Tag Archives: charitable giving

Meet Me in St. Louis

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st louis downtownFor several years now we have been blessed to partner with Heartbeat International whose mission is to provide pro-life pregnancy resource centers in the U.S. They represent the very touchstone of the foundation’s mission. In past years, we’ve always exhibited at their annual conference, but this year we are additionally blessed with the opportunity to present a workshop at the 2015 Annual Conference in St. Louis, April 7-10.

Our workshop, in many ways, reflects our own story of tenacity and survival. Like many of the pregnancy help centers across the country, we too have a bootstrap mentality. Competition in the donor pool is fierce, and it takes hard work, a creative mind, and constant prayer in order to survive.

For those involved with attracting donations and planning for sustainable growth, we hope to offer a compelling story. Our workshop, Beyond Survival: Generating Sustainable Gifts, is part of six workshops in the Fundraising Dynamics track. If you are going to the Conference, we hope you will choose to join us on Wednesday, April 8, as we share some of our creative techniques to turn cash donors into sustainable donors with gifts of stock and property. We’ll present simple to understand material that crisis centers can easily adopt into their everyday conversations with donors and supporters, and we’ll share how and why having a foundation backing development efforts is a wise move.

We will also once again support the work of Heartbeat International as Exhibitors. We look forward to networking with everyone and talking about how we can help organizations not just survive, but thrive in the coming years with sustainable gifts.

At the risk of sounding cheesy, we can’t help but say, “meet me in St. Louis.”

Gifts Fit for a King

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Three Wise Men GiftsAt the end of January our friends are more eager to make Valentine’s Day dinner reservations than reflect on three wise men from the East bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We understand. But we think you will enjoy the insight.

“When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary his mother, and they fell to the ground and worshipped Him. Then opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matt 2:10-11)

Scripture doesn’t tell us the exact number of wise men or the time of their arrival. St. Dmitri of Rostav believed they could have been present at His birth if they saw the star at the Annunciation and began to arrange for the caravan then. However, the Gospel According to Matthew says that they came to a “house” not a cave or a manger and that Jesus is called a “child” not a “baby” as in Luke’s chapter when the shepherds were to find a “baby wrapped in cloths…”

It’s a tradition of the Christian faith that there were three kings, though there could have been more. The names are also tradition; they were never named in scripture.

Tradition also surrounds the meaning of the gifts. Balthasar was a young man and brought myrrh, a burial ointment, a gift for one who would die. Malchior was middle aged, and brought frankincense, the gift for a priest. Gaspar was an old man and brought gold, a gift for a king. All together, the men represent us, humanity, welcoming Jesus into the world as suffering redeemer, God, and King.

Gaspar’s gift invites me to reflect on the wealth we possess. Gaspar was the first of the magi to kneel before the King of Kings and offer his gift. Because he is older and wiser, he more readily understands the real gift that is present, and is most willing to give up what the world would deem valuable in return for the gift of the redeemer.

Many of you understand that your wealth is truly valuable when you give it to the service of the Lord and His kingdom. In the process, you instill values and legacy to your children and grandchildren. During the last five years, the Stewardship Foundation has enabled your generosity to benefit those organizations on the front lines promoting life, family, and religious freedom.

We look forward to your continued backing and the valuable partners we have developed. Now is the time to set your philanthropic goals for 2015. The Stewardship Foundation has proven it can foster successful, yet morally approved investment strategies for you and the organizations you support. Contact us to ensure that your investments are morally sound and your donations promote the culture of life ushered in by the newborn King and honored by the magi.

“Lobbying” for Morally Responsible Investing

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It’s been an embarrassing time for Hobby Lobby, the retail store chain that had most of us cheering when they took their case against the Obamacare mandate all the way to the Supreme Court. Regardless if Hobby Lobby wins in court what promises to be a landmark case exempting it from abiding by the HHS mandate, the company has other issues to address internally.

Hobby LobbyAfter a little digging into Hobby Lobby’s 401(k) plan, Mother Jones, a nonprofit news organization that specializes in investigative, political, and social justice reporting uncovered that the closely-held company’s 401(k) employee retirement plan held more than $73 million in mutual funds with investments in companies that produce emergency contraceptive pills, intrauterine devices, and drugs commonly used in abortions. Hobby Lobby makes matching contributions to their company-sponsored 401(k).

Considering the investment the Green family has made fighting the mandate, the story is likely more unfortunate than hypocritical. It didn’t need to happen! And what’s worse, other pro-life companies and ordinary pro-life investors all have an easy choice – there are pro-life investment funds that screen out stocks of companies that may be engaged in Planned Parenthood, certain abortion drugs, or embryonic stem cell research. If this news about Hobby Lobby has made you uncomfortable about your retirement plan choices, you are not alone. Fortunately, we have a policy of preventing our investors from making morally objectionable investments.

The Stewardship Foundation is adamant about carefully selecting our investment portfolios. We guide our donors and partner nonprofit organizations to practice morally responsible investing that matches the foundation’s call to Christian conscience. And we do this with no sacrifice in investment returns. If you or your organization is unsure whether or not your portfolio matches your morals, we are happy to assist you make that determination.

The following is a summation of the companies behind the Hobby Lobby debacle:

“These companies include Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, which makes Plan B and ParaGard, a copper IUD, and Actavis, which makes a generic version of Plan B and distributes Ella. Other stock holdings in the mutual funds selected by Hobby Lobby include Pfizer, the maker of Cytotec and Prostin E2, which are used to induce abortions; Bayer, which manufactures the hormonal IUDs Skyla and Mirena; AstraZeneca, which has an Indian subsidiary that manufactures Prostodin, Cerviprime, and Partocin, three drugs commonly used in abortions; and Forest Laboratories, which makes Cervidil, a drug used to induce abortions. Several funds in the Hobby Lobby retirement plan also invested in Aetna and Humana, two health insurance companies that cover surgical abortions, abortion drugs, and emergency contraception in many of the health care policies they sell.”

— Mother Jones Article ‘Hobby Lobby’s Hypocrisy: The Company’s Retirement Plan Invests in Contraception Manufacturers’, April 1, 2014

— Patrick Finneran