The Challenges with Charity

Choosing which charities to give to is not an easy decision. For Christians who want to steward wealth well, partnering with nonprofits can prove challenging.

In this episode, we talk through the psychology of giving when there are millions of nonprofits, constant fundraising pressure, and too little clarity to make confident decisions. Then we zoom in on the practical obstacles that stall grantmaking: limited information, wildly different charity effectiveness, nonprofit capacity constraints, and the complexity of social ecosystems where “helping” can accidentally harm. You’ll hear what causes donors to pause, and how ministries can lower the barriers to generosity.

We also wrestle with a question that cuts close to home: if a ministry claims to follow Jesus, should its fundraising sound like everyone else’s?

If you are interested in Christian generosity, nonprofit accountability, and biblical fundraising, this conversation will give you insight and next steps.

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Idle Treasure is sponsored by the Center for Financial Discipleship.

Transcript

The DAF Dilemma And Idle Wealth

Speaker 1 0:00

If you opened your news app this morning, you might find a headline that reads, Nonprofit Leader Found Guilty of Misusing Donations. Or Pastor Uses Ministry to Buy Private Jet. It's not uncommon to hear stories of charity leaders exploiting donors for personal gain. Although we could say these stories do not represent the majority of nonprofits, the fact that they exist and that we're no longer surprised when deception happens should give us a clue into the DAF dilemma. There are real challenges people face when partnering with charities, and it's not entirely up to the donor or DAF sponsor to fix these challenges. If we want to see more money being deployed from DAFs, it is important to understand how the complexities of nonprofits also play a role in keeping funds stagnant.

Speaker 6 0:46

So today let's lean into the challenges with charities from nothing, and a running, struggle into survival.

Speaker 1 1:28

But it led me on a journey to discover what really lies beneath this number. Some Christians say there isn't a problem. Others are frustrated by the amount of charitable assets not getting deployed. But this story isn't just about donor advised funds. It is about you and me. This is a story about how our culture has shaped the way Christians behave with money. It's a story about the goodness of wealth and the weight of responsibility we feel to steward at wealth. It's a story about the vulnerable reasons why we often keep money to ourselves. And it's about the opportunity of a moment. Journey with me as we seek the answer. How should Christians respond to this idle treasure? A few years ago, I had the opportunity to speak to a room of nonprofit leaders and donor developers. We spent about an hour discussing how to cultivate a heart that breaks for the wealthy. I know that might sound funny, but it's a message I'm particularly passionate about. I think it's easier for people to have compassion for the family who's struggling to buy food or lacks basic needs, rather than the family who appears to have everything, but is silently struggling with loneliness, relationship tensions, and is actively combating the spiritual temptations of wealth. During my talk, I shared a heartfelt story about a group of young inheritors who are looking to be discipled, to be loved for who they are, and to be enveloped by the body of Christ. And it was disheartening when one of the fundraisers immediately approached me after this talk and said, If only I could get in the room with those kids. I just need one of them to give me a million dollars, and then my ministry would be all set. Throughout the making of Idle Treasure, many people have reached out to offer their appreciation and encouragement, and for that I am grateful. I've also received many letters from ministry leaders essentially saying, let them have it. Meaning they want donors and DAF sponsors to be held accountable for the charitable assets not being used. These messages, while they might be coming from a good place, often leave me feeling uncomfortable. I think the nonprofit sector has unintentionally divided people into two groups. There's one group of people that we give ourselves to in love and service, and then there's another group of people that we seem to take from. Now I'm not trying to make generalized statements about everyone

