TRANSFORMATIONAL GIVING

We are called to God’s mission of transforming individuals through His people as they are being transformed by God through worshiping and serving together, both in local churches and around the world. All we possess—time, talent, and treasure—has been entrusted to us mercifully by God, and we are commanded as an act of worship to use it wisely and invest it generously to advance His transformational mission.

There are numerous reasons why we believe transformational giving is biblical and thus honors God, including:

Our generous giving is an act of worship that honors God as the giver of all.
God uses our generous giving to transform us into more mature followers of Christ.
Our generous giving is used by God to support His transformational work.
Transforming people is God’s work, and through them He is transforming the world.

EPC’s Generosity Resources offers a financially wise approach to transformational giving in your congregation.

HOW YOU BENEFIT

Transformational giving is about using the financial blessings God has entrusted to us in ways that expand His Kingdom. In the process of doing that, He continues to bless us. This is not the “prosperity gospel;” it is biblical stewardship.

INDIVIDUALS AND ASSET OWNERS

Transformational giving pleases God, advances His Kingdom, changes lives eternally, and is fiscally wise. As an individual, there are many ways that transformational giving benefits you as well.

Please and honor God with what He’s entrusted to you
Multiply impact from causes you’re passionate about
Invest for Kingdom purposes
Leave long-lasting eternal results
Maximize giving, minimize taxes, and optimize timing
Simplify transfer of assets
Access excellent affordable expertise and instruments
Unlock cash from non-liquid assets
Experience the joy of transformational giving

CHURCH LEADERS

Your church can benefit from our expert affordable resources and solutions that can unlock assets held by your church members to advance the vision/mission of your church and the EPC.

Educate and train members on biblical financial wisdom
Help members experience transformational giving
Advance vital EPC strategies
Raise funds for your causes, such as outreach, church planting, capital campaigns, and more
Gain access to financial experts
Expand and leverage the impact of your church’s fundraising and development efforts
Help your members become wise stewards of God’s blessings

FINANCIAL ADVISORS

We provide expert affordable resources and solutions that can help your clients make financially wise decisions that advance Kingdom goals.

Bolster client relationships, grow your practice, and make a huge impact for eternity.
Help clients plan and execute wise charitable giving.
Help clients wisely use their assets and minimize taxes.
Gain access to standard and innovative estate planning tools and instruments.
Gain access to professional expertise for tax-wise donations of business interests, real estate, and other significant tangible assets.
Experience joy of supporting the Great Commission via your clients’ transformational giving.

You can experience a variety of other benefits when you get involved with the EPC Generosity Resources.

Join and use—plus train and connect with—Kingdom Advisors, a community of Christian financial professionals integrating faith and practice for Kingdom impact.
Help EPC congregations raise $40,000,000 (if 5 percent of high-net-worth EPC members give 5 percent of their net worth).
Educate clients about EPC Generosity Resources and NCF and their partners.
Refer qualified clients to EPC Generosity Resources.

HOW WE HELP

EPC Generosity Resources partners with experts, rather than create our own expensive organizational structure. Our office staff is intentionally small, so we partner with the world’s largest Christian grant-making foundation, the National Christian Foundation. At no cost to the EPC, the NCF provides superb expertise, reliable infrastructure, and trustworthy management for EPC churches, individuals, and asset owners. EPC Generosity Resources does not usurp or interfere with donor decision-making, but rather acts as a liaison to:

Assist individuals and churches.
Enhance local church and donor interests.

EPC Generosity Resources and NCF provide resources that enhance our ability to support Christian efforts well beyond current levels, and instill trust in proper management and application of funds. Some benefits to you include:

Biblical stewardship.
Kingdom purposes.
Donor-advised use.
Legal compliance.
Tax-wise methods.

For assistance or additional information, contact Bob Welsh at generosityresources@epc.org or 509-679-3951.

EPC ROLE

Liaison to expert resources and solutions

For assistance or additional information, contact Bob Welsh at generosityresources@epc.org or 509-679-3951.

Provide access to:

Flexible financial instruments that fit many situations and support our vision.
Traditional and non-traditional estate planning and wealth transfer tools.
Expertise in tax-wise donations of business interests, real estate and other significant tangible assets.

Provide ability to designate funds to EPC Strategic Vision Funds:

EPC Transition Fund.
Multiplication Fund (Church Planting).
Transformation Fund (Church Revitalization).
World Outreach Fund.
Leadership Development Fund.

NCF ROLE

National Christian Foundation (NCF) is the world’s largest Christian grant-making foundation. In 2013, NCF received $914 million in gifts and disbursed $670 million in grants to almost 16,000 charities. A Philanthropy Magazine article from Spring 2015 featured NCF’s unique abilities.

Mission: To enable followers of Christ to give wisely to advance His Kingdom.
Vision: To mobilize an unprecedented abundance of Kingdom resources to accomplish every good work.
Purpose: To simplify, maximize, and multiply your charitable giving.

NCF is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) and has an impeccable rating by Charity Navigator. NCF is the world’s largest Christian grant-making foundation. In 2013 NCF received $914 million in gifts and disbursed $670 million in grants to almost 16,000 charities.

NCF has expertise in the following areas:

Flexible financial instruments that fit your situation and support your vision.
Traditional and non-traditional estate planning and wealth transfer tools.
Tax-wise donations of business interests, real estate and other significant tangible assets.

