Category Archives: stewardship

What the World’s Religions Say About Charity

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world religions collageThe Stewardship Foundation’s very existence is attributed to the founders’ calling to provide principled investors a pathway to charitable planning that is in sync with the teachings of Jesus Christ. But if there is one thing ALL the world’s major religions agree on is charity and helping others. This time of year we thought it might be good to reflect on this and gain some insight into this globally generous place we call Earth.

 

Confucius, the teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher of Chinese history, when asked to express his ambition, said

Exemplary people understand matters of justice;
small people understand matters of profit.

The ancient 3rd book of the Jewish Pentateuch, the Book of Leviticus, cautions the wealthy:

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not be so thorough that you reap the field to its very edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Likewise, you shall not pick your vineyard bare, nor gather up the grapes that have fallen. These things you shall leave for the poor and the alien.

A few centuries later, it was recorded in the Psalms…

Blessed is he that considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

And Luke 12:33-34, whose insight so clearly carves our path at the Foundation (and whose quote is on the home page of our website) warns us not to store up things for ourselves, but sell our belongings and give alms…

For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

The Book of Mormon, the sacred text of the Latter Day Saint movement, teaches…

And behold, I tell you these things that you may learn wisdom; that you may learn that when you are in the service of the your fellow beings, you are only in the service of your God. Mosiah 2:17

The Dhammapada, for those unfamiliar with it, is a collection of 423 verses attributed to the Buddha as a framework for the traditions, beliefs, and practices of Buddhism, pages 83 and 98.

Do as you would want done to you.

Fools are not generous: the world of the gods is not for the stingy. Wise men are generous; they find happiness in the next birth. 

The Koran (or Quran, meaning literally “the recitation”) is the central religious text of Islam which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God:

God loves those who do good. The Table 5:13

Give generously for the cause of God…Be Charitable; God loves the charitable. The Cow 2:195

Tanakh (the larger work of the Jewish people which includes the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings) says it beautifully in Deuteronomy 15:7-11:

Give to him readily and have no regrets when you do so, for in return the LORD your God will bless you in all your efforts and in all your undertakings. For there will never cease to be needy ones in your land, which is why I command you: open your hand to the poor and needy kinsman in your land.

Tao Te Ching is the teachings of Lao Tsu of China and the basis of the Taoist faith, thought, and culture:

Before receiving, there must be giving. – Thirty-Six

The sage never tries to store things up. The more he does for others the  more he has. The more he gives to others, the greater his abundance. – Eighty-One

Upanisads, part of the epic teachings of Hindu literature of India, gets right to the point:

There are three branches of the law. Sacrifice, study, and charity are the first. – Chandogy Upanisad, 2nd Prapataka, 23rd Khanda:1.

Let him never turn away (a stranger) from his house, that is the rule. Therefore a man should by all means acquire much food… If he gives food amply, food is given to him amply. If he gives food fairly, food is given to him fairly. If he gives food meanly, food is given to him meanly. – Taittirīyaka Upaniṣad, 3rd Vallī, 10th Anuvāka: 1

Our message is hopeful, but our reach is small. In the spirit of giving, please consider re-gifting this blog. Perhaps it will inspire someone else to better understand these insights on charity and helping others as seen through the lens of the world’s great religions. You can share by forwarding this blog to a friend or “Like” it on Facebook.

On behalf of the Staff, Board of Directors, Advisors, and volunteers at the Stewardship Foundation, we wish you a love-filled and blessed Christmas. We’ll talk to you again in the New Year!

Peace to all,

Joe, Jim, and Patrick

Case for Philanthroinvesting

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touchdownIt’s football season. The season when, after investing over two hours in front of the TV, we go crazy when one team makes some remarkable adjustment to its game plan and pulls out a win in the last minutes of the 4th quarter. Depending on whether our favored team won or lost, we collectively scratch our heads and wonder why the team waited to the last minute to make a difference!

Nonprofit financial managers also scratch their heads wondering why so many donors wait to the last minute, aka, end of tax year, to write that check.

If you’ve seen our website’s “If you believe in…” slideshow, you may have noticed that the final slide is labeled “…transformational giving”. The image is of a young woman on the edge of a lake, disturbing the water just enough to create outward ripples. It is a symbol for transformational giving – the kind of giving that not only transforms the giver in a spiritual way, but that also transforms the nonprofit receiving the gift because the gift itself is large enough or designed well enough to grow and sustain the charity’s mission over time.

An excellent example of transformational giving comes from Paul T. Penley, the director of research for philanthropic advisory firm Excellence in Giving. Penley calls it “philanthroinvestments – real opportunities for philanthropists to realize returns and then relinquish the benefits of those returns to charitable organizations they trust.”

Penley discusses the concept in the article Smart Gifts Keep on Giving – how a philanthropic investment of $600,000 is on track to more than quadruple, generating $2.5 million revenue from the original gift.

This investment is neither an impact investment (a socially responsible form of investing that creates measurable social or environmental impact alongside a financial return for the investor) because the financial returns do not come back to the investor; nor is it a normal grant or annual cash donation needed every year to run the same programs. The grant is, however, one that invests in a revenue-generating, job-creating project so that the organization doesn’t need additional grants to run its programs.

This model will not work for all charities (for example, it won’t work for disaster relief), but for most, it enables a gift to keep on giving and attracts high net worth charitable investors.

If this type of long term thinking fascinates you, inspires you, challenges you… or if you are a major gift or development officer, or you know someone who is, we’d like to lead the conversation about philanthroinvesting.

Donor Advised Funds and why Private Foundations need them

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A donor-advised fund (DAF) is a separately identified fund or account that is maintained, operated, and legally controlled by a section 501(c)(3) organization like The Stewardship Foundation. In this month’s article, we list why owners of private foundations may want to covert to DAFs with The Stewardship Foundation.

Man working in home officeReason #1. Save time and money

Private foundation owners pay for lawyers, accountants, and office supplies, but with a DAF, owners advise how the funds are used, yet avoid the administrative cost. In some cases, as much as 50%. Cutting costs makes the money go further.

Reason #2. Less hassle

DAFs relieve philanthropists of the hassles of running a foundation. No more tedious paperwork or fact checking potential recipients. For larger foundations, no hiring, firing, or worrying about staff.

Reason #3. More privacy

DAF funds are relatively anonymous because there are no requirements to disclose as much information about their charitable giving. Privacy ensures that philanthropists can support causes that operate within their personal value system, ethical standards, or call to Christian conscience. Private foundation tax forms are public information, exposing operational details and even personal information.

Reason #4. Smaller donor investment fees

Small foundations often pay relatively high fees to the firms that handle their investments. On the other hand, donor funds work with a much bigger pool of money from all the accounts we administer, so fees are lower.

Reason #5. More generous tax deductions

Donors get an immediate tax deduction when they contribute to a fund from their private foundation, but with a DAF, deductions are more generous – instead of a limit of 30% to a private foundation, donors can deduct cash contributions up to half their adjusted gross income each year. There are other tax advantages for appreciated-security donations, and investment gains are generally tax-free (no excise tax).

Reason #6. Protected legacy

DAF funds protect the original intent of the founder. After a founder’s death, family members may disagree on the direction that the private/family foundation should take. They may begin to direct funds to causes contrary to the founder’s moral or ethical values. To protect the legacy intent of the founder, the foundation’s assets can be split among several accounts at donor-advised funds, and those accounts can then be used for different purposes.

If you are interested to learn more about converting from a private/family foundation to donor advised funds, we recommend a recent Wall Street Journal article by Jillian Mincer where she raises the question whether it is time for private foundation owners to convert to donor advised funds.