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[vc_row top=”20px” bottom=”20px”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”9648″ img_size=”Full” alignment=”center”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]By Mary Jo Lyons, CFP®

Give and it will be given to you.
Luke 6:38

It’s that time of year when giving is on our hearts. Year end is typically when most people finalize their charitable giving. This year the Holy Spirit has moved me to explore giving and understand the many nuances associated with it. What I have confirmed is that generosity is the key to happiness.

A lot is changing in the landscape of philanthropy and charitable giving. Below are some highlights from the recently released Giving USA 2018: Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year of 2017*.

* USA Foundation, in partnership with IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

We are in the midst of a multi-trillion-dollar intergenerational transfer of wealth. Gen Xers and Millennials will be inheriting this wealth at the same time they are reaching their peak earning years; building even more wealth. Women in the U.S. now control more than half of the total personal wealth in the country. In addition women are now the primary breadwinner in nearly 40% of US households.

The wealthy not only want to give more they want to be knowledgeable about who and what they are supporting. Many give anonymously but others are very public with their giving. They are building brands, spending time, energy and money on issues they care about. With that comes high expectations. Many newly wealthy enjoy the celebrity of championing causes.

Givers want to feel that they are a part of something, part of a larger community. We are drawn to causes that have clarity of mission, transparency, community and tell a great story. Mission and vision are important. Tools are improving as well. Planned giving is becoming a real thing. Growth of donor-advised funds (DAF) is a gamechanger enabling people to give, when the timing is right for them. It’s like your own personal giving fund.

We live in a culture of stuff, more stuff, bigger, better, fancier, newer … you get the picture. As we are looking to downsize in order to make Rockport our forever home I am becoming all too familiar with stuff. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. In our 20s, 30s, and 40s it’s all about stuff, accumulating stuff. Our 50s are more about living life and creating experiences. Our 60s become about offloading stuff and simplifying our life. We say hindsight is 20 / 20 and if I had it to do all over again I would give more and accumulate less.

Is one of your legacy goals to leave something to the next generation or generations? Have you ever thought that they might not be properly prepared to receive it? Check out my Podcast Christian Financial Perspectives, Episode 4, Estate Planning: The Wrong Way, The Right Way at www.christianfinancialperspective.com or on iTunes, GooglePlay or Stitcher. You just might find guidance to answer some of those questions.

Recently I heard an interview with David Green, CEO of Hobby Lobby. In his words…

“God has led him on a lifelong journey toward generosity, humility, and family unity in the midst of great business success.”

He shared that his company belongs to God and they don’t own it, they are simply stewards of what God has provided. He had a great fear that his heirs might not be properly prepared to deal with inheriting significant wealth and they should not receive anything they didn’t work for.

If you are a giver and interested in celebrating generosity ask me about hosting a Journey of Generosity. This is an overnight experience with your peers, your friends or even your family discussing the generous life. The host is someone who wants to encourage a conversation about generosity amongst friends and the event is guided by a Generous Giving facilitator. It’s an opportunity to explore the life-changing message of generosity and the power it has to bring, joy, freedom and purpose to your giving.

If you are looking for help setting a giving goal, creating a personal giving plan or just want to learn more I am here to help.

Say “Yes” to God. When our giving glorifies God it’s a win win, a win for you and for the Kingdom.

For God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7

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CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AREAS OF OUR NEWSLETTER

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[vc_row top=”20px” bottom=”20px”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”7109″ img_size=”Full” alignment=”center”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]We are pleased to announce Mary Jo Lyons, Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), has joined Christian Financial Advisors® as a Wealth Advisor to serve the Houston and Corpus Christi areas beginning June 1st.

With over 20 years of experience in the investment industry and as a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) since 2004, Mary Jo brings extensive expertise in designing financial strategies for individuals, families and small business owners.

Prior to joining Christian Financial Advisors®, Mary Jo served clients in several corporate settings gaining expertise in complex financial planning scenarios, retirement planning processes, income strategies and wealth management issues.

Mary Jo is a Texas native and graduate of Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi. She and her husband Mike live in Missouri City, near Houston, TX. Together they love spending time on the water in and around Rockport, TX, their home away from home. They attend New Hope Church near Houston and First Presbyterian Church in Rockport.

If you are in the Houston or Corpus Christi area, call 830-609-6986 to speak with Mary Jo for your complimentary initial consultation.

