2011 Remembered—2012 Anticipated

2011 was a memorable year for the Christ-centered community but 2012 portends to be a chart-topper in many respects.

     Let’s take a trip down the 2011 memory lane:

•   Grassley hands nonprofit tax policy issues to ECFA.  In January 2011 Senator Charles Grassley closed his investigation of six ministries and referred the open issues to ECFA for study. ECFA’s board accepted Grassley’s challenge, approving a new national Commission.

•   ECFA’s astounding membership growth.  2011 was ECFA’s fourth consecutive year of record accreditation of new members. Christ-centered nonprofits increasingly understand the ECFA seal enhances trust with givers. 

•   Resources.  2011 was the third year for nonprofits to secure resources in a recessionary environment. ECFA’s 2nd Annual State of Giving Report reflected ECFA’s members fared much better than the largest secular charities.

•   Religious hiring.  The U.S. Supreme Court opted not to hear a case that had potentially significant implications for religious organizations’ hiring practices, clearing the way for World Vision to continue hiring Christians.

•   Housing allowance.  After dropping one constitutional challenge, the same group filed a new case seeking a declaration that the clergy housing allowance violates the First Amendment.

    The Department of Justice also appealed a ruling which allowed a minister to exclude multiple houses under the housing exclusion rules.

What to expect from ECFA in 2012 as we serve our members and those who give to our members:

•  Issuance of a Phase I report from the Commission on Accountability and Policy for Religious Organizations

•  Expansion of ECFA’s web-based member profile, giving each member control over a section of their profile to communicate issues of donor interest

•  Launching of an ECFA church membership initiative, including a focused approach for the need of churches—a separate newsletter, Focus on Church Accountability, church-focused webinars, and more

•  Continuing the popular CEO Dialogues under the ECFA brand

•  Releasing the first in the Governance Toolbox Series—training for boards

•  Increasing the impact of the popular ServantMatch™ concept—expanding the giving opportunities well beyond the current 2,100 giving options

•  Republishing When Giver’s Designate Gifts (formerly Donors-Restricted Gifts Simplified) and Igniting a Life of Generosity from ECFAPress in hardcover format with a softcover version for ministry imprint

What does 2012 hold for the Christ-centered community? To coin a phrase from my pastor, I am only a “prophet of the obvious”—and this is what I believe is becoming obvious.

•   Impact of the economy. In nonprofit budgetary planning, caution will continue to be the watchword.  Some Christ-centered nonprofits will flourish while others will be challenged to match income with outgo. There will likely be an increasing pressure on smaller nonprofits to maintain or increase resources.

•  Tax legislation. While conventional wisdom dictates that new tax legislation impacting nonprofits will be delayed until the Presidential and Congressional elections of 2012 are history, tax legislation could be passed on a rather impromptu basis as Congress desperately searches for new and increased sources of Federal revenue.

    Continuing challenges to the charitable deduction are virtually certain to come in 2012. A charitable deduction floor is the most likely of the options to become law.

    If the Charitable IRA provisions are extended for 2012, it likely will not occur until late in the year—again making charitable gift planning very difficult with respect to gifts from IRA’s.

•   Increased collaboration and, yes, some mergers—especially at the small to medium size charity level. A great example is the agreement of CrossGlobal Link (formerly IFMA) and The Mission Exchange (formerly EFMA) to merge, forming a body representative of 35,000 evangelical missionaries.

•  The courts. The decision of the U.S. Supreme Court on healthcare reform will have a significant impact on the future of healthcare for nonprofits and staff.

•   Donors. Individual donors will likely continue to contribute over 80% of all donations to nonprofits. Donors will increasingly look for assurance (peace of mind) that charities are legitimate charities and will make good use gifts.  They will strongly value the accreditation of charities, looking for appropriate transparency. This is where ECFA shines.

     Overall, 2012 will be a time to focus on the open doors God provides—and walk through them. It will be a time to discern God’s plans—a time to say:  “You speak, I am listening.”

Serve Boldly

A few weeks ago, I flew into Lambert Field in St. Louis. The young man driving the bus for my favorite rental car company (to protect the guilty, they will remain nameless) seemed to be less than energetic. My first indication of this was when he didn’t offer to help me onto the bus with my luggage.

