are doing great work?
A GIVING FOCUS EXAMPLE – SERVANT’S HEART FOUNDATION
We have been able to identify our giving focus as a family through our foundation – Servant’s Heart. The foundation was founded in 1992 by Kathy and I, and its primary focus is to provide financial and mentoring support to Christian ministries around the world. The primary giving focus in on ministries that specialize in one or more of the following:
- Holistic ministries – serving the poor and needy by providing/meeting their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs; with an emphasis on teaching them to fish versus providing fish.
- Evangelism – Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.
- Leadership development – a focus on educating, equipping, encouraging, and protecting pastors and Christian leaders around the world.
At the heart of our giving is our desire to support Christian organizations that actively proclaim the message of Christ in all that they do. We are particularly drawn to organizations that not only meet the needs of their intended beneficiaries, but also strengthen the local church at the same time. We strongly believe that God has been and continues to change the world through the local church and therefore, any time a gift can either go through or strengthen the local church, it is a big bonus. As such, we prioritize these gifts as we recognize such investments have a lasting impact beyond the project or program.
The following summarizes areas of particular interest for us at Servant’s Heart Foundation:
- We prioritize ministries that are excellent stewards of their resources and have a proven track record of achieving impactful results for the Kingdom. We carefully evaluate each ministry’s efficiency and effectiveness by comparing their goals and outcomes to the amount of money they spend.
- We also look for ministries that have a lasting impact beyond the present. We are interested in organizations that have a long-term vision and are committed to creating sustainable solutions for the communities they serve.
- We are sensitive to how much the ministry spends out of each dollar raised in order to raise the dollar. We consider what percentage of their budget is spent on fund development, donor communication, fundraising, etc. if it exceeds 10% of their budget, it is concerning.
- We value a ministry’s board members who are actively engaged in financially supporting the organization’s mission. They have greater insight into the ministry than we have and if they are not supporting the ministry financially, it is a concern.
- We like to help ministries develop a clear plan for financial independence and move toward self-sustainability by reducing their dependence on donor funding.
- Generally, we tend to support smaller organizations who are having an amazing kingdom impact and need help growing from where they currently are to their next level of ministry impact. We are willing to work hard finding ministries that are doing amazing work yet are not on the radar of many donors. We find smaller organizations to be more efficient and better positioned to stretch their ministry dollars.
- We tend to not support large organizations that already have a multi-million-dollar budget and many donors. We feel called to help smaller ministries who are having a significant kingdom impact but are finding it difficult to expand their donor base. We like coming alongside ministries for a few years, helping them grow their ministry.
- We pay close attention to the balance between how much the ministry spends on administration verses what percent of their budget is invested directly in the ministry’s primary focus.
- Our main focus is helping ministries in developing countries around the world, as compared to ministries in the US. Generally speaking, ministries in the US have much more access to raising funds than ministries in developing countries.
- As a small team, vetting out new ministries takes a significant amount of time. We, therefore, rely on our network of trusted friends and partners around the world to help us identify new ministries for us to consider. When someone we know and trust can recommend a ministry based on their personal experience, it allows us to measurably reduce and streamline our due diligence process.
Read the handout Benefits of a Family Foundation where I share more opportunities we have enjoyed as a family.
ACTION STEP
Giving is an important aspect of our lives that we should cultivate. Take a moment to review the first 3 blogs. Write down your thoughts on giving. Pay special attention to areas that bring you joy and personally connect with you. Think through how to make it a sustainable method and begin to identify organizations that match with your objectives. Remember, for the organizations identified, to also look closely at the results they are achieving as a ministry.
Giving is a habit that can be developed over time, and as you continue to sharpen your objectives and focus, you’ll reap even greater joy and fulfillment.
Over the years, Kathy and I have received many requests from friends and mentees to share information about the ministries Servant’s Heart foundation supports. It has been important to us to choose organizations that we see being efficient and effective stewards of the resources they have been entrusted with. It has been our honor to work closely with each ministry’s leadership and witness firsthand the great Kingdom impact they are having. We are glad to share these organizations with you on the Servant’s Heart blog, found at https://www.servantsheartblog.org/
