Faith+Lead: Why do you give to the church and/or other non-profits?
Karla Williams:
“…All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.” Act 2:44-45
I have been blessed to be a member of a church all of my life. One of the joys and opportunities I’ve had is to provide financial support as an expression of my faith and a way to tangibly express the importance of the church, Jesus Christ, and the sharing of the Gospel in word and deed with others.
In addition to giving to our church, my husband and I also support other non-profits. Our giving is rooted in a firm belief in the mission and purpose of an organization, a personal connection to their work, and the desire to live our faith in whatever way we can. Throughout the years, we’ve combined financial support with volunteerism, sometimes favoring one over the other based on the availability of both time and income.
Faith+Lead: How do you prefer to give (i.e. via credit card, check, text message, etc.)?
Karla Williams: We’ve always given via check, credit card, or electronic fund transfers, progressing through those options in that order as the years have unfolded. Lately we have set up a Donor Advised Fund and we look forward to being able to utilize Qualified Charitable Distributions from our IRAs when we reach that age. It’s a great way to have positive impacts both for the organization and your personal taxes.
Faith+Lead: What encourages you to give to the church? What discourages you from giving to the church?
Karla Williams: I grew up in a Lutheran household where a weekly offering to the church was a given, if not a requirement. That has morphed for me over the years to being a joyful expression of my faith instead of a requirement. Even amidst the pandemic when I have not physically been present inside the church for over a year, being part of a community of faith encourages me to give. Joy iprompts giving, not dire circumstances or emergencies or threats. Numbers and statistics don’t encourage giving. Stories do.
Faith+Lead: Do you feel like you’re giving to the church is making an impact? Why or why not?
Karla Williams: Definitely! When I see the amazing things my church has done during the pandemic to bring us together, to keep us in community, to keep paying staff and to address our needs as a people of faith, whether in crisis or not, how can I not think my support is making an impact!
Faith+Lead: How has your giving changed over time?
Karla Williams: Our first really big change occurred when my husband was laid off years ago. Needless to say, money was tight and we reviewed all our charitable giving (which had gotten a bit out of hand with small donations going many places). We cut down our list of organizations to those that were really important and meaningful to us. Then, when he got a new job, we agreed to stick with a smaller number of nonprofits but give larger gifts. We’ve stayed with that philosophy. We also seem to have settled on the church, education, and the environment as our main giving priorities (although we do give a little each year to special areas that arise).
Faith+Lead: Are you a spontaneous giver, a regular giver, or a little bit of both?
Karla Williams: We’re spontaneously regular. We have a number of organizations we consistently give to each year through either monthly or once a year giving. But we discuss, usually in December, if there are any other priorities for the year that we feel moved to support. With the establishment of our Donor Advised Fund, we’ve agreed to move to once a year giving.
Faith+Lead: One other thing I’d like to say…..
Karla Williams: In full disclosure, I did spend the latter half of my career as a development and fundraising professional. Two things about that. First, our church leaders should never be afraid to clearly and compellingly ask for financial support from church members. I think too often they are, but speaking from the heart and telling stories about the importance of our faith is so critical! Secondly, I find it very frustrating at times that organizations, including churches, ignore the power of women as donors. Women respond to very different messages than men do. Most giving decisions are driven by women, and according to the latest research projections, trillions of dollars in wealth transfer will be coming to women in the upcoming years. It’s critical for the success of our faith communities to keep this in mind.
About Karla Williams
Karla Williams is semi-retired and has over 30 years non-profit and business leadership experience in fundraising, communications, team and project management, systems development, and financial analysis. She is an active member of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, MN; is the mother of a grown son and daughter as well as a fourteen month old basenji; and will be celebrating her 40th wedding anniversary in fall to her husband, Paul.
