In His Steps Foundation Blog

Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Philanthropy

Fri, 05 May 2023 17:42:18 GMT

Human Begins Are Always the Center of God's Redemptive Plans

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:17

Do you recall hearing or reading about the subject of artificial intelligence in the news the last few months? I sure have. Perhaps you’ve heard about Open AI’s “ Chat GPT ” website which allows users to request their artificial intelligence system to write very specific essays, book reports, movie scripts, business plans, and even love poems! Earlier today I went to OpenAi.com and asked Chat GPT to “Write a 200-word blog about Christian charitable giving.” I’ll include the surprisingly insightful and earnest computer-generated response at the end of this post.

In 2023, philosophers and ethicists are asking big, somewhat unprecedented, questions about what it means to be human in this dawning era of thinking machines. Employers and employees are frantically attempting to predict the future of work, as many theorists predict the coming end of dozens of career fields and perhaps untold millions of jobs. What role might charity play in this new, unfolding world?

In His Steps Foundation is intentionally positioned at the intersection of Christian givers and Christian ministries who depend on one another to fulfill their God-given purposes:

While emerging technology may assist the research and administration of charitable giving, it will never replace the work of the Holy Spirit directing givers to urgent, important causes. Data-driven decisions can be helpful, but frequently following the Lord’s leading in our giving will take us to places that defy the so-called wisdom of the age. Where a computer may only see a “bad investment,” God may see mustard-seed-sized opportunity and invite us to give in unexpected ways that don’t make sense to fancy algorithms.
Likewise, while artificial intelligence may help ministries with more efficient fundraising, it will never replace the beautiful collaboration that happens when Kingdom-minded fundraisers connect with their audiences. Digital directives may point fundraisers to computer-predicted, deep-pocketed “targets,” but Spirit-led leaders know that God often prefers to accomplish his purposes through unexpected sources: oftentimes principled people living quiet, unassuming lives who are eager for meaningful human connection.

Despite the uncertainties of the unfolding future, God’s chosen instrument to shape and make the world has always been His image-bearers, human beings, working together to mend the personal and societal consequences of sin. The incarnation (God arriving in human flesh through the person of Jesus Christ) teaches us emphatically that human-to-human contact is God’s “Plan A” for healing the world.

Whichever side of the philanthropy spectrum you’re serving on today (Christian giver or Christian ministry), may I encourage you to continue to keep the human relational component front and center:

Christian givers: build relationships with the leaders who are shaping the ministries important to you. Get to know board and staff members, and find ways you can leverage your talent, time, and testimony in addition to your treasure.
Christian ministries: You can say "thank you" to your givers in ways more meaningful than letters and trinkets. Your givers support you because they believe in the work you're doing. Where appropriate, invite them to the office, let them participate in an aspect of your work in the community, find high-impact volunteer opportunities, or Q&A sessions with your workers on the front lines. Above all, give them up close access to your heart, your time, and yourself. At the end of the day, people don't give to organizations - they give to people they trust to carry out the mission of the organization.

Chat GPT’s computer-generated response to the query, “Write a 200-word blog about Christian charitable giving:”

Christian charitable giving is an important aspect of the Christian faith that is rooted in the belief that helping those in need is a fundamental responsibility of all Christians. Christian charitable giving is not only a way to express love and compassion to others, but also a way to serve and glorify God. The Bible teaches that Christians should give generously and cheerfully to those in need, and that doing so is an act of worship. In fact, the Bible states in 2 Corinthians 9:7, "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

There are many ways that Christians can engage in charitable giving, including donating money to churches, charities, and non-profit organizations that help the less fortunate. Christian charitable giving can also involve volunteering time and resources to help those in need, such as serving meals at a homeless shelter or providing clothing to families in need.

Christian charitable giving is not just about meeting the physical needs of others, but also about sharing the love of Christ with those who are hurting. By showing love and compassion to those in need, Christians can demonstrate the transformative power of the Gospel and bring hope to those who are struggling.

In conclusion, Christian charitable giving is a vital aspect of the Christian faith that helps to fulfill the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. By giving generously and cheerfully to those in need, Christians can demonstrate the love of Christ and bring hope to a hurting world.

Contact:

If you want to inquire about how we might assist your charitable giving or fundraising, please contact IHS Foundation President, Ben Lee:

benlee@ihsfound.org | 330.528.1785

How to Grow an Endowment

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 18:46:42 GMT

Forward-thinking, Generous Leadership is Required

The image of a seed growing in the soil is an apt metaphor for an endowment. It’s hard to notice progress on a daily basis. Some days things seem to take a step backwards. But as the seasons pass, once-small seeds can become into a mighty forest.

Growing an endowment is difficult - primarily because it requires a tremendous amount of discipline. It requires saying “no” to dollars that could easily be spent today, in favor of investing in the unknown future. Even more challenging, it is possible that you won’t be around to enjoy the harvest from the seeds you’re planting today – some future board and staff of your organization will reap the reward of your forward-thinking leadership.

