Christian Donor-Advised Funds and the Practice of Unhurried Generosity
Creating space for prayerful, values-aligned giving through thoughtful stewardship
Generosity often begins with a sincere desire. A family wants to support its church, care for people in need, help send missionaries, or respond when an important opportunity arises. Yet that desire has to compete with budgets, investments, taxes, college planning, business decisions, aging parents, and the steady accumulation of ordinary responsibilities.
The desire to give remains, while the time and attention needed to give thoughtfully become harder to find. Sometimes a financial deadline arrives before a family has had time to pray. At other times, the opportunity to give appears after the most advantageous moment to contribute an asset has passed.
A Christian donor-advised fund can help create the necessary space to steward all of these decisions faithfully. It allows a steward to dedicate resources to charitable purposes at one point and recommend grants to ministries over time. That separation can support a more thoughtful rhythm of giving, one shaped by prayer, attentiveness, and a growing understanding of what God has entrusted to us.
This is the deeper opportunity of unhurried generosity. It gives the heart room to listen and the mind room to plan.
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Biblical Stewardship and a Christian View of Ownership
A healthy Christian understanding of generosity can help inform our decisions before a gift is ever made. It begins with the recognition that God is the owner and that everything we possess has been entrusted to our care.
When David and the people of Israel gave toward the building of the temple, David prayed, “Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand” (1 Chronicles 29:14). Their generosity was a response to ownership already established. They were returning a portion of what had first come from God.
This changes the central question of financial life. Instead of asking only what we are permitted to do with our resources, a proper view of stewardship causes us to consider what it looks like to faithfully manage what God has placed in our hands.
A Biblical view of stewardship reaches far beyond charitable transactions. It shapes how a family saves, spends, invests, shares, and plans for future generations. It also reveals why generosity is part of discipleship. Giving becomes one of the ways believers learn trust, loosen their hold on possessions, respond to the needs of others, and participate in God’s work.
Financial tools have a role within that journey. Their value comes from their ability to help a steward act more consistently on convictions that have already been formed.
What Is a Christian Donor-Advised Fund?
A donor-advised fund is a giving fund sponsored by a charitable organization that can serve as a hub for a family’s charitable giving and support of multiple organizations. A donor contributes cash or other eligible assets to the sponsoring organization and may qualify for a charitable deduction at the time of the contribution, depending on the donor’s circumstances and applicable tax rules.
The contribution is irrevocable. Once the gift is complete, the sponsoring organization has exclusive legal control of the assets. The donor keeps advisory privileges and grants to other charitable organizations over time. If you want the full mechanics of how the vehicle works, our donor-advised fund pillar walks through contributions, investments, and grants step by step, and our guide to what a donor-advised fund is covers the basics.
The word “Christian” describes the mission and values of the sponsoring organization. Because the sponsor has final responsibility for approving grants, its beliefs and grant-making policies are a real part of the decision. A Christian donor-advised fund lets a steward organize generosity within a framework meant to reflect Christian convictions.
Cru Foundation’s Great Commission Donor Advised Fund, often shortened to GCDAF, lets donors recommend grants to IRS-qualified public charities that do not conflict with the historic Christian faith. Those organizations can include local churches, missions organizations, Christian schools, relief ministries, pregnancy resource centers, and other qualifying ministries. Grants are not limited to Cru ministries.
How Donor-Advised Funds Help You Give More Thoughtfully
Giving often involves two distinct decisions:
- When should resources be dedicated to charitable use?
- Which ministries or causes should receive them?
Those decisions do not always become clear at the same time. A steward may recognize that appreciated stock is well positioned for a charitable contribution, while still praying over how the resulting resources should be distributed. A business owner may want to dedicate part of an asset to the ministry before a future transaction, even though several grant opportunities are still being considered. A large commission or bonus might be realized now. The tithe can be made now but time taken to determine the right designation.
A donor-advised fund can give you the time to make those decisions in a healthy sequence. As the steward, you make an irrevocable charitable contribution first. Grant recommendations can then be made over time as needs arise and convictions become clearer.