Then, after picking me up, we stopped at another terminal. Patiently waiting was a mother and her eight-year-old daughter. The girl was in a wheelchair. Without leaving his seat, the driver asked if he should send another vehicle that had a chair lift. The mother said No, she could lift her daughter into the van. I hesitated, thinking the young man would get up—but there was no movement. With no thought of doing anything heroic, I quickly helped the mother get her daughter, the wheelchair, and their luggage on the bus. On the way to the rental car office, I visited with the mother and daughter and learned of the girl’s multiple back surgeries and their trip to St. Louis to again visit their surgeon.

I concluded that the young man driving the bus that day probably had been awol for the training session on boldly serving customers. The experience on that hot day in St. Louis served as a reminder to me of the importance of serving boldly—going far beyond the job description—going the second mile.

In this recessionary environment, it is a vitally important time to focus on serving boldly. Whether we serve with a for-profit or nonprofit organization, those of us who serve Christ should set the example for others.

Now is our time to serve boldly following the invitation and command of Jesus who set the ultimate example of serving boldly. Many Scripture passages describe Jesus as God’s Servant. He came as a servant to accomplish God’s will in the redemption of humanity.

To serve boldly, we must develop the servant attitude of Christ which calls for humility and obedience. In His instructions to His disciples about His servanthood, Jesus described His own role of service: “And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:27-28).

The servant of a human master works for his master. God, however, works through His servants. When we come to God as His servant, He first wants us to allow Him to transform us into the instrument of His good pleasure. Then He can take our life and put it where He wills and work through it to accomplish His purposes.1 Only then are we in a position to serve boldly.

Elijah served boldly. He challenged the prophets of Baal to a public test to prove once and for all whose God was the true God (1 Kings 17:1). He took a big risk as he was outnumbered 850 to one. Elijah proposed that the prophets of Baal prepare a sacrifice and ask their god to send fire to consume it. He would do the same and appeal to the God of Israel for fire. God answered with fire consuming the sacrifice (and even the stone altar) as Elijah had proposed. God did His mighty work, but He acted through His obedient servant, Elijah, who served boldly.

Peter and John were ordinary men who served boldly. After Jesus’ resurrection, God healed a crippled beggar through Peter. Peter and John were called before the Sanhedrin to give an account of their actions. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter spoke boldly to the religious leaders, and “when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).

Do you want to serve God boldly in the large or small issues of your church or nonprofit? Then find out what the Master is doing and submit yourself fully to Him that He might use you to further that work with boldness. Jesus said: “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor” (John 12:26). Serve boldly!

 1 Experiencing God, Henry T. Blackaby and Claude V. King, Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1994, pp. 25-27.

Blurring

Whether you are watching TV, a movie, or looking at a photograph in the newspaper or a magazine, it is difficult to tell if the images are real or not. Video games are nearly as realistic as film. There is a blurring of the lines between virtual and real.

The blurring of lines can be a challenge when it comes to truth telling—sometimes we call it shading the truth—changing it enough to suit our desires.

People are desperate to know the unvarnished truth. Whether in advertising, politics, or the news, people are skeptical about what they see, hear and read—there is so much blurring.

Recently a witness in a murder trial was accused of “falling on the sword” for her accused daughter—a thinly disguised phrase suggesting the witness lied. A politician made a false statement in an interview and his or her staff later “walked back” the comments—more blurring.

Is it the real deal or are we looking at graphically-enhanced pictures, hearing slanted news, or reading bloviated stories? Who can we believe?

The ninth commandment is part of a broad biblical condemnation of sins through speech (and a correspondingly vigorous promotion of speaking the truth). While false and deceptive witness was clearly and repeatedly condemned, several famous stories indicate the rule was not always strictly observed, even by the heroes of the faith. For example, Jacob was frequently engaged in deceptive witness, Isaac bore false witness about his own wife Rebekah, and Samuel deceived some of Saul’s people when he went to anoint David as Saul’s successor.¹

Despite this inconsistent performance by biblical characters, the teaching of Scripture is constant. The book of Proverbs is especially full of counsel about our speech. Two of the “six things that the Lord hates” and that are an abomination to him are “a lying tongue” and “a lying witness who testifies falsely” (Prov. 6:16-19).