Compassion For The Wealthy

Speaker 1 4:10

who works in donor development or fundraising, but you don't have to look hard to find this narrative. We need to have the spiritual discernment to recognize that we may not be fundraising or running our organizations in a way that glorifies God. We'll unpack this more throughout the episode. As I speak with donors, they aren't shy about the obstacles that they encounter when partnering with ministries. There are psychological, functional, and social barriers that can slow down generosity. Why not learn more about these hindrances and begin taking steps to resolve them? The goal is not to cast guilt or shame on any organization, but it's to help us all collectively honor the Lord with our work. Let's begin by briefly discussing some of the psychological barriers to generosity. There are nearly 2 million nonprofits within the US alone. It can be hard for people to narrow in on which causes they want to support, and behavioral science shows us that when people have too many options, they tend to get overwhelmed and shut down. On top of that, many people are flooded with constant appeals for money, leading to what's called donor fatigue. High pressure asks, manipulative emotional appeals, and a lack of transparency cause many people to disengage from charities. The highly motivated giver will push through these initial obstacles, only to encounter some of the functional barriers to giving. Let's turn to Brian Grasso, founder and CEO of Simple Charity. You may recall we met Brian in episode number two. He is a philanthropic advisor who has dedicated his life to eliminating the obstacles that often keep charitable funds stagnant. Here, Brian is going to share four functional barriers to partnering with nonprofits.

Speaker 5:57

The first one is limited information. Oftentimes people don't have the information that they need on charities to be effective grant makers. You have to do interviews, sometimes site visits if it's a large gift, sometimes literature reviews on studies that have been done on the interventions that you're funding. And if you don't have time to do that work, you might rightly feel like you can't give significant wealth effectively to a cause. Second functional barrier is charity variability. Some charities are good, some are mediocre. That's just the truth. And the impact that can be achieved through nonprofits is highly variable. That's a reality. And when the wealth is substantial, there's a lot of pressure to do a good job, and that requires a lot of time and effort. Third functional barrier is nonprofit capacity. More money is not always better for every nonprofit. It's the job of the philanthropist to find and vet nonprofits and make a judgment call on how much funding an organization can absorb. And the last functional barrier, number four, is ecosystem complexity. Much has been made about this. It is true, it is real. Unintended consequences of giving can cause harm. Sometimes nonprofits trying to do good make the problem worse. And so to be an effective giver requires not just vetting charities, but mapping complex social ecosystems and understanding the businesses, government agencies, nonprofits, and faith actors who are involved in a cause like homelessness or child welfare or even church planting or anti-trafficking work. The complexity of these social ecosystems, I think, can be a bottleneck for givers who are really thoughtful. I don't think it should derail the process. I think, again, it just means that this is a little bit more work, a little bit more time, a little bit energy. And if you don't have the capacity to do that work and to get really approximate in understanding these complex ecosystems, then you might slow down your grant making.

Speaker 1 8:01

Now, Brian mentions that it is the job of the giver to evaluate how much money a nonprofit can absorb. And yes, we can absolutely say that each person does have an obligation to give responsibly. But from the outside looking in, I also wonder why more nonprofits aren't upfront about how much money their organization can practically use. If I'm running a Christian nonprofit and I need a million dollars to accomplish the task at hand, and someone instead offers me 10 million, well, shouldn't I be up front that that amount of money is too much and encourage the giver to share the remaining money with someone else? I am curious what would happen if nonprofits started to set a limit on how much money they would accept based on their capacity. Now, maybe that's a crazy suggestion, but it seems like it would help eliminate this functional barrier of each individual giver having to do their own research to determine nonprofit capacity. And as a giver, I would be more inclined to trust an organization that was upfront about how much funding they really needed. Let's talk about another functional barrier Brian mentions, ecosystem complexity. Often, philanthropists have a strong desire to see the most impact being accomplished with their donated dollars. And as Brian mentions, it takes significant time to build relationships and perform thorough research. What the research reveals is that solving human problems is often very complex and takes a great deal more than mere money. The advanced philanthropist isn't simply interested in providing short-term charity. They want to help build systems that create long-term sustainability that lead to human flourishing. I wanted to speak with someone within the charitable space that carries this same vision. And for that, I turn to Peter Greer. Peter is the president and CEO of HOPE International, a global faith-based nonprofit working to alleviate poverty through entrepreneurship, discipleship, and financial inclusion. Peter cautions us not to misinterpret the message about ecosystem

Psychological Barriers To Giving

Speaker 1 10:05

complexity.