This creates room for attentiveness and attunement to where God might be calling you to give. A family may hear about a church initiative several months later, learn of a missionary facing an unexpected need, or discover a ministry working in an area that has become personally meaningful. Because resources have already been designated for charitable use, the family can respond from a place of preparation.
The giving fund becomes a structure for listening. It supports generosity that is ready without becoming rushed. It helps you to see the abundance from which you can bless others.
How a Christian Donor-Advised Fund Supports Ongoing Generosity
The story of King Hezekiah offers a helpful picture. As Jerusalem faced the threat of attack, Hezekiah redirected water from the Gihon spring through a tunnel and into the city (2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chronicles 32:30). The tunnel created a protected channel that kept an essential resource flowing where it would be needed.
A donor-advised fund can serve as a similar kind of channel. Resources that have already been dedicated to charity are placed within a structure designed for future grant-making. The fund creates continuity between the decision to give and the ministries that will eventually receive grants.
The image also helps clarify the purpose of good planning. Planning provides a pathway through which generosity can travel. It reduces friction, organizes decisions, and helps resources remain available for the purposes a steward has prayerfully chosen.
This can help make giving joyful, generous, and spontaneous. The donor no longer has to resolve every grant decision while juggling transaction and tax deadlines. There is time to learn, pray, talk with family members, and consider where a grant could serve people well and advance the Great Commission.
Using Wealth, not just Cash, for Charitable Giving
Many families hold a significant portion of their resources in forms other than cash. Your wealth may include publicly traded stock, mutual funds, real estate, business interests, crops, or other property.
This can create a practical challenge. As a steward, you may have a strong desire to give while having limited cash available for a significant gift. Selling an appreciated asset personally can also create tax consequences that affect the amount ultimately available for charitable purposes.
A donor-advised fund may be able to receive certain appreciated or non-cash assets. Contributing an eligible appreciated asset before a sale may help a donor avoid recognizing long-term capital gains and may provide a charitable deduction based on the asset’s fair market value. The actual outcome depends on the type of asset, how long it has been held, the donor’s tax situation, the timing of the transfer, and applicable legal requirements.
This kind of tax efficiency boosts generosity. Thoughtful planning can help preserve more of that asset for charitable work.
Because gifts of appreciated and complex assets involve valuation, timing, acceptance policies, and legal requirements, donors commonly involve their professional advisors and the sponsoring foundation early in the process. That collaborative approach can provide greater clarity before any transaction takes place.
Why Values-Aligned Giving Matters in a Donor-Advised Fund
Donor-advised funds are sponsored by many different kinds of organizations, and each sponsor operates according to its own mission, policies, and grant-making standards.
The sponsoring organization has legal control of contributed assets and final authority over grant approvals. Donors may recommend grants, while the sponsor remains responsible for determining whether each recommendation meets its charitable purposes and policies.
Therefore, for a Christian steward, choosing a sponsor is more than an operational decision. It is also a value decision.
A values-aligned sponsor can provide confidence that grant recommendations will be evaluated within a shared understanding of faith, generosity, and charitable purpose. It can also create a relationship in which conversations about giving include spiritual calling, family priorities, and Kingdom impact alongside practical planning.
Cru Foundation’s GCDAF is designed for donors who want their charitable giving organized within a Great Commission framework. The aim is to help stewards support qualifying ministries that reflect their convictions while giving them freedom to recommend grants across a broad range of Christian work.
Additionally, it establishes protective boundaries for successor advisors you appoint to oversee these Kingdom resources.
Using a Donor-Advised Fund for Family Generosity
A donor-advised fund can also become a setting for family formation.
Parents and grandparents often hope to pass more than financial resources to the next generation. They want children and grandchildren to understand where those resources came from, how the family thinks about stewardship, and why certain ministries or needs matter deeply.
A family giving fund can make those conversations concrete. Family members might gather periodically to review available charitable resources, learn about ministries, and recommend future grants. Younger participants can research an organization, share what moved them, or suggest a need they would like the family to consider.
These practices help generosity become part of the family’s shared life. Children learn what the family values by seeing where attention, prayer, and resources are directed. Adults also learn from one another as different family members notice needs and opportunities that others may have missed.
