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Why we decided to “purchase” a charitable gift annuity

This year my husband and I “purchased” a charitable gift annuity from the American Friends Service Committee with a significant portion of our assets. I call it a purchase, because we will receive a quarterly payment and they will manage and invest the funds, so we are getting something in return— even though the funds we used will stay with AFSC after we die.  There are different names   [Read More …]

More than enough: Cultivating a ‘mindset of abundance’

This past January, I enrolled in Faith and Money Network’s online study group, “Money, Faith and You.’ Each week we had homework, and for the second week, we were asked to write a money autobiography. I have used money autobiographies in my work at Everence (a faith-based financial services organization) so I was very familiar with the concept. A money autobiography invites you to think back to   [Read More …]

Are you a generous person?

Are you a generous person? In my work with people, I am often asked questions by people who want to gauge their own generosity. These are usually indirect queries like, “what are other people giving?” or “what percentage of income is the average amount?” rather than “Am I a stingy or profligate person?” This is a natural inclination to fulfill what is expected; to not give too little nor too much   [Read More …]

Trusting into deeper generosity — reflecting on a lifetime of lessons

Way back in the early 1990s I attended what was called a “Basic Retreat” with the then-named Ministry of Money, now Faith and Money Network.  I was newly single with three young kids and truly questioning my values around money. I had more money than most of my divorced friends who also were raising kids, and I felt a bit guilty. I wanted to be generous without being foolhardy. “How much   [Read More …]

Loaves, fishes and the work of building a world where everyone has enough

Most of us, whether we are conscious of it or not, operate somewhere on the continuum between an assumption of abundance and an assumption of scarcity. An assumption of abundance is a way of living with a healthy amount of trust that everything we truly need to become the people we were created to be will somehow be given.  It’s a way of living with trust that everything that happens to us   [Read More …]

Should I rent or buy? How my online study group helped me decide

I took Faith and Money Network’s online Money, Faith and You course because I was at a threshold. I knew I needed help thinking about my finances.   I was a divorced woman, starting a second career mid-life after a significant illness. I had been struggling for more than 10 years on my own. I needed a sounding board in my discernment about a new job and moving. The invitation from   [Read More …]

Introducing Network Voices

Welcome to Network Voices, a new blog from Faith and Money Network, which will feature reflections, commentary and news from members and friends of this virtual, and growing, community. In this space, you’ll read the real life stories of people who are thinking deeply about the connections between faith and money. We’ll highlight the experiences of participants in our online classes and Trips   [Read More …]

Common Change UK Teaches Communities How To Freely Give

A trip to the emergency room. An unexpected death in the family. The loss of a job.  It’s moments like these that people often turn to crowdfunding websites, hoping friends, strangers, and neighbors will hear their story and respond with aid. Sometimes, people do. And once the goal is met, the page comes down.  But there are many needs that never make it on these pages. Needs that   [Read More …]

The Road Ahead

The Crises We Must Solve The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things                                            John 14:12  The Message In the winter of 2021, when the shame of the January 6th attack on our capital hung heavy in the air, TIME magazine published a challenge for all of us.  Their writers made it clear that the deterioration of our   [Read More …]

Homeownership Has an Equity Issue: Lessons from MANNA Founder Rev. Jim Dickerson

For years, purchasing a house has been intertwined with the vision of the “American dream.” A home was originally a place for putting down roots and raising families, a symbol of a promised future. Later, homeownership became an encouraged financial investment in a burgeoning market. Yet many Americans today don’t own homes and even more worry they never will. While the homeownership rate has   [Read More …]