The other side of this broad condemnation of false witness is the equally extensive praise of truthful witness. Proverbs commends wise, noble and true words: “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (Prov. 25:11).

Truthfulness is an underlying principle of ECFA’s standards—everything done in the name of our Lord should reflect truthfulness.

One of the key elements in good relationships between a church or charity and their givers is truth telling. Once trust is gone, a relationship is difficult to restore. Failure to tell the truth can be done so subtly that it goes unnoticed. We begin by blurring the truth about “small things” that “don’t matter.” Then a pattern develops. Soon valuable credibility is lost.²

ECFA especially focuses on truth-telling as it relates to how our members secure charitable gifts. The relationship between a giver and an organization is one built on trust. That trust is developed and maintained through truthful, honest, reliable, and trustworthy communications.

The concept is so vital that two decades ago ECFA established separate standards to especially ensure that a member’s relationships with those who financially support a member are maintained at a high threshold. Under these standards, ECFA members commit to represent facts truthfully when communicating with those who are considering whether to provide a charitable gift.

When communicating a giving opportunity, it is important to consider how it will be understood by a giver. After reading or hearing the appeal, the giver’s perception of the giving opportunity should be as close to the actual facts as possible. The accurate representation of words, pictures, graphs, and other information is vital.

And thinking like Jesus doesn’t only apply to raising resources—it applies to everything we do; it’s all covered when we think His way.

Telling the truth is a fundamental concept as we strive to be a reflection of God. May it always be our witness!

¹ Doing Right, David W. Gill, Intervarsity Press, 2004, page 283-4
² Based on Honesty, Morality & Conscience, Jerry White, Navpress, 1996, page 51

Much Ado About Little

Reporting on the recent revocation of tax status of 275,000 nonprofit organizations, the New York Times reported the action shrinks the nation’s nonprofit sector by roughly 17 percent, to about 1.3 million charities, trade associations, membership groups and labor unions. The IRS took action against charities that failed to file required paperwork for three consecutive years.

While it shrunk the number of nonprofits on the IRS’ list by 17 percent, it certainly did not reduce the number of nonprofits by 17 percent since most of the 275,000 organizations were apparently non-existent for many years. The IRS indicated about one-quarter of the 275,000 received tax exemptions before 1980 and many simply stopped operating without telling the IRS.

Until a change in federal law in 2006, only organizations with annual revenue of $25,000 or more — roughly one-third of the 1.6 million nonprofit groups — were required to file.

That law, the Pension Protection Act, required all organizations to file returns, but because it was embedded in 393 pages of a law that otherwise dealt with pension issues, many nonprofit groups did not know that.

This process is another example of legislation which, while well-intended, provided little benefit while creating an enormous amount of work—both for those in the government sector at taxpayer expense—and for charities, requiring perhaps millions of dollars of charitable contributions to fund the expenses of impacted charities.

Click here to read more.

Giving to ECFA Members Exceeds National Trends

While the dominant headlines during the recession have focused on the decrease in giving to nonprofits, this is not the entire story.

We have just completed an analysis of giving to ECFA members. It revealed that for ECFA members renewing membership in the last six months there has been a net gain in giving of 2% from 2009 to 2010. Pre-recession giving compared to three years later was $6.18 billion in 2007 and $6.32 billion in 2010, or an increase of 3.3%.

It is very significant that this segment of the giving world was resilient and maintained itself during a difficult economic time. This suggests a strong commitment of givers to the Christian faith and the generosity of God’s people.

The recessionary impact on giving was more significantly felt by smaller charities. Organizations with annual revenue above $10 million reflected an increase in giving for the 2007-10 period of 3.1%. While the organizations under $10 million annual revenue saw a decrease of 3.2%.

Of the 552 member’s data studied, 43% reflected an increase in giving between 2009 and 2010, 44% showed a decrease and the data for 13% was about the same (plus or minus 2%).

Click here to read more.

The Challenges of Charitable Solicitation Registration

There are few topics as confusing as state charitable solicitation registration. Nearly everyone who is in a charity leadership position is familiar with the concept but few clearly understand the implications of the laws in the various states as it relates to their charity.

