by Joe Gitto

There are many ways to support charitable organizations and many ways to make sure your gifts make a long-term, sustainable impact. One method that’s gained popularity over the past few years is called a donor-advised fund. 

Should you consider it?

The answer depends on your individual situation because donor-advised funds are not appropriate for everyone. However, if you’re in a position to make larger charitable gifts, you want to see what this strategy has to offer. A donor-advised fund provides the benefits of a managed portfolio, lower capital gains tax, and anonymity.

Here’s how a donor-advised fund works:

Contribute to the fund

You can contribute to your donor-advised fund with cash or marketable securities, which are assets that can be converted to cash quickly. If your contribution is tax deductible, you’ll get the deduction in the year you make the contribution to the fund. Of course, these contributions are still subject to IRS limits on charitable tax deductions and whether you itemize your deductions. 

If you typically don’t give enough each year to itemize and plan on making consistent charitable contributions, you could consider combining multiple years’ worth of planned giving into a single donor-advised fund contribution and claim a larger deduction in that year. This move may be especially impactful if you have years with a higher amount of income, with an accompanying higher tax rate. If you contribute marketable securities, like stocks and bonds, into the fund, a subsequent sale of the securities avoids capital gains taxes, maximizing the impact of your contribution. 

Choose an investment

Typically, donor-advised funds offer several professionally managed, diversified portfolios where you can place your contributions. You’ll want to consider the level of investment risk to which your fund may be exposed. And assuming all requirements are met, any investment growth is not taxable to you, the donor-advised fund, or the charity that ultimately receives the grant, making your charitable gift go even further. 

Choose the Charities

You can choose grants for the IRS-approved charities that you want to support. You decide when you want the money donated and how it should be granted. You’re generally free to choose as many IRS-approved charitable organizations as you like. And the tax reporting is relatively easy — you don’t have to keep track of receipts from every charity you support. Instead, you can just keep the receipts from your contributions to the fund.

Drawbacks of Donor-Advised Funds

Although donor-advised funds clearly offer some benefits, there are important trade-offs to consider. For one thing, your contributions are irrevocable, which means once you put the money in the fund, you cannot access it for any reason other than charitable giving. And the investments you choose within your fund will carry some risk, as is true of all investments. 

Also, donor-advised funds do have investment management fees and other costs. So, consider the impacts of these fees when deciding how you want to give. 

Donor-Advised Funds are a Unique Way to Support Causes that Matter to You

In any case, you should consult with your tax and financial professionals before opening a donor-advised fund. And if the fund becomes part of your estate plans, you’ll also want to work with your legal advisor. But give this philanthropic tool some thought — it can help you do some good while also potentially benefiting your own long-term financial strategy.

Joe Gitto is a Certified Kingdom Advisor (CKA) and Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) and a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones in Toluca Lake California. He is a member of The Financial Planning Association, the Burbank, Toluca Lake and Glendale Chambers of Commerce and a finance instructor at the Burbank Adult School. His office is located at 3500 W Olive Ave, Ste 1420 Burbank CA 91505. He can be reached at 818 840-8040 or joe.gitto@edwardjones.com. Bio/Website: www.edwardjones.com/joe-gitto

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

Edward Jones, Member SIPC

Learn more about donor-advised funds through FDI resources. Click the image below!

by Dr. K. Shelette Stewart

The way to achieve financial dominion and prosperity is by allowing God to serve as the ultimate Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of your life and business and by following His spiritual economics. God’s spiritual economics are sometimes referred to as “kingdom economics.”  But what’s the difference between conventional economics and spiritual economics? The difference lies in your mentality.

Conventional economics is based on a scarcity mentality as it seeks to understand behavior that, given scarcity of means, arises to achieve certain ends. God’s spiritual economics, on the contrary, is based on an abundance mentality as God makes it clear that He sent His Son Jesus so that we might have abundant lives (John 10:10). And Jesus makes it clear that it is our Father’s pleasure to give us the entire kingdom (Luke 12:32). 

