The Generosity NOW Podcast

Eric and Laurie are joined by Tim Macready for a conversation about faith-aligned investing. Tim shares his journey from managing a billion-dollar pension fund in Australia to establishing Brightlight in the US, aiming to bridge the gap between investors' values and their portfolios. We explore the challenges and rewards of integrating faith with financial strategy, and how Tim's work is paving the way for a new era of impact investing. Join us to discover how values-driven investment can make a global impact.

About Tim

 As Head of Global Multi-Asset Investing, Tim works with faith-based and values-driven investors to help them explore and implement practical steps. Tim's career has been focused on applying faith to investment portfolios. He graduated from Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia) with a Bachelor of Commerce in Actuarial Studies, and then completed his Master of Divinity through the Australian College of Theology. He is a Certified Investment Management Analyst® and has passed advice examinations in both Australia and the United States.

Tim was previously Chief Investment Officer for a $1bn+ pension fund in Australia, before working with others to launch a values-driven investment advice and management firm in Australia. In 2022, Tim relocated to the United States and formed Brightlight, an EverSource Wealth Advisors Team, to support the growing movement of investors seeking to align their faith and portffolio. Tim's work in faith-driven and impact investing has gained global recognition, with his portfolios and research receiving awards both in Australia and globally.

On the weekend, he can often be found in the mountains - hiking, snowboarding, or cycling. Until leaving Australia, he was a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church of Australia and served on several denominational governing bodies and other faith-based ministries. Tim and his family are looking forward to finding a church community in their new home.

Resources Mentioned

Website: www.brightlightimpact.us

Email: [email protected]

Faith Driven Investor: https://www.faithdriveninvestor.org/

Faith Driven Investor Marketplace: https://www.faithdriveninvestor.org/marketplace

Master Your Money: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Your-Money-Step-Step/dp/0802481612

Purposeful living; Financial Wisdom For All of Life https://www.gtp.org/resources/ebooks/purposeful-living/

Global Impact Investing Network: https://thegiin.org/

• Helping Hands is a ministry that provides financial assistance to individuals and families in need.

• They qualify projects through a due diligence process to ensure that the funds go to true needy situations.

1. Being Part of God's Story Through Generosity; With Cody and Kealan Hobleman

• The Generosity Now podcast has listeners in 84 different countries.

• "Slow down, take a moment, take some time, process it"

Andrea's journey began in 2008 when she co-founded Musana, stepping into the role oflegal guardian for 80 children. Over the subsequent 16 years immersed in Ugandan life, she cultivated invaluable insights into community collaboration, essential for driving the success of grassroots initiatives.At the helm of MCDO as Co-CEO, Andrea assumes a multifaceted role, steering strategic vision, fostering growth, and cultivating a vibrant organizational ethos. Musana, under her stewardship, has evolved into a powerhouse of impact, boasting 14 sustainable enterprises spanning education, healthcare, and economic empowerment. These ventures, including schools, hospitals, restaurants, and guesthouses, provide livelihoods for 650 dedicatedUgandans.As Musana's chief advocate, Andrea champions fundraising, development, and oversees operations across the US and the UK. Her unwavering dedication to empowering local communities resonates through her passion for nurturing grassroots change agents.Andrea holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Management from theUniversity of Colorado Boulder–Leeds School of Business. She fervently believes in business-driven solutions, advocating for investments in low-income communities over conventional handouts.Beyond her professional endeavors, Andrea finds joy in the simple pleasures of nature, travel, and the cherished role of motherhood.

About Haril 

For the past 16 years, Haril has been at the forefront of fostering sustainable business solutions within Ugandan communities. Having experienced poverty firsthand, he staunchly believes in the importance of self-reliance and independence over dependency on charity.In his capacity as Co-CEO, Haril wears many hats, casting the vision of the Musana model to local communities, overseeing enterprise implementation, managing operations, serving as the primary spokesperson, nurturing organizational culture, and supporting fundraising efforts. Under his leadership, Musana has flourished into a distinctive sustainable model, boasting 14 enterprises spanning education, healthcare, and economic empowerment.These endeavors, encompassing schools, hospitals, restaurants, and guesthouses, provide livelihoods for 650 dedicated Ugandans.