Paul writes that giving should arise from a settled decision of the heart and be accompanied by joy (2 Corinthians 9:7). A family rhythm of prayerful grant-making creates space for that kind of giving. The conversation grows beyond how much will be given and begins to include whom the family is becoming through the practice of generosity.
Combining Financial Planning and Christian Generosity
Financial planning and spiritual discernment can sometimes feel like two teams digging from opposite sides of a mountain. One begins with tax considerations, asset structures, and timing. The other begins with prayer, compassion, calling, and a desire to participate in God’s work.
Wise stewardship brings those two movements together.
A Christian donor-advised fund is one practical place where that meeting can occur. It gives structure to a generous intention, helps simplify future grant-making, protects precious resources, unleashes generosity at scale, and creates time for prayerful decisions. In short, it helps a steward respond faithfully to God with the resources already entrusted to their care.
This is what makes generosity formative. Each decision becomes an opportunity to practice trust. Each grant can sharpen a family’s awareness of what God is doing. Each act of relinquishment reminds the steward that ownership ultimately rests with God.
Smarter generosity means allowing strategy to serve surrender, where giving can become the rich, spiritual experience we know God desires for us.
Frequently Asked Questions About Christian Donor-Advised Funds
What is a Christian donor-advised fund?
A Christian donor-advised fund is a giving fund sponsored by a charitable organization whose mission and grant-making policies reflect Christian convictions. Donors make irrevocable charitable contributions and retain the privilege of recommending grants to eligible organizations over time.
How does a donor-advised fund work?
A donor contributes eligible assets to the sponsoring organization. The sponsor takes legal control of the contribution, and the donor may qualify for a charitable deduction based on applicable rules. The donor can then recommend grants from the fund to qualifying charitable organizations.
Can appreciated stock be contributed to a donor-advised fund?
Many donor-advised fund sponsors accept publicly traded stock, and some can consider additional non-cash assets. Contributing appreciated stock before a sale avoids capital gains taxes and may provide other tax benefits, depending on the donor’s situation. Professional advisors and the sponsoring organization can help evaluate the timing and requirements.
Can a donor-advised fund support a church or ministry outside Cru?
Yes. Many families use a donor-advised fund to involve spouses, children, or grandchildren in conversations about generosity. The fund can provide a practical setting for learning about ministries, discussing shared values, and making grant recommendations together.
Can families make grant decisions together?
Yes. Many families use a donor-advised fund to involve spouses, children, or grandchildren in conversations about generosity. The fund can provide a practical setting for learning about ministries, discussing shared values, and making grant recommendations together.
How can a donor-advised fund support biblical stewardship?
A donor-advised fund can separate the timing of a charitable contribution from the timing of future grants. This creates space for prayer, research, family conversation, and thoughtful discernment about where charitable resources could be used.
Start A Conversation with Our Team
Every stewardship story is different. The assets involved, the people a family hopes to care for, the ministries that have shaped their lives, and the opportunities God places before them all deserve thoughtful consideration.
A Cru Foundation specialist can help you explore those questions and consider whether a Great Commission Donor Advised Fund fits within your broader approach to stewardship. The conversation begins with what God has entrusted to you, what matters most, and what faithful generosity could look like in this season.
Start a conversation with a Cru Foundation specialist.
This content is provided for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal or tax advice. Please consult your professional advisor regarding your specific situation.
Gifts to the Great Commission Donor Advised Fund are irrevocable and are under the exclusive legal control of Cru Foundation.
What Is a Donor-Advised Fund, and How Can It Help You Give More Generously?
Katie Brubaker: Welcome to the Smarter Generosity podcast. I’m Katie Brubaker.
Eric Fleshood: And I’m Eric Fleshood.
Katie: Today we’re answering a question we get all the time: What exactly is a donor-advised fund?
A lot of people have heard the term. Maybe they’ve heard a friend mention it or read about it in a financial document. But I think if we asked most people to explain what a donor-advised fund really is, or more importantly, why it might matter to someone who wants to give faithfully, many of us would struggle to explain it.
So let’s start there. Eric, how would you answer the question, “What is a donor-advised fund?”
Eric: I’d answer it quickly because I don’t want people thinking we’re going to spend the whole episode talking about some boring, technical financial tool. I’d rather get to the more interesting parts of the conversation.
