As a co-founder of Retouch, I get to see first-hand the impact of our work, but I know as a donor to other organizations, that I do not always have this privilege. Over the past 13 years I’ve had an insider’s view of ‘how the sausage is made’ and the challenges that go into running an international non-profit, including ensuring that every dollar counts. Because of this experience, my wife and I have developed a framework of decision making for giving to churches and non-profits. Today, I’d like to share some of those insights with you.

 We approach our personal giving based on 3 issues: Trust, Mission & Faith-Based. 

Trust

One of the first questions we ask about giving is; Can we trust this organization? Are they really going to do what they say? And how can we know? Often times, at least in our line of work, we have built relationships with other founders or have seen the work firsthand enough to know if the “proof is in the pudding.” However, there are times where we don’t know the organization well enough and need to dig a bit deeper.

If we do not know the organization or founders, we always look to see who else is giving toward them and who is serving on their board of directors. You can often find donor testimonials either on an organization’s website or on their Facebook page. I’m aware that these can be marketing tactics but they can provide a bit of insight into the community of donors. Secondly, I check their board of directors and staff… what type of people are serving and leading this organization?

The Final step is to check either their published 990 form (the IRS reporting sheet that is publicly available)and/or their guide star rating. Are they being open and forthright with their finances? At Retouch, Transparency is one of our core values, and we are lead by a dedicated Board of Directors who oversee every dollar spent. You can find Retouch’s financial documents here.

Mission-Alignment

After, and sometimes before, we’ve determined that a non-profit is trustworthy we ask ourselves if we are aligned with the mission. Are they doing stuff we care about? Or things we should care about? For example, I probably wouldn’t support a non-profit dedicated to protecting public access to clown schools. It’s not thatI don’t like clowns… it’s just not that important to me but maybe it is for your family! For our family, and this really is a personal issue, we have things we care about. We want to see that an organization cares about the people they are serving, that they are protecting the agency of each person while also acknowledging their very real struggles.  

           We ask “what are they doing and why does it matter?” and then we see if it aligns with our personal values.

Not to be biased but we think Retouch does a pretty good job of that.

Faith-Based

           As we are Christian missionaries ourselves, another criteria for giving is a spiritual one; Is God asking us to give toward this organization At the end of each year, we analyze our giving and prayerfully ask if God is leading us to continue giving or to consider a different organization. We also do the same things if we receive an unexpected sum of money, is God asking us to give it or a portion of it? And if so, to whom?

           How we discern the will of God for our finances is probably a lengthy topic for another post but in short, we wait and pray until we are both in agreement. We have found that the Holy Spirit has a beautiful way of speaking to both of our hearts about giving and that he knows, perfectly, where to give and how!

When Jennifer and I founded Retouch all those years ago, we approached these questions by asking “what type of organization would WE want to give toward?” We wanted a transparent organization that limited overhead and worked hard to ensure the integrity with which we’ve tried to live. We believe that Retouch has lived up to that vision but don’t take our word for it. Do your due diligence by checking out our Board of Directors, read some testimonials, read our Core Values, and read our mission to see if we align with your family’s goals for giving.

Wherever you decide to give, we pray that your gifts are multiplied for the work of God’s kingdom.

If you have any questions please reach out to me personally: Chris@retouch.is