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Check out other articles from our MAY/JUNE 2017 Newsletter

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You May Be Able to Give More than You Ever Thought Possible

I meet people everyday who say they have very little left to give to the ministries they care deeply about. It’s not that they don’t want to give more, but they have limited cash from which to give. There is a deep misunderstanding that giving can only be done from what’s in a checking or savings account, yet most people have no more than 6-10% of their net worth in cash.

Planned Giving is the process of making significant charitable planned gifts from the other 90%-94% of non-cash assets that one owns. It is the giving of non-cash assets during life, or at death, that become part of a complete financial and estate plan. With planned giving, an entirely new world of possibilities opens up to fund the ministries you care deeply about since it is not based on the small percentage of net worth sitting in cash.

Planned giving is methodical, well thought out in advance, and is usually deferred to a trigger date or event. This trigger event may be the sale of a large asset such as real estate, highly appreciated stocks, a business interest, or when a believer goes to be with with the Lord. Planned giving does not affect your present lifestyle.

Using an estate plan as part of a planned giving strategy can be very efficient. Most people never think about including their favorite ministries as a partial beneficiary of some of their estate plan, in addition to their children. One of the reasons is many attorneys never mention planned giving when they are drafting a will and other estate planning documents.

An Estate consists of:

 

Any of these assets can be chosen to benefit your favorite ministry(s) after your demise to help further its long term mission. A few of my favorites for tax purposes is giving what’s left in an IRA, annuity, or business interests to a charity instead of the children, because they would have to pay income taxes on these types of inherited assets. A charity doesn’t have to because of their tax exempt status.

In reference to children and inheritance, if they love the Lord they will, or should, be joyful you are including your favorite ministries as part of your overall estate plan. Speaking from experience, my wife and I included charities as 20% of our estate plan and our children think it’s great.

If you would like to learn more about helping your favorite ministries and leaving a legacy with planned giving, contact myself or Pat Hail at 830-609-6986. We offer a complete team approach including an attorney, CPA, Certified Wealth Strategist, and Planned Giving Specialist to assist you in your unique giving journey using non cash assets.

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Check out other articles from our October/November Newsletter

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YEAR END TAX STRATEGIES

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BAPTIST ASSOCIATION MEETINGS

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WEALTH MANAGEMENT UNIVERSITY

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RITZ CARLTON TRAINING

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STAFF CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

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TIPS FROM ATHENA

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By Athena
Translated by Jenna Peters

The people at the Christian Financial Advisors® office were really busy last month going to Baptist Association Annual Meetings almost every weekend and speaking at church and ministry meetings! I sniffed around to try to figure out why they were staying so busy and here’s what I dug up.
Bob has been giving talks on Planned Giving and how it can help your favorite churches and ministries both now and in the long run! These presentations teaching the humans how Planned Giving can be a part of a full financial plan.

It can be a little ruff trying to explain Planned Giving, so Bob even created a presentation and program called Planned Giving 10-4-4 that explains many methods and tools for giving other ways than just from cash accounts. He has been offering this program to churches to teach their members about giving and creative ways to paws-itively support their church and the ministries they love in creative ways other than just cash.

I heard Bob saying that if any of his client’s wanted to him to fetch the presentation to bring to their church, he would love to help them out! All they have to do is call him at 830-609-6986 and he can give them more information to get started.

It sounded like a doggone good idea to me! In fact, the Year End Tax Giving Tax Savings Presentation has a lot of the same content and would give you a ruff idea of what it’s all about. And if you attend, be sure and tell the CIS humans to bring back some of the dessert for me please (peanut butter biscuits preferred)![/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1479494987657{padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”]

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[vc_row top=”20px” bottom=”20px”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”6405″ img_size=”Full” alignment=”center”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]October was one of the busiest times for Christian Financial Advisors® in its history as many of us, especially Bob and Pat, were invited to attend all the surrounding annual Baptist Association meetings across Central and South Texas.

Each regional association is made up of 70-200 surrounding Baptist Churches. Christian Financial Advisors® was the exclusive financial firm that had a booth at the meetings for the Burnet/Llano, San Antonio, Bluebonnet (New Braunfels and surrounding area), Gonzales, Gambrell (South Central Texas area) and Corpus Christi Baptist Associations.

To learn more, visit the Church section of our website under the Services Tab or our Churches and Ministries page.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1479495174975{padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”]

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