The simplest way to understand a donor-advised fund is that it’s a charitable giving fund housed at a sponsoring organization, such as a foundation. It’s a way to set aside resources specifically for charitable purposes.
Katie: So when somebody starts thinking, “This might be something I’m interested in,” what would you say is the gap they’re trying to close? What problem are they hoping a tool like this will help them solve?
Eric: That’s actually changed quite a bit over the years.
One reason some people haven’t heard much about donor-advised funds is that they used to be associated primarily with wealthy donors. But that’s changed significantly. Today, donor-advised funds are accessible to a much broader range of people who want to steward God’s resources well.
And Katie, I don’t know about you, but modern life can throw a lot of curveballs at us. There’s so much coming at us all the time.
Just think about personal finances. I don’t know how many budgeting systems my wife and I have worked through over the years trying to find one that works for both of us and helps us get on the same page.
Katie: There are a lot of options out there.
Eric: There really are. And once you’ve figured out a budget, then you start thinking about savings goals. Maybe you’ve got children on the way, and now you’re thinking about college. Suddenly you’re trying to understand what a 529 plan is and how that works.
As you move through life, there are just layers upon layers of financial decisions.
Sometimes, in the middle of all of that, you can feel like your heart is getting lost. Your vision gets lost.
You start asking, “Why am I doing all of this? What’s it all for?”
As Christians who want to grow closer to God, experience His heart, and live generously, there’s a lot of clutter we have to navigate.
A donor-advised fund is one tool that can help simplify some of that.
Katie: All right, let’s start there.
What can you actually put into a donor-advised fund, and what makes it different from simply writing a check to a ministry?
Let’s say you’re a generous family. You and your spouse are working through your budget, and normally you give cash directly to your church or another ministry.
What role would a donor-advised fund play in that situation?
Eric: Well, here’s some good news. You don’t necessarily have to write all those checks yourself anymore. The donor-advised fund can help facilitate your charitable giving.
As far as what can go into it, there are quite a few possibilities.
You can contribute common assets like cash, publicly traded stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. Depending on the sponsoring organization and the circumstances, more complex assets such as real estate, business interests, or certain types of equipment may also be eligible.
And what that does is take assets that are part of your overall wealth and make them available to support the ministries and charitable causes you care about.
I’m going to use a technical word here: fungible.
What I mean is that these assets can be converted into resources that ministries can actually use to carry out their work.
Katie: Without getting too technical, let me ask why somebody would want to do that.
Let’s say my husband and I own stock that has appreciated significantly in value. Why would we consider putting that stock into a donor-advised fund?
Eric: A donor-advised fund can allow you to transfer that appreciated stock directly to charity without first selling it yourself.
That can be particularly helpful because, under applicable tax rules, donating appreciated stock may allow you to avoid personally realizing the capital gain that would otherwise result from selling it.
You may also qualify for a charitable income tax deduction, depending on your circumstances.
Once the stock has been contributed, the sponsoring organization can generally sell it and make the proceeds available for charitable grants.
So instead of selling the stock personally, potentially paying capital gains tax, and then donating what’s left, you may be able to preserve more of its value for charitable purposes.
Katie: Here’s another question.
Cru Foundation sponsors a donor-advised fund. What are some of the misconceptions people have about our fund?
Eric: One misconception might be wondering what we’re really after.
People may ask, “What’s in it for you? Is there some hidden arrangement? Are you working on commission? What’s the catch?”
And I don’t blame people for asking those questions.
People who are thoughtful about their finances have learned to be careful. They’ve encountered situations where somebody was trying to sell them something, and they’re understandably cautious.
But at Cru Foundation, we’re on the donor’s side of the table.
Our Great Commission Donor-Advised Fund has no administrative fee. We don’t take a standing percentage of the assets in the fund or charge an administrative fee on contributions made to it.
Our purpose is to help accelerate the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
We want to come alongside people who share that commitment and make it easier for them to give.
We’ve worked to operate a lean, low-cost donor-advised fund. Our team’s compensation doesn’t depend on whether someone opens a fund or how much they contribute to it.
Whether someone contributes a large amount or a smaller amount, our motivation is the same: helping them steward their resources faithfully.