Given today’s global challenges around COVID-19, economic decline, and civic and social unrest, it is quite easy to focus on negativity and scarcity.  But, “the kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17, NLT).  In order for us to achieve financial dominion and prosperity in business, you and I must incorporate and follow God’s principles of spiritual economics as outlined in the Bible. This requires that we make the commitment to begin cultivating “good ground” or a rich and fertile foundation for our commercial initiatives as Jesus declares: 

But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces; some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Matthew 13:23 (NKJV)

When the financial plan for your business is based on godly principles, your business will often flourish to a level of success that is beyond one you could ever fathom. This is because “the blessing of the Lord makes one rich” (Proverbs 10:22, NKJV). The favor, mercy, and grace of God are worth more money than you can ever imagine because they are the blessings of God that allow us to generate wealth and prosper. As Jesus observes: “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God” (Luke 12:21, NLT).

The world economy has no impact whatsoever on God’s spiritual economy. Commercial market fluctuations have no bearing on His spiritual economics. The principles of spiritual economics are based on the never-ending abundance and all-sufficiency of God Almighty. The Bible says that “those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing” (Psalm 34:10, NLT; 37:16-19). There is no lack in God. There’s no concept of “not enough” or “being broke” or “down on your luck.” God doesn’t operate in the realm of luck and insufficient funds. There is abundance in God. 

What are some of these Biblical examples of kingdom economics?  The classic Bible story of Jesus feeding a crowd of five thousand with only five loaves of bread and two fish is an example of spiritual economics at work (Matthew 14:13-21; 15:32-39). 

Another example involves the story of the prophet Elijah who came across a widow in the city of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8-16).  When Elijah asked the widow for some bread to eat, she replied that she didn’t have as much as a biscuit to give him! She told him that all she had was a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil. She explained to Elijah that this was all she had to feed herself and her son and that they planned to eat their last meal together and die because they had no more food. 

Elijah told the widow not to worry and to go and do as she had planned, but first make a small biscuit for him, bring it to him, and afterward go and make some biscuits for herself and her son. Elijah explained: “This is the word of the God of Israel: ‘The jar of flour will not run out and the bottle of oil will not become empty before God sends rain on the land and ends this drought'” (1 Kings 17:14, MSG). The widow did as she was instructed, and Elijah was right. God miraculously multiplied the flour and oil, and she and her household ate for many days.

You may be wondering:  What do these ancient miracles mean for me and my business now? How can spiritual economics help me with my revenue goals today? The key point in sharing these miracles of spiritual economics is to show you that as God’s child, the world economy doesn’t control your supply. When you are obedient to God, He will bless you even during the most difficult of times (Malachi 3:12). He will allow your business to grow during an economic recession. He will allow you to prosper during a national depression.  When times are tough and the economy is weak, God is still strong (Job 9:19; Isaiah 40:26; Joel 2:11; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10).   Society is ever-changing, but God remains the same (Hebrews 13:8).

Dr. K. Shelette Stewart is an author, global speaker, consultant, and graduate of Harvard University with over 20 years of leadership experience with prominent organizations including Harvard Business School, The Coca-Cola Company, and BellSouth/AT&T.  She is a Fulbright Foreign Specialist with a Doctorate in Business Administration and the founder and principal of Stewart Consulting, LLC, a strategic planning firm serving companies, non-profits, and higher education institutions.  Dr. Stewart is the author of the award-winning book, Revelations in Business: Connecting Your Business Plan with God’s Purpose and Plan for Your Life© which has been formally endorsed by several industry leaders including Dan Cathy, Chairman and CEO of Chick-fil-A.  Learn More: www.shelettestewart.com.    https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelettestewart/.

Article originally posted here by Inspire

by Robert Netzly

As an upper-middle class white male, I have no place speaking about racial injustice. The closest thing to racism I have experienced are Latino people making fun of me within earshot, not realizing that this blue-eyed white-boy is fluent in Spanish. Try as I might to empathize, there is no way I can fully understand the experience of my black fellow Americans.

But, although I have no place speaking about racial injustice, I can and must speak out against racial injustice. Racism in every form is an evil that must be opposed by Christians and all well-meaning people everywhere. Systematic racism is the overflow of a broken, sin-stained world full of broken, sin-stained people. Hatred is a real force in the world, and the people of God must rise up to overcome racism in the love of God, by the blood of Christ, in the power of the Spirit. As a people who worship a Savior who chose to put on brown skin, and lived and died as a colored middle-eastern man, we of all people should live by the truth that all men and women are created in the image of God, and that image is beautiful and demands dignity.