Speaker 2 10:07

Several years ago, there was a book by Brian Fickert and Steve Corbett called When Helping Hurts. And in it, it outlines a lot of the challenges that happen with an approach that does not have the intended impact. And I think that book has been so powerful in opening up our eyes and our hearts to think about the way that we help and to explore is there a different way? The unintentional uh impact is that some have misinterpreted that message of saying, well, it's too complicated. Yeah, hurt happens far too often. And so I'm just not gonna do anything until I find the perfect organization with the perfect approach. And I would say that's a different side of the same coin. Uh, it leads to inaction, whether we fear that our helping is gonna hurt or we fear and so we do nothing. Both of those are really, really dangerous. And I think there is another way, and it is possible to say, let's explore what's the best that we can do. How do we engage our heart, mind, soul, and strength? How do we think thoughtfully about issues in the world and let's learn, let's grow, let's improve, but let's do something to make sure that we actually do have a model where help is actually helping.

Speaker 1 11:21

I appreciate Peter's encouragement not to wait on the side lines until you find the perfect organization with the perfect approach because there aren't any perfect nonprofits. But we can be thoughtful about issues and do our best to build systems that lead to empowerment, not enablement. Nonprofit leaders can also help eliminate this barrier by educating donors about the complex problems they're working to solve. Explain why they take the approach they do, and share what their outcomes have been. Now let's shift our attention. There was one more obstacle that came up in my research far more than the psychological or functional barriers. It was the barrier of trust. Trust in the nonprofit world has a long history. But let's begin in the 1970s. In the 1970s, a trend emerged from President Jimmy Carter called the crisis of confidence. People were becoming aware that both Christian and non-Christian organizations were mismanaging donations, and there wasn't a great system in place to hold charities accountable. Leaders like Billy Graham and folks from World Vision were brought together and urged to find a way to self-regulate, or else the government would be forced to step in. As a result, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability was born. The ECFA created a new set of standards that radically changed accountability for nonprofits. It was quite the shake-up at the time, and I'd encourage you to read the full story later. Today, nonprofit organizations are the most trusted institution within the US. And although that's great and there's a lot to celebrate, there's also still work to be done. 43% of Americans still regard charities with a degree of mistrust. And that's only for US-based nonprofits. The trust level of charities based outside of the US is much lower. We should see the needs that exist around the world and connect it to the urgency of building trust. An organization that is actively doing just that is GTP, Global Trust Partners. GTP is the international version of the ECFA. They work with organizations around the world to create systems of accountability, and it was founded by Dr. Gary Hoag, who we met in the last episode. Gary is also the president of GTP's Trust Fund Council, so he brings an interesting perspective for our DAF conversation. Gary and I met to discuss the challenges of building

Four Functional Barriers Explained

Speaker 1 13:55

trust around the world.

Speaker 7 13:57

I've had the privilege of training church and ministry workers, accountants, attorneys, other professionals in countries to teach church and ministry workers how to give the gift of accountability. Look, we're being good stewards. So people can respond with the gift of generosity. And there actually is huge wealth in every nation. God has blessed people in every nation. But in most nations, there's not a lot of trust. Trust flows through personal relationships. This is why globally, in much of the majority world, you don't see ministries over 100 years old. Because when the mission is stewarded by an individual, the trust flows through relationships. I trust that person. But when the person dies, the ministry dies. If a ministry is following standards, it's accredited. People know they're trustworthy. People are supporting it, not because they know the CEO. They may not. They know they have a reputation of being trustworthy. And what's amazing is in every nation, you have brand names of sports apparel, brand names of coffee companies or whatever, where in every nation they recognize the name. Why? Oh, we trust that product. We know it's going to be good. And so what we're trying to do is build trust to teach church and ministry workers, hey, we're accountable. You can give to us. And this is where I want to acknowledge I think a global problem, and part of the reason there's all those billions of dollars in donor advice funds and trillions in foundations. I think one of the key reasons is around the world where the need is great. They don't know which organization to trust in that in that country because they hear and they hear so many stories of corruption, and they're true. And so I praise God that now I've helped set up an ECFA type group in South Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Kenya, Guatemala, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Colombia. Sixteen more countries are in process because why? God's people they want to deploy resources to trustworthy places. But when they hear of a typhoon wiping out a country, they're like, who do I give to? Who do I trust? And so I think a bigger issue, and please, you know, spread this through the podcast. I think a bigger issue than the money sitting in donor advised funds and foundations is the need for trust in every nation.

