Philanthropy

Posted on December 7, 2021 by Joseph Finneran

After almost two years of quiet “pandemic worthy” Christmases, we’re beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and (knock on wood) it’s not a train.

Even Pope Francis is getting into the Christmas spirit with a contest that inspires young people to create new songs inspired by Christmas and its values. When asked what he hoped to achieve, the Pope said that music is “not alienating; it is neither superficial nor escapist. It broadens the heart, opens it to gratuitousness…”

Fifty-six years ago, Pope St. Paul VI offered a similar message:

“This world in which we live needs beauty so as not to fall into despair.”

This Christmas, we wish you the beauty of giving back. We encourage ourselves, our families, our friends, colleagues and clients to set your sights on social causes that are in tune your own values, and to encourage others to do so as well.

A great way to give back is through philanthropy. If you think philanthropy is only for the rich and powerful, you’d be wrong. Philanthropy is something that anyone can do. All it takes is having the desire to promote the welfare of others and then achieving it by generously donating money to a good cause.

There’s a difference between philanthropy and charity. For example, an act of charity is when you spot a homeless person on the street and give him five dollars. Philanthropy focuses on helping that homeless person solve the problems that required them to ask for a handout in the first place. Both are good.

Philanthropy is long-term and strategic; it often involves making multiple gifts to help people over a number of years. As someone once said:

Delivering bottled water to a drought-stricken village in East Africa is charity, but philanthropy is building a well.

Our job at the Stewardship Foundation is to be good stewards with our donors’ money, and our skills as charitable gift consultants in a public foundation is proven. Please pass this along to a friend that may be interested in our services, and have a beautiful, quiet, spirit-filled, rich-in-spirit Christmas!

The Common Good. Do We Believe?

Posted on November 12, 2021 by Joseph Finneran

For the past few months, we’ve published a review of sorts on the founding principles of the Stewardship Foundation—Our Credo. Each starts with the words, “We believe…”

We believe… in transformational giving.
We believe… that giving is a collaborative act between the donor, the charity, and their God.
We believe… that transformational giving is not about the bottom line, but about the heart.
We believe… that transformational giving creates partnerships that impact entire communities.
We believe… in the sanctity of human life, marriage and sexual morality, and religious freedom and the rights of conscience.
We believe… that it is our responsibility to care for the poor, the sick and the disadvantaged, and to use our talents for the betterment of mankind through education, opportunity and freedom.

What is not on the list is believing in the common good. Why is that?

We do believe that leaders should think beyond their own interests and work toward a better society — a better world. Some may say that leaders should always seek results in the greater good. But is that really the right thing to do?

The greater good is often referred to as social responsibility vs profit, or a moral obligation to give to the poor. In either case, it involves organizations or individuals making value decisions on what is preferable in society. Virtue-signaling is a recent example of attempts to sway those decisions.

The common good, on the other hand, is a bedrock concept in Catholic Social Teaching, dating back centuries. The concept takes into account the natural worth of all human beings and focuses on guiding our decisions towards actions that promote justice and goodness for all. Leave no one behind. Some people are not—temporarily or permanently—in a position to voice their concerns, express their opinion, or lobby for their own good, e.g., the unborn, the poor, the sick, the disabled, children, the destitute. Catholic Social Teaching defines ways of putting the common good into action in concrete ways. It is our Christian duty to be the voice for the voiceless as well as our own, to be the hands for the powerless as well as our own, to lobby for God’s justice for all.

Let us focus not so much on the “greater good” but rather the “common good”—the justice and righteousness of the Lord, Our Almighty.

We believe…that the common good is manifested in life and dignity, given freely to us because we are all made in the image of our Creator.

We Believe… That Giving is Collaborative

Posted on October 12, 2021 by Joseph Finneran

As we continue to reflect on another of the six statements of belief that guide our actions at the Stewardship Foundation, we explore Credo #2:

We believe…
that giving is a collaborative act
between the donor, the charity, and their God.

As a 501(c)(3) investment ministry that provides charitable organizations both legacy and endowment opportunities for gift planning, the phrase “collaborative act” implies doing (not just thinking), working (but not alone) and accomplishing (with others) to produce or create something.

Some might call the work that we do with nonprofits “teamwork” — and it is! Ecclesiastes 9 tells us, “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor.” When our advisors and charities work together, we get much more done and accomplish more.

Our mission is to advise and support strategic plans that will motivate donors to give generously. We often smile when we think of the Bible verse “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor 9:7)

In the Parable of the Talents, we discover that we should never cling to our money, but invest it liberally so that it increases the good that it does 100-fold. In fact, our #2 Credo keeps us on track as faithful stewards described in the Bible. Bishop Barron explains how in his video that explains the often misunderstood Parable of the Talents.

Next month, we revisit another Credo. To see the our list of Credos on our website, go here ».