About Sam

Sam and his wife, Beth, reside in Lexington, KY, where they raised their four children, became involved in the community, and where Sam worked at Valvoline for 26 years. Sam’s community engagement includes working closely with Young Life, Habitat for Humanity, United Way of theBluegrass, and serving on the board for Transylvania University and the Dean’s AdvisoryCouncil at the University of Kentucky Gatton School of Business. When their kids were younger, coaching soccer teams and leading their Sunday School classes were highlights. He considers himself the primary beneficiary of hosting a men’s Bible Study for the last 20+ years.Sam also loves spending time outside, especially snow skiing and getting out on the lake inTraverse City, Michigan, with family and friends.Sam’s business career started in commercial banking, followed by nine years in brand and category management at Clorox in Oakland, CA, leading to his time at Valvoline. In 2002, Sam was named president of Valvoline, which, at the time, was a division of Ashland, Inc. After a period of significant growth in the retail and international businesses, Sam was named CEO and led Valvoline through an IPO spin process, becoming an independent company trading on theNYSE (“VVV”). He retired from Valvoline on September 30, 2023. Sam holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Miami University and an MBA from the University ofChicago Booth School of Business. He is also a graduate of Harvard Business School’sAdvanced Management Program.

Takeaways

• Using business to make a positive impact can lift people out of poverty.

• "You could use business to lift the poorest people out of poverty."

Resources mentioned

www.musana.org

In this episode, Eric and Laurie sit down with Josh and Kaitlin Saenz to discuss the importance of cultivating a lifestyle of generosity and whole-life stewardship with our children. Josh and Kaitlin share their journey from youth ministry to running a donor development organization, all while homeschooling their two boys.

About Josh and Kaitlin

In this episode, Eric and Laurie are joined by finance author and speaker,  Matt Bell. Matt discusses the importance of teaching children about money and generosity. Matt shares his personal journey of financial struggles and how it led him to a saving relationship with Christ.

They discuss practical skills for teaching kids about money, such as earning, planning, giving, saving, investing, and spending. They also emphasize the compounding impact of generosity and the importance of teaching children that everything belongs to God. The conversation highlights the role of parents as gatekeepers, teachers, and role models in shaping their children's financial habits. The episode explores the importance of teaching generosity to children and how parents can model and cultivate a lifestyle of giving by becoming intentional in teaching their children about money, stewardship, and generosity. 

About Matt Bell

Matt began his career as a radio journalist, with his work featured on National Public Radio, the NBC Radio Network, and several other networks. His reporting earned national awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and United Press International.

Today, Matt is a full-time personal finance writer and speaker. He serves as Managing Editor at Sound Mind Investing, America's best-selling investment newsletter written from a biblical perspective. Matt is the author of five personal finance books: Money, Purpose, Joy; Money Strategies for Tough Times; Money & Marriage; The Grad's Guide to Money; and his newest book, Trusted: Preparing Your Kids for a Lifetime of God-Honoring Money Management. Matt has been featured by many media outlets, including USA TODAY, U.S. News and World Report, the Chicago Tribune, WGN-TV and several nationally syndicated radio talk shows.

Matt holds a Master's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from DePaul University, where he wrote a thesis about the emergence of America's consumer culture and its influence on people's beliefs and behaviors. Originally from Chicago, Matt and his wife, Jude, now live with their three children in the Louisville area.

Resources Mentioned

Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001JP4S7G/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=6156acce-7375-4ed4-a687-a7e793c6ab30&ref_=ap_rdr

Website: https://mattaboutmoney.com/

In this conversation, Eric and Laurie, are joined by Helen Young Hayes, the founder and CEO of Activate Work. Helen shares her remarkable journey from being the daughter of Chinese immigrants to becoming a top portfolio manager and surviving the catastrophic United Flight 232 crash. She reveals the profound spiritual experiences that led her to reevaluate her purpose and catalyzed her mission to empower individuals through Activate Work's rigorous IT skills training and employment placement.