Speaker 1 16:42

A study from 2024 reported that only eight percent of American donors gave money to international charities focusing on work outside of the US. So the need for trust, accountability, and financial transparency is great. And I'm thankful for the work that GTP is doing to make it a reality. In addition to financial accountability, there are other factors that play a role in building trust with donors. Trust is formed when what we say matches what we do. And this goes beyond how we use money and it expands into how we fundraise. I was once in a meeting where a nonprofit leader asked, are we fundraising wrong? How does our communication sound any different than a secular nonprofit? We're all boasting impact and ROI. But is this the way of Christ? I was intrigued by the question, and it led me to explore 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. Now, if you're in the Christian fundraising space, you've read 2 Corinthians. This is like the Hall of Fame for generosity campaigns. I've studied these passages countless of times, and yet this time was different. This time I not only saw what Paul was saying, but even more importantly, I started to realize what he wasn't saying. Here are a few things that stood out to me in Paul's letter. For one, he doesn't make the giver the hero. He doesn't make the mission work the hero either. He doesn't boast about the number of people served. He doesn't single out the wealthy. In fact, he does quite the opposite when he lifts up the poor church in Macedonia. He doesn't list a dozen reasons why they're collecting funds. He doesn't give an arbitrary financial goal. He doesn't seek to entertain the giver. There are no gimmicks, flashiness, emotional stories, or pump-up music. He's not desperate, and he's not needy. The only ROI that I found he focuses on is increasing the righteousness of the giver. Paul understood that our need to give exceeds God's need to receive. God didn't need the Corinthian church to give, but he wanted to draw their hearts closer to his and increase their righteousness. Paul doesn't ask for money where a relationship does not exist. He expresses that he already knew their readiness. So we can conclude that Paul is bringing his funding request to people he already had a relationship with and he knew they were ready. And Paul gives thanks to God, not the giver. He knew that the grace of giving comes only from the Lord. Therefore, Paul puts emphasis on God as the ultimate provider for the gift. Trust is built when what we do matches what we say. If an organization claims to be faith-based, but the way they fundraise looks no different than secular nonprofits, then that can lead to mistrust. Along with trust, nonprofits can also look at how they're building systems of partnership. I mentioned at the beginning of this episode that it seems like there are certain people who we innately want to serve and others who we essentially want to take from. That's not a partnership. People are acutely aware of being used or being sold to, and they will run far from it.

Speaker 2 19:57

I like how the Apostle Paul writes about uh partnership in the gospel, and in that context, he really sees it as what together they're able to do in making an impact. And that's how I think healthy organizations and supporters, if that is a healthy relationship, that's how it is. I remember being um after a trip with a supporter, uh, we were

Trust And Global Accountability

Speaker 2 20:20

on the way home and he said, Peter, I want to thank you. And in my mind, I was like, What do you mean? I'm the one to thank you. You're the one who is donating to Hope International. But he went on and said, I want to thank you because I couldn't do what God has called me to do without organizational partners like you. And in this context, he wanted to make an impact around the world. He wanted to address physical and spiritual poverty, and he was excited about the opportunity to partner with HOPE in helping him accomplish what God had put on his heart. And I love that approach. And so maybe what can organizations do? Maybe they can see it truly as a partnership. And that means we're gonna be honest in information. We're gonna celebrate wins and we're gonna be honest when things don't go exactly to plan. What are we gonna learn uh together on this journey? And um maybe it's being a little bit more generous in taking time to share the stories of impact, or maybe it's uh again, doing more uh monitoring and evaluation so that we can report back more clearly what is the impact that we are having together. And um again, see it like a true partnership in the way that we communicate, uh, in the way that we uh connect, um, and maybe even in the way mutually we pray uh and support each other on the journey. So I would say that word of reciprocity uh comes to mind, this idea that we're really are doing this together, both giving, both receiving, and hopefully both growing closer to Christ on the journey.

Speaker 1 21:51

Peter reminds us that we are all on this journey together. And the work of nonprofit leaders is ultimately not to raise money, it's to help people grow closer to Jesus. All people. I was glad to interview Peter for this project. He was one of the people who unknowingly inspired this podcast. It was his blog in early 2025 about the removal of USAID programs that started to stir a greater conversation about giving.

