Giving, Part B

We look at a lot of Scripture in response to giving. When Christ sent his disciples on their first missions trip, he exhorted them: "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore, be shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (Mat 10:16) We have the innocent as doves part down. What about the first part? Unfortunately, there are wolves who want your money. You know that. Think those wolves might dress up as sheep?
Exhibit A: Joe stops by from the local orphanage asking for kids' clothing donations. Your kids just grew out of a bunch of clothes, and you have been thinking about donating them. Joe will save you time, and will give you a big thank-you.
Exhibit B: Mike has come from another country, and his church is being persecuted, the church building was burned to the ground. He is raising money for a new building.

Now, what if I told you that Joe is from out of town? He owns a second-hand store, and their inventory is low. And Mike? Yes, the persecution he described did happen. If you go to his village, though, you won't see a church building. You will see a very nice car in the driveway, though.

The sad thing about these stories is that there is a vast need out there. People in ministries are working for tiny wages so the money the ministry raises can go to audio Bibles. People asking for God's word are turned down because the money to produce another copy isn't there.

How are we shrewd then? Research

If you were a business investor, would you put your money into a company because of a 5-minute spiel? If you do, you'll run out of money really soon. You spend some time researching. You would call that time due diligence. You look at the business plan. You talk to others who are experts in the industry. You would learn how to separate the good from the bad, the real from the illusion. Does it work every time? Of course not. But it will weed out a lot of bad options.
When Joe stops by, and tells you he is Joe Smith, you might ask for some ID to see that he is really Joe Smith. Then, you might look up the orphaneage's phone number, and give them a call to make sure Joe Smith works there. Could a different Joe Smith work there? Sure. The odds aren't very high, though. The bigger problem is, that makes us feel uncomfortable. We think: Joe here is working for an orphaneage and we don't even trust him? He looks like he's in a hurry, too.
Shrewd doesn't mean we can never trust anybody. Shrewd says trust must be earned. Shrewd says if you have no reason to trust Joe, you have no reason to trust what Joe says, so what Joe says shouldn't be a reason to trust Joe. (Now obviously there are different levels of trust -- you have to trust complete strangers when you are driving -- Shrewd knows the difference between those different levels.)
Here's some ideas to consider before your next donation.

• Ask for a budget. Whether it's an individual or an organization you are supporting. You have a right to know where your money is going. Obviously this involves a level of trust that the budget is truthful and is being followed.
• Ask for a mission/vision statement. What are they hoping to accomplish? Sure, it sounds good. How will they accomplish it? Can they accomplish it? If they do accomplish it, will it work?
• If you are married, go into this with your spouse. Many deceptions can be caught by one gender more easily than the other. Woman have a 6th sense for sniffing out what's under the surface. If the presentation is emotionally engaging, guys might better spot something on the surface. Plus, if you find something later, there will be less finger-pointing because you both had a chance to catch it.
• Visit the site in-person, talk to those in the community. For smaller donations, collaborate and send a couple of you to visit the site.
• Find others doing similar work, and ask their opinion.
• Follow-up, especially for recurring gifts. You can ask ahead of time how you can follow up. You can stop by unannounced, that you were in the area and are excited to see how the work is going. Push-back to follow-up could be another red flag. Mike, from the earlier example, would have strongly resisted in-person follow-up.

Readers, have you experienced any offers which have turned out to not have been a good use of money? How do you evaluate your options?