At Inspire Investing, we try to do our part in the fight against racism by advocating for biblical values with corporations around the globe, including the biblical value to “love your neighbor as yourself” no matter their color, and that all people are created in the image of God and deserve dignity and respect. We routinely engage with corporations on issues related to God-honoring diversity practices (which differ in important ways with the world’s practice of diversity) and encourage them to be a blessing to all their employees, customers, communities and the world at large. There is no room for racism in a well-run business.

Racial Justice Investment Screens

Our biblically responsible investing screens have always included diversity issues as an important metric. In our Inspire Impact Score methodology, we reward companies with best in class performance related to God-honoring diversity and penalize companies with below average performance related to diversity. Specifically, our Inspire Impact Score currently considers diversity in the following categories:

1. Diversity and Opportunity Controversies: Company involved in published diversity and opportunity controversies, such as wage discrimination, promotion and harassment issues;

2. Human Rights Controversies: Company has been linked to published controversies linked to human rights issues, including supply chain incidents involving contractors and suppliers;

3. Labor Practices (Best In Class): Company exhibits above average Labor Practices performance relative to their industry peer group. This category considers compliance with fair labor standards for union and non-union employees, including employee retention, education, training, health, safety, compensation, benefits, diversity and mentoring programs;

4. Social Impact (Best In Class): Company exhibits above average Social Impact performance relative to their industry peer group. This category considers a company’s overall impact on their communities, positive human rights behaviors, philanthropy and charity.

Standing For, Standing Against

We stand together with our black brothers and sisters who are (peacefully) raising their voice for an end to racism in our nation. We also stand together with the (honorable majority) members of law enforcement agencies who daily work to protect the lives and liberties of the black communities in our country.

We stand against those who are attempting to pollute the Black Lives Matter movement with violence and hatred of their own. And we stand against the (dis-honorable minority) members of law enforcement who abuse their power to inflict suffering on the black community.

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

May the Lord be merciful to our nation and grant us the grace of peace and brotherhood for all. May we as His people be ministers of reconciliation, ushering in the peace of Christ as the Day of His coming draws ever-nearer. Maranatha! Lord Jesus, come!

by Amanda Lawson

Oh, the irony when the cobbler’s kid has no shoes. This is a favorite metaphor of Chuck Welden, CEO of Welden Field, a property management and development firm that has turned its gaze toward measuring Kingdom Performance Indicators alongside traditional KPIs. It points out the counterintuitive nature of how the American Church typically views mission work as almost exclusively international, while neglecting the mission field within its borders.

Seeking to address this disparity, Welden Field has joined the ranks of other FDIs and FDEs integrating faith in their multifamily business operations. In addition to inviting investors to participate in a monthly prayer meeting, Welden Field designates 2% of its annual equity to support efforts toward spiritual integration in its communities.

Welden Field’s spiritual integration model is rooted in the idea that unreached people groups exist in local communities; that developing countries are not the only worthy or glorious mission fields. One of the local fields most ripe for harvest is multifamily living.

Providing a pipeline for discipleship, equipping community leaders, and embracing life-on-life ministry are three tangible ways Welden Field promotes spiritual integration in multifamily.

The changing culture of multifamily lifestyle can make it difficult for churches to reach residents. Welden Field’s model provides a pipeline to connect churches to these communities, serving as a missional matchmaker that benefits both the church and the multifamily community. In this way, the church can reach new people by meeting tangible needs through sustained connections which lead to both the church going out and the community coming in. This is particularly helpful for those in the church who desire to live missionally, but do not have the desire or ability to do international missions. By connecting people who live in the same community, Welden Field is able to facilitate long-term, relational discipleship in some of the most unreached places in the country.

This is done through designated Community Leaders—individuals and families who live in the multifamily community and intentionally lead and connect to other residents. In addition to hosting events like parents’ night out and barbeques, these leaders engage residents through prayer walks and Bible studies to literally meet people where they live. A portion of the 2% dedicated to spiritual integration goes to funding these events and training the Community Leaders.