Speaker 2 22:24

So I was in Burundi when the announcement was made that USAID was being shut down. And again, there's a lot of challenges and problems, and I was not commenting on USAID as an entity or on the approach, but what I was pointing out is that in the places, again, I was in Burundi, second poorest country on earth, when this announcement was made, and got to hear from colleagues, got to hear from those individuals that were living in Burundi, and to realize this is massively disruptive, massively disruptive. And a lot of the health, a lot of the social services were being funded by USAID, and then immediately were going away. And my question is so what do we do? And this is where I can't help but realize that government aid was always supposed to be designed to be temporary, and we know that government's change approaches, and yet we know that in every single one of these communities, the local church is already there, the local church that is actively loving and serving, and there is no better group, there is no better mission than the local church to step in. And so my call was to say what would it look like in the light of a significant disruption? How can we activate and encourage the global church to show up in these communities and in these places? And again, the numbers are really clear. So USAID spent $43.8 billion in 2023. That's when we could last find available data. And then you do the math, then find that there's 2.6 billion Christians in the world, uh, 232 million in the United States alone. And so we collectively could make up that shortfall if every Christian worldwide gave $16. Or if those in the US, we literally could step in when the government is stepping away, if everyone on average gave $188, and that takes a big number, a big problem, and it makes it really manageable. And I just hope, I long that we would not miss this opportunity.

Speaker 1 24:32

The call to urgency to capture this moment is, of course, for donors, but I also see it as a strong invitation to nonprofit leaders. It's an invitation to build systems of trust, transparency, and partnership. It's an invitation to collaborate with other nonprofits who share your mission. It's an invitation to learn how to speak about money in a way that honors God, maintains dependence on him, and fosters a heart of generosity in others. Jesus talked about money all the time, but no one accused him of being manipulative, greedy, or money hungry. So I think there's a way to fundraise wealth that leads people closer to Christ, and there's a way to do it that quite frankly pushes them away. I don't mean to sound critical. I am very thankful for the work nonprofits accomplish. I'm glad there are people fighting against human trafficking, poverty, sickness, and disease. I'm grateful there are people dedicating their lives to bring the gospel into unreached places around the globe. And we should do our best to support these amazing organizations. But in the story of DAFs and exploring why funds stay stagnant, we need to turn over every rock, not just the obvious ones. Throughout my DAF journey, someone taught me to ask the question: who benefits? If the narrative spreading among nonprofits is DAF users are greedy, they only care about tax breaks, if DAF sponsors only care about managing the money for personal gain. Who benefits from that story? In this case, the nonprofits get to play the victim. So instead of looking in the mirror to ask, how might we be contributing to the problem, they get to avoid taking on any responsibility. The average fundraiser lasts in their role for 18 months. The average executive director at a nonprofit stays with their organization for only three to six years. It's common for charity employees to experience an unhealthy work culture with high pressures to perform that often leads to burnout. It's no wonder why these same people turn around and then put pressure on donors. Everyone is doing what they can to fuel

Fundraising The Way Of Christ

Speaker 1 26:50

the mission, regardless of the cost. In some cases, we could look at an organization and say that the mission itself has taken place of God. Instead of prayer, we rely on strategy. Instead of trusting in God's provision, we rely on the latest fundraising tactics. We look to the mission to validate our success, our identity, and our effectiveness for Christ. In our zeal, we become like Captain Ahab, who was so focused on capturing Moby Dick that he used people as pawns and left a wake of destruction. I'm afraid some of us may be standing in front of our Lord one day saying, Jesus, didn't I fundraise in your name? And he will reply, go away. I never knew you.

Speaker 4 28:25

When will we wake up from this dream? I am a long way from the wagon with the smash the stones I could see. From the Promised Land.

Speaker 1 29:15

Special thanks to Brian Grasso, Peter Greer, and Dr. Gary Hoag. Our closing song this week is Lost Boys by Mike Mains and the Branches. Join us next week for an exclusive interview with best selling author Randy Alcorn.