But if we’re being honest, in many ways you may be enjoying the harvest of seeds that were planted long before you showed up. This is the way the economy of God’s Kingdom flourishes: we play a part in a beautifully generous, never-ending circle of receiving and giving.

Strategies for Growing Your Endowment.

Once you have established your endowment with In His Steps Foundation, the focus shifts to marketing and education. In establishing your fund, you have initiated a partnership that is ripe with potential, but it is a potential that you must cultivate to reap the benefits. Growing your endowment involves two aspects: Investment (time) & Development (intention).

Investment. It is reasonable to believe a well-managed investment program could produce an average return of roughly 7-8% a year over time. IHS Foundation has an investment program prudently managed by our Investment Committee. Our standard allocation for endowments has 30% of your fund’s value in fixed income (typically bonds that offer slower-but-steadier growth) and 70% in securities (we own stock in carefully curated companies that meet our “Biblically Responsible Investing” standards).

We encourage no more than a 5-6% annual distribution from your endowment fund, which creates reasonable opportunity for your invested endowment to grow.

Development. Behind every growing endowment is a committed Board of Trustees who have made the endowment a priority. While the Executive Director & staff are largely consumed with the demands of the annual budget, an endowment is easily forgotten or neglected unless the board champions its importance. One way leadership can prioritize an endowment is to differentiate between “Now” dollars raised for the current operating budget, and “Then” dollars (such as bequests, estate gifts, planned gifts, memorial gifts, or gifts of various property) that can be put toward the endowment.

1. Remember the six most important words of endowment building: “Please remember us in your will.”

2. Consider a board subcommittee– partnered with a staff member – to market & promote your endowment. This could include:

a. Develop an annual line item in the budget for marketing endowment, estate, and planned giving options.

b. Identify and steward individuals who are uniquely positioned to be an estate gift candidate: individuals 55 and older, preferably with no children, who have made gifts to your organization for many years (look for consistency more than the size of gifts).

c. Establish a “Legacy Society” to recognize/honor the individuals who you know have named your organization in their will or estate plan. Steward them as major donors.

Make your endowment the “background music” of your messaging. It doesn’t need to always be front and center, but it should be consistent. Create space to tell success stories about estate gifts, and remind your audience about planned giving and noncash gift options in newsletters, event talks and literature, appeal letters, email signatures, envelope messaging, website presence, etc. IHS Foundation can be a resource to assist with this.

Please contact IHS Foundation President, Ben Lee, with your questions:

benlee@ihsfound.org | 330.528.1785

Is there a Biblical Basis for an Endowment?

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 15:49:55 GMT

Ministries must think theologically as well as financially when it comes to investing in an endowment.

“In the beginning God” so famously starts the creation narrative in the Bible. Within it, God repeatedly demonstrates a self-evident pattern that is so hardwired in His creation that it might be overlooked. “And the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.” [1] Trees yield fruit to feed His creation, including us, and the fruit so produced each contain seed which can grow more trees. All life on Earth receives energy from the rays of the sun which are produced everyday anew by the burning of fuel within the sun which produces the light needed to grow the plants and the welcome heat which keeps us warm. And God declares this “good.” This cycle provides not only for us, but also for every living thing on Earth. God’s plan to both provide for us and to protect us consumes much of the remaining text in the scriptures.

Giving is introduced quietly and unobtrusively immediately after the creation narrative, early in Genesis chapter 4. In the narrative of Cain and Abel we can almost pass over the obvious: that both boys are actively and seemingly spontaneously in the act of proportionately giving back to God. Who told them to do this we wonder, as the recorded event precedes God’s first instruction to give by many, many centuries. Perhaps there is something in the heart of man that instinctively wants to give back to God in some way from His provision for us? Much ink through the rest of scripture is devoted to the subject of giving back to God and stewarding His abundant provision for us in a way that is pleasing to Him.

Flashing forward to contemporary America, we live in a country that actively promotes giving generously to charity, specifically through our tax code and through our culture, generally. Tens of thousands of charities exist in America, and the greatest number of those are religious in nature, predominantly churches. Every year in America, the highest percentage of charitable giving goes to faith-based organizations. However, we can’t help but notice that for many Christian ministries, the idea of making a charitable gift to provide an ongoing source of provision for the future needs of the ministry (called endowment giving) often takes a back seat when compared to the effort given to promote the current needs of the charity/ministry. There are legitimate reasons for this, in particular because many Christian givers are responding to direct, immediate needs.

Yet some givers – in particular those making larger gifts – also like the idea of giving for the long-term good. With very large gifts, in particular estate gifts, they may be concerned their gift may be spent hastily or might not be used according to the purposes they intend.