One of the reasons this issue is so confusing is that it is a state, not a federal issue. With so much variation between the charitable solicitation laws in the 50 states, it is no wonder this matter leaves charity leaders puzzled.

Charities that seek contributions nationally must typically register in 39 states and the District of Columbia before starting to solicit. Since many states are increasing their enforcement efforts to ensure that charities and fundraisers are complying with initial and annual registration requirements, it's important that charities and fundraisers abide by these statutes—especially since noncompliance can result in the imposition of significant fines and penalties.

We have some excellent resources on the ECFA website to help you wade through the details of charitable solicitation registration including a state-by-state summary prepared by our friend and attorney, Chip Watkins.

To better understand these issues, join us for a special Charitable Solicitations Issues Webinar on June 22 at 1 pm EST. The two presenters, Karl Emerson and Dick Travis, are among the most knowledgeable individuals on this topic in the U.S. Karl is an attorney with Montgomery, McCracken and is the former director of the Bureau of Charitable Organizations of Pennsylvania. Dick Travis consults with many nonprofits on charitable solicitation issues and is the president of The Travis Group.

Click here to register.

A Time for Discernment

Decisions by leaders and boards of Christ-centered organizations are made constantly. For leaders, decisions are made nearly every day. Boards make decisions every time they meet.

Many of these decisions are seemingly small or routine—sometimes made offhandedly and without much thought. Other decisions are of organization-altering magnitude. Especially with these more significant issues, spiritual discernment is fundamentally important.

As leaders and boards, we are confronted with new perspectives, emerging trends, and economic and regulatory developments. It is a daunting task to make biblical decisions against a mosaic of options!

We focus on the Bible, prayer, faith, and wise counsel—all important elements in biblical decision making—but too often we do not consider spiritual discernment in the process.

In I Kings 3:5-9 (ESV) we learn that while Solomon was at Gibeon to offer sacrifices to the Lord, God appeared to him and said simply “Ask what I shall give you.” We are commonly taught that Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom but he requested more than wisdom; he asked for discernment. He became both wise and discerning. This teaches us that God honors discernment and those who seek after it.¹

Discernment is evidence of God at work and is deeply rooted in both the Old and New Testaments. The early church used the language of discernment. Paul and Barnabas were sent to Antioch with a letter that said,

"For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials” (Acts 15:28-29 NASB).

This is the language of discernment.²

Romans 12:2 (ESV) directly refers to discernment, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

We do not get to listen to God’s voice thundering on the top of Mount Horeb. Instead, we must rely on the more subtle dynamics of the Holy Spirit witnessing with the human spirit about things that are true.

Discernment presents unique challenges in contemporary Western culture, because it requires us to move beyond our reliance on cognition and intellectual hard work to a place of deep listening and response to the Spirit of God within us and among us.³

Discernment involves thinking in a specifically Christian way about each issue. At the same time, our hearts have to be engaged in devotion to Christ. Then, and only then, will we find ourselves in tune with the mind of God and be able to make good judgments and appraisals, because to the believer is promised the presence of the Holy Spirit.⁴

Discerning God’s will is a spiritual dynamic beyond human wisdom. Always a key principle for leaders of Christ-centered churches and non­profits, with national and world events occurring at a frenetic pace and the second coming of Christ closer than it has ever been, the importance of spiritual discernment is vital.

We hear countless voices in a given day—some belong to co-workers, the media, or friends. Other voices exist within us (memories, emotions, or desires), and these can be the hardest to filter. For the believer, hearing the Lord is most important, so discernment becomes critical in distinguishing His voice from the others.⁵

As leaders and board members, we are expected to pursue discernment; the Bible repeatedly cries out for this.

¹ The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, Tim Challies, Crossway, 2007
² “Discerning God’s Will Together: A Spiritual Practice for the Church,” by Danny E. Morris and Charles M. Olsen
³ Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, Ruth Haley Barton, InterVarsity Press, 2008
⁴ The Lost Art of Discernment, R. C. Sproul
⁵ “Developing Spiritual Discernment,” article by Charles F. Stanley