NCF helps put donations to work in three ways:

Contribute to the EPC’s Strategic Vision Funds.
Create your own Giving Fund or Legacy Fund.
Churches can open a Single Charity Fund (free foundation-like tool).

WAYS TO GIVE

NATIONAL CHRISTIAN FOUNDATION TOOLS

The National Christian Foundation (NCF) has unsurpassed expertise with many types of tax-wise charitable giving instruments. These include:

Giving Fund is a donor-advised fund that provide a flexible way to pass money through a foundation to favorite ministries. Donors enjoy administrative convenience, cost savings, and tax advantages.
Legacy Fund is an enhanced type of Giving Fund in which NCF assumes greater responsibility to ensure that your giving intent and granting desires are carried out faithfully, either during or after your lifetime.

Asset-based giving means donating non-cash assets in order to give more to ministry and pay less in taxes.

Donate appreciated securities (stocks, bonds, or mutual funds) to the EPC Foundation; then NCF liquidates the asset and puts the net proceeds into your designated fund.
Give real estate before the sale (instead of writing checks to charity) in order to improve cash flow, reduce or eliminate capital gains taxes, and send more to your favorite causes.
Business interests. Donate a non-voting interest in your ongoing business to receive a substantial tax deduction and still maintain management oversight of the company. Or, before selling a business, donate a non-voting interest in your business to the Foundation to receive a substantial tax deduction, reduce or eliminate capital gains taxes on the gifted interest, and convert those tax dollars into more giving to your favorite ministries.
Charitable gift annuity. You make the gift to the Foundation (part of which is tax-deductible) and then you receive fixed annuity payments each year for the remainder of your life.
Charitable trust helps you balance two interests—charitable giving and income for you or your heirs. With a charitable lead trust, money is paid first to a charity for a specified amount of time. At the end of the trust period, the balance of the trust goes to a designated beneficiary, typically the family of the trust creator. A charitable remainder trust reverses that order, paying a beneficiary first.
Testamentary gifts and gifts from trusts allow you to reduce your estate’s tax burden upon your death, while also ensuring that your giving goals and objectives are carried out after you are gone.

HELP THE EPC

You can help the EPC raise $40 million (if 5 percent of high-net-worth EPC members give 5 percent of their net worth) to further God’s work in and through the EPC.

Anyone—individuals, asset owners, churches—can designate gifts to EPC Strategic Vision Funds:

EPC Transition Fund.
Multiplication Fund (Church Planting).
Transformation Fund (Church Revitalization).
Global Movement Fund.
Leadership Development Fund.

The EPC Generosity Resources (formerly Foundation) Board manages these funds and decides how and when to put these resources to work for each purpose.
For assistance or additional information, contact Bob Welsh at generosityresources@epc.org or 509-679-3951.

FOR CHURCH LEADERS

Church leaders: You have a special role in helping your church advance its vision and mission through innovative giving, as well as helping your members experience the joy of transformational giving.

HELP YOUR CHURCH

Open a Single Charity Fund (free foundation-like tool for your church)

Donors can contribute to the Fund online.
Donors can contribute with gifts such as stocks, mutual funds, and other non-cash assets.
NCF liquidates the assets and handles all the administration of the Fund.
Church goes online to request grants from the Fund to your ministry to support your work.

Set up iDonate on your church’s website for non-cash giving.

Non-cash giving represents a huge untapped source of your members’ assets. Only about 10 percent of your members’ total assets are found in cash or checking accounts. Probably 95 percent of your annual church receipts come from these liquid assets.
Donors can give non-cash gifts—a car, stock, old mobile phones, and much more—on your church’s website, and it’s as easy for them as giving cash.

HELP YOUR MEMBERS

Use EPC-commended resources:

Crown Financial Ministries equips servant leaders to live by God’s design for their finances, work, and life … to advance transformation.
Generous Church helps you release generosity in your church. Their resources help expand the impact of your leaders, change your money conversation, and grow the giving capacity of your people.
Generous Giving utilizes retreats, conferences and stories of radical generosity to spread the biblical message of generosity among those entrusted with much.

Educate yourself about EPC Generosity Resources and NCF. Promote EPC Generosity Resources to your church members. Sponsor a seminar conducted by NCF. Refer potential donors to EPC Generosity Resources.

For assistance or additional information, contact Bob Welsh at generosityresources@epc.org or 509-679-3951.

CONTACTS

OFFICE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Phil VanValkenburg, Chief Operating Officer
407-930-4252
phil.vanvalkenburg@epc.org

Bob Welsh, Generosity Resources Field Representative
509-679-3951
generosityresources@epc.org

GENEROSITY RESOURCES (FORMERLY EPC FOUNDATION) BOARD

Ted Hailes, Chair
RE, Presbytery of the Central South

Ben Borsay
TE, Presbytery of the Midwest

Bobby Cobbs
RE, Presbytery of the Pacific Southwest

Mark Eibel
RE, Presbytery of the Pacific Northwest

John Graham
RE, Presbytery of the Southeast

Elizabeth Hickman
Presbytery of the Gulf South

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Office of the General Assembly
5850 T.G. Lee Blvd., Suite 510
Orlando, FL 32822
(407) 930-4239
(407) 930-4247 fax
info@epc.org

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