So we return to the question before us: “Is an endowment biblical?” Christian ministries that want to start or promote an endowment wrestle with this question. Virtually all Christians are familiar with the Bible’s teaching on giving back to God just as He regularly provides for us, commonly understood as tithing from income. Yet many ministries find themselves in uncharted territory as they begin to think and pray about starting a long-term fund in order to sustain their work into the far future.

The term “financial endowment” does not appear in the Bible. Like many other modern concepts, (evolution or pollution for example), we must search the scriptures and apply principles that are consistent, unambiguous and relevant to the topic to begin to feel like we are standing on solid biblical ground. The following incomplete list is humbly offered in this light for what they each teach about the nature of an endowment:

In Genesis, God declares, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the Earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you.” [2] Later to Noah and his family, “Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant.” [3] From these examples we learn that God provided food for people, a renewable resource in its season. This endowment of life is a perpetual provision for the needs of humanity.
Later in Genesis, Joseph, inspired by God, tells Pharaoh to “exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. Then let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and let them guard it. And let the food become as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt.” [4] This principal of laying up a portion from the good years to provide for the years of famine saved not only the Egyptians, but also all the Hebrews. Later, God made a provision for His people and their future from the wealth of Egypt as they departed. [5] This provision of money and property was necessary for them to have as they wandered and eventually settled in their new land.
In Leviticus we learn the principal of the Sabbath Year in farming and the Year of Jubilee. God promised “then I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the crop for three years. When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat old things from the crop, eating the old until the ninth year when its crop comes in.” [6] This extra provision of God’s was to provide for the future needs of the people (see also Exodus 16:5).
King David’s desired to build a temple to God in Jerusalem, but realized he was going to die first. In 1 Chronicles we learn how “David prepared large quantities of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more bronze than could be weighed; and timbers of cedar logs beyond number” [7] and how he with great pains “prepared for the house of the Lord 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weight, for they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared.” [8] David provided in one generation for the spiritual work of the next generation. What was God’s opinion of David’s desire to endow the building of the Temple? In 1 Chronicles we read of the establishment of God’s Covenant with David. God sends word to David the very night he first plans to build, promising to establish David’s throne forever. David is overcome by God’s promise and blessing and recognizes how God “has promised this good thing to Thy servant. And now it hath pleased Thee to bless the house of Thy servant, that it may continue forever before Thee.” [9] Clearly God was pleased.
In Matthew we read about how the wise men presented “gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.” [10] These gifts were undoubtedly used by the Holy Family as a provision for food, shelter and clothing as they fled to Egypt as refugees for several years.

From these passages and others, we learn the principle that God provides for specific purposes or needs that will arise in the future. Often His provision for those future needs is to meet them from a “bumper crop” today, taking from current abundance and setting it aside for His specific purpose. In other words, endowment .

Later in Matthew, Jesus instructs us “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.” [11] The laying up of treasures in heaven includes making provision from today’s abundance to meet a spiritual need God has spoken about in the next generation, provided we do not neglect the needs of those around us today.
Jesus also teaches in the Parable of the Talents, that we will give an account to the master upon his return. If we have a gain to show on what He entrusted to us, He will say “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” [12] In other words, it pleases Him that we invest and reap growth from what He entrusts to us today. This includes our stewardship and our giving.
As a final point, we read in Acts 15 about the outcome from the Council in Jerusalem. Resulting from a crisis within the early church as Gentiles began to come to faith in Jesus, the dispute centered around what should be required of these new Christian Gentiles regarding obeying the Law of Moses. The leaders met together, debated, sought God, and came to resolution:
“Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church…” (Acts 15:22)
“…it seemed good to us, having become of one mind…” (Acts 15:25)
“…for it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” (Acts 15:28)

Here we see the principle of church and ministry leadership (elders) reacting to changing circumstances around them and making prayerful and well-thought-through decisions regarding the Lord’s work in a changing world. If done by qualified leadership in a humble attitude of serving others, Christians are to accept the outcome. For example, argumentative Paul does not question the council’s decision, nor do the legalistic Jewish Christians. This process and the outcome it produces is accomplished under the authority Jesus Christ gave the church. [13]

Before we transition away from the scriptures, one well-known passage should be examined, Jesus’ warning about collecting wealth in bigger and bigger barns:

“And [Jesus] told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” [14]

This parable speaks specifically to the individual desiring to add to their own personal property/wealth. Jesus paints the picture of a hoarder. A contribution to an endowment is the very definition of relinquishing funds from personal ownership, and freely giving them away to a benefiting organization. Once a person completes a gift to charity, it is not their property anymore. More to the point, their money is not in their barn. The barndoors have been opened and wealth is flowing at a sustainable rate.

