STRATEGIC CHRISTIAN GIVING

Strategic Christian Giving is our term for the decision process to follow after you have developed a Stewardship Philosophy.  This process is analogous to the process used to make an investment decision so we have borrowed some of those terms in this discussion.   Strategic Christian Giving encompasses the following concepts:

• Strategy means finding the most effective means to achieve a desired result.  Organizations receiving charitable contributions must demonstrate their effectiveness in reaching a desired result.  In the same manner that investments are expected to have a positive rate of return, non-profits should be expected to have a positive impact.
• Christian ministries (faith-based non-profits) offer the potential to be more effective and have an advantage over their secular counterparts.  Whether the objective is to provide job training, educational assistance, rehabilitation or any other social service, the faith- based non-profit has the potential advantage of changing and transforming lives through the hope of the Gospel.

• Giving is more than an emotional response to a dramatic, poignant or emotional emergency appeal.  Giving is making an investment in the Kingdom with His money.

With these basic assumptions, the next steps involve:

• identifying areas of giving using a biblical framework
• allocations of funding to those areas
• selection of ministries to receive funding.

The equivalent investment terms would be portfolio allocation, diversification and investment evaluation (due diligence).

ETERNAL INVESTMENT DECISIONS

Since we are making an investment in God's Kingdom with His money,  we need to consider Biblical direction and the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  A Biblical framework clearly instructs us regarding areas in which we should be investing our financial resources:

• The local church
• Fulfillment of the Great Commission (Evangelism)
• Fulfillment of the Great Commandment (Love the Lord, love your neighbor as yourself)

Most Christian ministries combine the latter two elements in their missions.  They deliver the Gospel message while serving others in need.

DEVELOPING AN INVESTMENT "PORTFOLIO"

Before making specific charitable gifts or "investments", several decisions need to be make with regard to allocation of your giving or "investments" in the Kingdom:

• A general allocation between the three areas provided by the Biblical framework.  In other words, what percentage to your local church (the primary giving responsibility) versus other ministries or "para churches".

• An allocation between local missions (and the United States) versus international missions.  Needs are so great in Memphis it is tempting or easy to ignore the rest of the world.  Yet many parts of the world are the least evangelized and in greater need.  Less than 5% of Christian giving goes internationally where more than 95% of the world's population lives.  The so-called 10/40 window (within 10 and 40 degrees latitude north of the equator) contains the least evangelized peoples of the world.  Charitable dollars in many international areas can also have a greater impact because the cost of ministry can be significantly less than in the U.S.

• Apart from your local church, is there a particular type of ministry that you sense that God has lead you to be interested in or passionate about in terms of your giving?

INVESTMENT EVALUATION

Finally, certain questions need to be asked to evaluate a ministry investment.   Is the need truly justified, can the ministry produce the results they are promising and is it aligned with God's purposes?    Here are some guidelines for our due diligence:

1. Before giving elsewhere, have I fulfilled my primary giving responsibility to my local church?
2. Does the ministry have a statement of values and faith? Is the ministry evangelical?
3. Are the ministry's needs and objectives aligned with God's purposes?
4. Are the leadership and staff of the organization marked by Godly characteristics including character, integrity and vision?
5. Does the ministry partner with other ministries and, especially, churches to execute its mission?
6. Is the organization operating in a geographic area or ministry area where needs are critical and impacts can be significant? In other words, are the returns on investment relatively high?
7. Is the organization focused on development (or a long term solution to a problem) rather than assistance (a short term solution)?
8. Is the organization focused on a symptom of a problem or is dealing with the problem itself?
9. What do they consider success?  Can they measure results and state them?  Can they demonstrate a track-record of success or effectiveness?
10. Is the ministry oriented toward goals and objectives?
11. Do they have a clear mission statement?
12. Is the ministry innovative?
13. Are there other ministries in the area with a similar mission?  If so, is there an opportunity for cooperation rather than competition?
14. Does the ministry's activity have a potential leveraging impact such as training or teaching persons who would then train or teach others?
15. Can the gift you make be matched by another donor or be used to secure a grant which would attract further dollars?
16. Does the organization appear sustainable financially?  Do they have cash reserves?  Are appeals for donations made in desperate, emergency terms?
17. Do they have a board of directors, male and female, beyond family members, that is representative of the community served?
18. What are the credentials of the staff?
19. What does a site visit reveal about them?
20. Are their accounting practices sound?
21. What is their proportion of administrative overhead?  Generally, administrative costs greater than 15-25% of total costs are cause for further investigation.
22. Do they have audited financial results?  If not, why not?
23. Do they have valid 501(c) 3 status and do they annually file a form 990 with the IRS?
    

Must a ministry satisfy all of these criteria to qualify? No.  Less objective criteria may also be appropriate:

• Is this a work you believe in strongly? 
• Would you recommend it to others? 

While subjective, such questions reflect the likelihood that there are ministries who are smaller or newer which are effective and making a difference but may not satisfy some or many of the criteria above.  Your donation and this list can be used as input to this ministry to help them improve operations and move "to the next level".

Other information:

Read a summary of the conclusions and recommendations of the Urban Child Institute regarding their findings of the most serious issues facing the City of Memphis and possible ways to address them.

"The faith-based groups that are having a profound impact are those that are explicit about their faith, relationship based, holistic, character-forming, entrepreneurial, extend over time, and are rooted in neighborhoods. Programs that have a concentration of these characteristics tend to be much more effective than any others." (a quote from an article by Barbara Elliott - The Power that Transforms).