Helen also introduces the Colorado Inclusive Economy movement, a call to action for leaders to build a more equitable future, and shares how listeners can engage with this initiative. This episode is a testament to the power of generosity that extends beyond financial giving, encompassing a full-hearted commitment to creating opportunities and uplifting communities.

About Helen

Helen is the founder and CEO of ActivateWork. ActivateWork’s mission is to connect diverse, qualified talent to leading employers through rigorous skills training, community resources, and professional and life skills coaching. ActivateWork is the culmination of Helen’s past for-profit and nonprofit experience, harnessing the power of the marketplace to achieve profound social impact. By moving individuals to sustained economic mobility and professional success, ActivateWork creates triple wins for job seekers, employers, and the community.

The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Helen is a believer in and the embodiment of the American Dream. But the American Dream – a life of flourishing – is elusive, as generational poverty becomes the default for too many men and women from underrepresented populations. ActivateWork bridges the gap between individual potential and realized success by matching and placing individuals into self-sustaining careers and through intensive coaching of personal, professional, and financial skills. ActivateWork seeks not only to advance economic and professional success but to transform lives through the learning and mastery of new habits, mindsets, and disciplines.

Helen is a 20-year veteran of the financial industry. She was the portfolio manager of the flagship Janus Worldwide Fund, Janus Overseas Fund, and related assets totaling approximately $50 billion at Janus Capital, a mutual fund company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. She also served as managing director of investments, heading up the 100-person research and investment arm of Janus Capital, encompassing equities, fixed income, money market, and trading.

In 2018, Helen was selected as one of the Denver Business Journal’s Outstanding Women in Business for her leadership at ActivateWork (previously Activate Workforce Solutions). In 2021, she was awarded the Colorado Technology Association APEX Awards Talent Champion of the Year for launching ActivateWork’s tuition-free technology training and professional development program to create equitable paths in IT for individuals seeking careers and employers seeking talent.

Helen is the author and executive sponsor of the Colorado Inclusive Economy Movement, a CEO-led movement to build a community of shared opportunity and prosperity, and she is a governor-appointee to the Colorado Business Experiential Learning Commission and a member of the American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network.

Helen is a frequent speaker and writer on topics including workforce development, corporate social responsibility, employee engagement, corporate culture, performance management, diversity and gender issues, economic development, and economic mobility.

Helen, her husband Matt, and her family have called Denver home for 30 years. Helen is an avid albeit average athlete and enjoys biking, swimming, running, skiing, and surfing.

Quotables

"I believe that I was appointed to be on the plane, um, to pray the prayers that the Lord answered."

"I know that I was appointed to be on the plane, um, to pray the prayers that the Lord answered."

"I credit my mom, really, with, um, the foundations of my faith journey."

"It truly is more joyful to give than it is to receive."

"The interesting part though, is not so much that I survived, um, although that is incredibly miraculous."

"I saw the Lord in a vision... And I woke up and I was instantly healed."

"We're really here just to be wise stewards."

"Generosity is not just about writing checks, but it's about answering, it's about listening, it's about meeting need."

Connect with Helen

Activate Work

https://activatework.org/

Janus Capital

https://www.janus.com/

United Flight 232

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_232

Colorado Inclusive Economy

https://inclusiveeconomy.us/

Subscribe to The Generosity NOW Podcast, leave us a five-star review, and share this episode with your network to spread the inspiration.

For more information on Activate Work and the Colorado Inclusive Economy movement, check the show notes and visit our website at ncfgiving.com/rockymountains and generositynow.org.

