How to give intentionally as a Christian this EOFY
17 Apr, 2024The End of Financial Year (EOFY) season is a busy time of year – especially for business owners and those with multiple streams of income to manage.
It’s also a popular time of year for charities, with donors choosing to help fund their incredible work with the tax deductions they receive.
But let’s be honest – a lot of EOFY giving is done somewhat absentmindedly.
As Christians, we believe there is an incredible opportunity that followers of Jesus have to steward our EOFY giving with mindful intention.
So, how can we embrace the opportunity for God’s glory, others’ good, and our joy?
Keep reading for some helpful starting points.
Consider your budget
All good financial stewardship begins with a budget – an accurate view of your income and expenses over the last financial year.
Without this, it’s impossible to make an informed decision about how much to give, and where to give it.
P.S. If you need a starting point for building your budget, we have a FREE budgeting spreadsheet available for you to download here:
Take time to reflect
We give ourselves the best chance to make wise decisions when we slow down.
Check in with yourself. Ask questions like:
- What do I value most?
- Did I have any financial goals this financial year? Did I achieve them?
- What was inside and outside of my control financially?
- Did the way I managed my money align with my values?
We’d also recommend taking this five-minute quiz to help you in your time of reflection:
Consider who to give to
There are a lot of charities who will be hoping to receive your donation during this season. As you consider which charity to choose, look for these things:
1. Relational focus
We could summarise the values of the Kingdom of Heaven like this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love your neighbour as yourself. These are the two greatest commandments and in these are all the Law and Prophets (Matthew 22:37-40).
Love is the preeminent value of the Kingdom of Heaven – and love can only be expressed in relationships.
The Creator God invites us into relationship with Him, and by His Spirit, works to create communities where people can be in right relationships with one another – relationships that lead to transformation and flourishing.
Charities who prioritise relationships understand that supporting communities materially only goes so far, that true transformation takes place in the context of strong relationships.
2. Serving the poor
“The measure of a society is how it treats its weakest.”
We’ve heard variations of that quote attributed from Ghandi to Thomas Jefferson, the Pope, and even Dostoevsky. Regardless of who said it, the origins of this thinking are rooted in the Scriptures, and it is a core part of our biblical call.
The Old Testament is full of laws protecting the poor, the Wisdom Literature – particularly the Proverbs – is constant in its refrain to be generous to the needy, and the Prophets point to Israel’s ignoring the plight of the poor and vulnerable as evidence for their unfaithfulness to the Lord.
Most of Paul’s letters are written in the context of raising funds from the diaspora churches for their poor brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.
Generosity is at the heart of the Christian faith. Those of us who have been blessed materially and have managed this gift wisely have the joyful duty to care for the needs of the vulnerable in our communities.
3. Building partnership
When you choose to give to a charity, you have an opportunity to do more than just give money away – you can build a meaningful, long-term partnership.
Whether your gift is big or small, a good charity will want to make the most of it.
Good charities help to ensure that our generosity is scaled and extends beyond our immediate sphere of influence.
So, as you give, consider not just what your gift can do over the short-term, but how it can support exponential growth and serve the community over the coming years.
Consider how much to give
As you find a balance of giving responsibly and generously, we invite you to consider this thought:
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21).
This statement made by Jesus is incredible because it works in two ways – as a diagnosis, and a treatment plan.
As a diagnosis, it is to say that if you want to know the condition of your heart, look at where you spend your money.
As a treatment plan, it says that if you want to lead your heart in a better direction, start spending money in that direction and your heart will follow.
Maybe you’ve seen the power of this in your own life. You know that giving money generously breaks the hold that money can have on us, and that by giving money to certain causes engages us with the cause in a tangible way.
This EOFY season, let your heart be moved by generosity and a connection to the cause.
As Proverbs 11:24 says:
One gives freely yet grows all the richer; and another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
Words by Stuart Sampson and Claire Ince.