National Christian Foundation (NCF) is a US non-profit organization that assists donors in donating to charitable causes.Tax-Smart Philanthropy Made Easy
at

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

; by Laura Saunders; published August 22, 2015; retrieved February 18, 2015 NCF accepts non-cash assets and is the nation's largest provider of donor-advised funds focused primarily on

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

donors. Since 1982, NCF has granted over $14.5 billion to causes and charities.

History

In 1982,

Evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

author and entrepreneur Larry Burkett, financial author and advisor Ron Blue, and tax attorney Terry Parker founded the National Christian Foundation.Alms Alchemy
at Philanthropy Roundtable; by Liz Essley White; retrieved May 20, 2015 Headquartered in

Alpharetta, Georgia Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818; in 2010, the population had been 57,551. History In the 1830s, ...

, NCF began adding local offices throughout the United States in 2000. In 2018, NCF reported having 28 local offices in cities across the country, including

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, Chicago, and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

.20 Biggest Grant Making Foundations for Christian Organizations
at The Christian Post; by Dr. Jeffrey J. Rodman; published January 27, 2010; retrieved February 18, 2015 These local offices are community-based and act as liaisons to the national organization. In 2021, NCF distributed its $14 billion to more than 71,000 charities since its founding.National Christian Foundation gifts historic Dwight L. Moody property to Catholic and Protestant groups
at Religion News; published February 7, 2017; retrieved March 22, 2017 This has led it to be ranked as the 6th largest non-profit organization in the United States.

Program

NCF's primary operation, the Giving Fund (donor-advised fund), works like a charitable

savings account A savings account is a bank account at a retail banking, retail bank. Common features include a limited number of withdrawals, a lack of cheque and linked debit card facilities, limited transfer options and the inability to be overdrawn. Traditi ...

. Via an online dashboard, donors give various assets into the Fund, receive a

tax deduction A tax deduction or benefit is an amount deducted from taxable income, usually based on expenses such as those incurred to produce additional income. Tax deductions are a form of tax incentives, along with exemptions and tax credits. The diff ...

at the time of the gift, and recommend grants to their charities of choice. NCF accepts non-cash gifts. They also offer other giving options, such as Charitable Gift Annuities and the NCF Legacy Fund. NCF spends a portion of donations to fund the support activities necessary to be able to make those grants. NCF calculates the amount as a percentage of the donor's Fund balance (typically 1% or less each year) and, in the case of non-cash assets, a percentage of gift value (typically 5%, one time).

Criticism

Similar to other donor-advised funds, there is a noticeable lack of specificity in the source of the money and their specific target.Big Money, Quiet Power: A Look at the National Christian Foundation
at Inside Philanthropy; by Philip Rojc; retrieved March 21, 2019 Between 2015 and 2017, NCF distributed $56.1 million to 23 organizations designated as

hate group A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society. Acc ...

s by the

Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...

.U.S.'s Biggest Christian Charity Reportedly Channeled $56.1 Million to Purported Hate Groups
at Newsweek by Daniel Moritz-Rabson; retrieved March 21, 2019 Most of these organizations opposed

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

; some were

anti-immigrant Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, is a political position that seeks to restrict immigration. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory in ...

and

anti-Muslim Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

''National Christian Foundation'' official Website
Christian organizations established in 1982 Christian charities based in the United States Charities based in Georgia (U.S. state) Conservative organizations in the United States