Katie: Another question I hear quite often is, “I assume I can only use Cru Foundation’s donor-advised fund to give to Cru missionaries and ministries.”
I think that’s a pretty common assumption. Can you speak to that?
Eric: Absolutely, and it’s a natural assumption.
In fact, there was a time when the fund had more restrictions around the kinds of organizations it could support.
But as our donor-advised fund program has developed, we’ve been able to offer much greater flexibility in grantmaking.
We recognize that Christian stewards have many different charitable commitments. They’re supporting their local churches, other ministries, and other charitable organizations.
The Great Commission Donor-Advised Fund gives donors the freedom to recommend grants to eligible charitable organizations whose work is consistent with the historic Christian faith.
Katie: I’m glad you mentioned recommending grants, because that leads into another question.
Why does values alignment matter when you’re choosing a donor-advised fund?
Eric: This is a significant issue, and I’m glad we have an opportunity to talk about it.
We want to be completely transparent about how donor-advised funds work.
When you contribute to a donor-advised fund, you’re making an irrevocable charitable gift. Once those assets are contributed, they legally belong to the sponsoring charitable organization.
You can’t simply take the money back and use it for personal purposes.
But one of the benefits is that you don’t have to decide immediately which organizations will ultimately receive grants.
You have time to consider where those charitable resources should go.
Katie: What do you mean when you say it gives you time?
Eric: When you make a contribution to a donor-advised fund, that’s generally the point at which the charitable gift occurs for tax purposes, subject to the applicable rules and your eligibility for a deduction.
But you don’t necessarily have to know which ministries you want to support at that moment.
Let’s go back to your example of appreciated stock.
Suppose it’s the middle of summer, and a stock you own has increased significantly in value. Maybe the company just released a strong quarterly report, and its stock price has risen.
Summer might not normally be the time of year when you’re thinking about making a large charitable gift.
But a donor-advised fund gives you the opportunity to contribute those shares when you decide the timing is appropriate.
The sponsoring organization can then sell the shares, and the proceeds become available for future charitable grants.
Later that year, perhaps your church announces a capital campaign.
Now you have resources already set aside for charitable purposes, and you can prayerfully consider recommending a grant to support that campaign.
You didn’t have to make both decisions at the same time.
Katie: And that’s something I appreciate about donor-advised funds.
Depending on how the fund is managed, those charitable assets can also be invested, with the potential for additional growth that can support future giving.
But beyond the financial side, it gives us time to pray and consider where the Lord might be leading us.
For our family, giving together is something we really enjoy.
My husband and I have teenagers, and they’re just beginning to exercise that generosity muscle.
A donor-advised fund creates opportunities for us to have conversations with them about giving.
Where are their hearts? What ministries do they care about? Where might God be calling our family to participate?
So there are a lot of ways to use a donor-advised fund, whether individually, as a couple, or as a family.
But I want to return to the question of values alignment because I think that’s important.
Eric: It really is.
Remember, once you’ve contributed assets to a donor-advised fund, you’ve made an irrevocable gift to charity.
That’s why it’s called a donor-advised fund.
Your role is now that of an advisor. You no longer legally own the assets in the fund.
And that means your relationship with the sponsoring organization is built on trust and values alignment.
You can recommend a grant to an organization you want to support, but the sponsoring organization retains legal authority over whether that grant is approved.
For example, imagine you’ve chosen a donor-advised fund sponsor whose values or priorities are different from yours.
You might recommend a grant to a cause you care deeply about, only to discover that the sponsoring organization isn’t willing to support that cause because it doesn’t align with its policies or values.
That’s something a lot of donors don’t realize when they first learn about donor-advised funds.
At Cru Foundation, we want to be very clear about our commitments and grantmaking guidelines from the beginning.
We’re seeking to serve people who share a commitment to Scripture, historic Christian faith, and supporting work that advances God’s purposes in the world.
That shared foundation matters because donors need to trust the organization responsible for stewarding their charitable resources.
Katie: Before we started recording, Eric, you told me to be sure to ask you about Hezekiah.
And if there’s anybody who can connect the dots between Hezekiah and a donor-advised fund, it’s probably going to be you.