From the above, we may distill several key questions ministries should ask themselves regarding a biblical basis for an endowment:

Does the ministry itself or the need to be endowed have a biblical mandate?
Will an individual steward of God’s resources – a person - be taking a God-pleasing step of stewardship by participating in giving to an endowment?
Will the establishment of an endowment harm or compliment the faith-giving of the stewards who regularly support this ministry’s annual budget now?
Can proper safeguards be established so that God’s property will not be “Storehoused” (i.e. hoarded)? Instead, will this endowment be an abundantly flowing source of meeting real and ongoing future spiritual or physical needs?
Do the leaders of the church or ministry, after prayer and seeking God, believe in unity that they are doing the right thing in establishing this endowment for near and far-future spiritual work?

God entrusts wealth to individuals, and they will each answer to Him about how they handled their wealth at some point in the future. Giving during life to meet the needs of many human issues discussed in the Bible is clearly important. Many Americans experience from time to time a “bumper crop” and desire to provide for God’s work in the future from their abundance. Scripture gives many examples where this kind of provision is legitimate, and even further, pleasing to God. As a result, ministries who identify an endowable need would be wise to offer this stewardship opportunity to their supporters.

* This article written by In His Steps Foundation Executive Director Emeritus, Rob Cathcart.

[1] Genesis 1:12

[2] Genesis 1:29

[3] Genesis 9:3

[4] Genesis 41:34-36

[5] Exodus 12:35-36

[6] Leviticus 25:21-22

[7] 1 Chronicles 22:3-4

[8] 1 Chronicles 22:14

[9] 1 Chronicles 17:26-27

[10] Matthew 2:11

[11] Matthew 6:19-20

[12] Matthew 5:21

[13] Matthew 16:18-19

[14] Luke 12:16-21

A Unique Way to Grow Your Giving

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 15:09:59 GMT

Use Your IRA RMD to make a QCD to a DAF!

Whoa! That is way too many acronyms for such a short sentence! Don’t worry, we’ll unpack it for you - but please follow along, because this is a wonderful opportunity unique to In His Steps Foundation fundholders.

Once you reach age 73, you are required to take an annual required minimum distribution (RMD) from your traditional individual retirement account (IRA) and some other types of retirement accounts. You will be taxed on this income, even if you don’t need or want the income this year.

Traditionally the IRS has allowed taxpayers to make a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) to a nonprofit organization instead of receiving this money as taxable income. The benefit is that you get to support an organization(s) important to you without being taxed on unnecessary income.

One downside is that the IRS does not allow you to donate this amount to a donor advised fund (DAF). This restriction is frustrating to many donor advised fundholders who value the many benefits of using a DAF for charitable giving. In His Steps Foundation has created an easy way to workaround this restriction, by allowing you to donate your RMD to our General Fund. We’ll track the amount of your contribution as a sub-fund of our General Fund. Just as you would recommend a grant from your DAF, you can contact the foundation in writing to recommend a grant from your IRA sub-fund. The staff will process this grant just as if it were a grant from your DAF.

We hope you consider this unique opportunity to empower your charitable giving potential – or pass it along to somebody at the right age to take advantage of it.

If you have any questions, please contact IHS Foundation President, Ben Lee, directly: benlee@ihsfound.org | 330.528.1785

Cryptocurrency Makes a Great Charitable Contribution

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 14:59:42 GMT

Donate Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and other Digital Assets

If you were one of the tens of millions of people who watched the Super Bowl last year, you couldn’t help but notice the plethora of cryptocurrency advertisements that seemed to pop up at every commercial break. The cryptocurrency world began 2022 brimming with confidence that this was going to be a banner year for the flashy asset.

It may seem like cryptocurrency came out of nowhere, but its most well-known representative, Bitcoin, has been around since 2008. Since then, other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Dogecoin have become popular investments, even by people who are skeptical of or know very little about cryptocurrency. In 2022 there were more than 14,000 types of cryptocurrencies on the market! Will cryptocurrency’s popularity continue to soar into the future? The championship football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs may give us a clue.

The 2023 Super Bowl was remarkably absent of expensive cryptocurrency commercials, a reflection of the turbulent year the industry experienced. Part of cryptocurrency’s appeal has been its rapid, thrilling rise in value, which also makes it susceptible to rapid and erratic losses.

For a variety of reasons, cryptocurrency can be a great tool to accomplish your charitable giving goals. Like all assets that have benefited from significant appreciation, you may trigger a high tax liability from the sale of cryptocurrency. In His Steps Foundation has a fund relationship with Coinbase, which allows us to receive cryptocurrency as charitable contributions. When you donate your cryptocurrency to our digital "wallet" at Coinbase, you’ll turn those digital coins into real world charitable giving capacity without incurring capital gains taxes. We can liquidate your cryptocurrency and make it immediately available for charitable giving through your donor advised fund.

Please contact IHS Foundation President, Ben Lee, with your questions:

benlee@ihsfound.org | 330.528.1785