Community Leaders come from churches, college graduates with a heart for discipleship, and campus ministries—they are people on fire for people. Community Leaders become part of the multifamily complex. They are boots-on-the-ground local missionaries whose priority is to care for the residents’ in tangible ways that point to the hope of the gospel. When this is done well, residents are more likely to stay in the community—meaning less turnover and greater consistency.

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, many international missionaries returned to the United States with little time to prepare. Many of these moved into apartments and are looking for opportunities to serve in their new homes. Welden Field recognized the opportunity to connect these missionaries with local communities in need of relational, life-on-life discipleship. By turning multifamily living into a local mission field, Welden Field has established a true win-win-win situation: missionaries continue walking in the call on their lives, residents have access to authentic gospel-driven community, and property managers see lower turnover.

Welden Field’s commitment to its spiritual integration model, its engagement with investors, and its designated funding for spiritual integration make it an example for FDIs seeking to reach partners and clients in gospel-driven business. When your business literally takes place where people live, positioning your team inside those communities is one of the most influential acts in authentic integration. In this way, multifamily living communities are a mission field like none other, and developers and managers are matchmakers with an eternal impact.

Article originally posted here by Eventide

by Finny Kuruvilla

The following are excerpts taken from Eventide’s Annual Shareholder’s Letter dated June 30, 2020:

If someone would have predicted at the New Year that during 2020, all professional sporting events would be canceled, restaurants would be closed, Seattle would have an autonomous “country” inside of it, large portions of Minneapolis would be looted while millions would be calling for the police to be defunded, public schools across the country would stop, and the market cap of Zoom would surpass American Airlines, Delta, Southwest, and United—combined, you would have thought that person to be insane. Surreal is too weak a word to describe the last few months of 2020. Most of us have grown so accustomed to the wildly improbable that we can hardly appreciate how abnormal our world has become.

What is an investor to do? As is often the case, investing and the events on the news teach the same lessons from different perspectives. An important lesson is that proclivities to sound bites and reductionism are costly, even deadly, tendencies. When we see people on both sides of the contemporary race debate (or rant, as the case may be), it is painfully obvious that very few have even read a well written book on the subject and certainly not one from the other side’s perspective. Mark Twain said it well, “In religion and politics people’s beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing.” If we could encourage deep examination (which best comes from books, not from the news or social media), much of the current rancor might be converted into constructive value creation, not demagoguery or demonization.

The investing world right now is subject to similar sound bites rooted in fear or snap judgments—“P/E ratios are high! COVID-19 is winning!” This has caused many to make unwise choices and miss the ninth best quarter in the history of the S&P 500. It has caused investors to miss opportunity because of fear. We do not mean to equate financial losses with the loss of lives or dignity, but the underlying thinking processes are the same in finance and politics. Investors need to rise above the groupthink and ponder deeply the basis of their decisions. On the valuation side, P/E ratios are notoriously obscurant, and those who rely on them may miss profound drivers of the market such as cost-of-capital, return on capital, and the equity risk premium. On the values side, reductionism may relegate investors to a shallow greed no better than the vapid political proclamations that dominate the media today.

We at Eventide are seeking to enlarge the conversation, inviting market participants to think deeply about what investing represents. Our Business 360® approach is designed to investigate the multiple stakeholders affected by a business, an approach that could not be timelier in a world that is looking at supply chains, employees, and social concerns as never before.

[Reductionism] leads to pernicious consequences in all facets of life. The news today teaches another lesson with direct relevance to finance. That lesson is: it takes courage to see oneself as not merely passive but endowed with abilities to effect change. It is easy to watch the news, shrug one’s shoulders and say, “The West is in moral decline.” There are many people who bemoan and criticize, watching from an armchair as virtues unravel. Similarly, it is easy to be a “passive” investor and allow corporations as they are to shape the future. We at Eventide are here to remind you that investing is ownership and that the owners of a business determine the character of the business. The failings of the media and corporate America are opportunities for investors to right the ship. This takes courage and collaboration in a world trending toward greater passivity and isolation. As we have grown as a firm, we are more excited than ever for our capacity to influence business practice. By partnering with us, you are endeavoring to step outside the status quo and use your investing dollars to labor for a future that is bright