I’m genuinely curious about where you’re going with this.
What did you have in mind when you said, “Ask me about Hezekiah”?
Eric: I was thinking about our topic today and wondering how I could communicate the value of a donor-advised fund without getting lost in technical language, numbers, and taxation.
And I thought about the story of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah was a king of Judah about 2,700 years ago.
He and his people were facing the threat of an Assyrian siege against Jerusalem.
Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, was threatening the city, and Hezekiah had a serious problem to solve.
The city’s main water source, the Gihon Spring, was outside its walls.
That made Jerusalem vulnerable because an attacking army could potentially cut off access to the water supply.
So Hezekiah undertook a remarkable engineering project.
He had a tunnel constructed underground to redirect water from the spring into the city, where it could be protected behind the walls.
The tunnel carried water to the Pool of Siloam, which you may recognize from the New Testament.
It was an extraordinary way to protect one of the city’s most vital resources during a time of danger.
Now, Katie, there are a number of ways I could connect that story to our situation today.
Katie: I think I know where you’re going, but I’m still curious. Keep going.
Eric: John Eldredge often reminds us that we’re born into a world at war.
I don’t want to overdramatize our circumstances, but the reality is that every day, our hearts and minds are bombarded by things competing for our attention.
Some of those influences are genuinely destructive. Others aren’t necessarily bad in themselves.
But they can all have the effect of distracting us from living the kind of life we want to live as followers of Christ.
And think about the resources God has entrusted to us.
There are constant demands on those resources.
Taxes, bills, financial responsibilities, and all the ordinary expenses of life are competing for our attention.
Our time is under pressure too.
Sometimes we’re so busy trying to manage everything that we barely have the energy at the end of the day to think about where God might actually be leading us to give.
Where is He directing our hearts? What does faithful generosity look like in this season of life?
In a sense, our hearts can feel like they’re under siege.
And that’s where I think Hezekiah’s tunnel gives us a helpful picture.
A donor-advised fund can function a little like that protected aqueduct.
It creates a way to move resources God has entrusted to us into a dedicated charitable fund, where they’re set aside for the purposes of generosity.
And once those resources are there, we can take the time to think, pray, and seek the Lord about where they should ultimately go.
While the world is moving frantically around us, we have an opportunity to approach generosity with a little more peace and intentionality.
We have room to enjoy the process of giving.
That’s one of the things a donor-advised fund can help make possible.
Katie: Unhurried generosity.
Doesn’t that sound lovely?
Eric: It really does. And it’s possible.
Katie: Eric, I always like to end with one final question.
If someone takes only one thing away from this conversation, what would you want it to be?
Eric: One of the fascinating things about Hezekiah’s tunnel is that in 1880, more than 2,000 years after it was constructed, an ancient inscription was discovered that helped explain how the tunnel was built.
It described two teams of workers who started digging from opposite ends and worked their way toward the middle.
Imagine trying to do that 2,700 years ago, without the technology we have today.
How did they manage to find each other underground?
But they did. The two teams met, and the tunnel was completed.
Katie, I love that image of two teams digging because it connects with something we’ve talked about since the beginning of this podcast.
Often, we have two teams digging in our own lives.
One team represents our financial planning.
We’re trying to get the numbers right, working through budgets, and spending time buried in spreadsheets.
The other team represents our spiritual calling.
We’re pursuing the Lord, seeking His heart, and trying to discern what He’s asking us to do with what He’s entrusted to us.
And sometimes those two things can feel miles apart.
How do we bring them together?
I think a donor-advised fund is one practical tool that can help people do that.
It can help bring the head and the heart together.
Katie: I think that’s the perfect way to end, Eric.
Thank you. I really appreciate how you connected Hezekiah’s tunnel with the bigger picture of stewardship and generosity.
I’ll be thinking about that illustration for a long time.
Eric: You’re welcome, Katie. I can’t wait to talk with you again.
Katie: Thanks, Eric.
This transcript has been edited for clarity and readability. Verbal fillers, repeated phrases, and recording interruptions have been removed.
This content is provided for educational purposes only and should not be considered legal or tax advice. Please consult your professional advisor regarding your specific situation.