In this conversation, Eric and Laurie are joined by George Duffin, the Director of Charitable Gift Annuity Services at the National Christian Foundation (NCF). They discuss the concept of charitable gift annuities and how they can be a valuable tool for individuals and organizations in their giving strategies. George explains that a charitable gift annuity is a way to make a gift to a charity and receive money back for the rest of your life. He highlights the benefits of gift annuities, such as the charitable deduction, income tax preferred status, and the remainderment that goes to benefit the mission of the charity.

George also discusses the different ways that gift annuities can be funded, including cash, marketable securities, complex assets, and qualified charitable distributions from IRAs. He emphasizes that NCF is there to help organizations and individuals navigate the process of setting up and administering gift annuities, and that they have seen a significant increase in gift annuities in recent years. The conversation concludes with a reminder to not grow weary of doing good and to seize the opportunity to do good to everyone.

About George

George Duffin is NCF’s Director of Charitable Gift Annuity Services. A graduate of Morehouse College, George has spent decades in ministry and helping people make wise decisions with their charitable gifts.

• Charitable gift annuities are a way to make a gift to a charity and receive money back for the rest of your life.

• "A charitable gift annuity is a way to make a gift to a charity and in return you receive money back for the rest of your life."

On this episode, Eric and Laurie sit down with Jeff Haanen, founder of the Denver Institute for Faith and Work, about the holistic message of generosity.They discuss the unintended consequences of a stewardship mentality, the importance of receiving God's generosity, and how generosity can be expressed through work and investing. Jeff emphasizes the need for interior work and the journey of generosity, reminding listeners that it is a process and that grace should be given to oneself and others.

About Jeff

Jeff Haanen is a writer and entrepreneur. He’s the founder of Denver Institute for Faith & Work, an educational organization that creates content and experiences around topics related to faith, work, the economy, and modern culture. Jeff writes on faith, business, entrepreneurship, and work, and he has published essays with Christianity Today, the American Enterprise Institute, and Comment. He’s the author of An Uncommon Guide to Retirement: Finding God’s Purpose for the Next Season of Life and the forthcoming books Working from the Inside Out: A Brief Guide to Inner Work That Transforms Our Outer World and God of the Second Shift. He lives with his wife and four daughters in Denver, Colorado.

Generosity is not just about external impact, but about who we are becoming.

"Generosity is not first about external impact. It's about who we're becoming."

Connect with Jeff

https://www.jeffhaanen.com/

In this episode, Eric and Laurie interview Jeff Shafer, CEO and co-founder of Common Good Capital. They discuss impact investing and how aligning investments with values can make a positive impact on people's lives. Jeff shares his personal journey and how a back surgery and subsequent crisis led him to shift his focus to impact investing. He explains the work of Common Good Capital in sourcing, due diligence, and educating wealth advisors to help investors align their investments with their values. Jeff also provides examples of impact investments in affordable housing, environmental stewardship, lending to small and medium-sized enterprises, and supporting formerly incarcerated individuals.

About Jeff

After graduating from Wheaton College (IL) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Biblical Studies, Jeff married Shelly, his wife of over 20 years. Jeff has always been passionate about the financial industry and has worked with Morgan Stanley and TriLinc (a leading impact investing fund sponsor), while spending the majority of his time, 18 ½ years, with CNL, a leading alternative investment asset manager. Jeff served in multiple senior leadership roles, and as President, led his team in raising nearly $9 billion in capital. During his time at CNL, Jeff earned a Master of Business Administration from Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College (FL) and also holds the Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Financial Consultant designations, as well as FINRA Series 7, 24, 63 and 79 licenses. Today, Jeff is co-founder and CEO of CommonGood Capital where he sets the strategic direction and leads the team day to day on this exciting journey.

Jeff has served on numerous boards including the United Way and Board of Advisors for Crummer Graduate School of Business, Rollins College. Today he serves on the Doug Holliday Ministries Board, NCF Advisory Board, Chair of Elevation Scholar Foundation, Alumni Board of Wheaton College and The Geneva School Board of Directors.

Jeff and Shelly settled in Winter Park, FL in 2004 where they love doing life together, whether around the dinner table, or keeping up with their two children, Ellie and Nick, who are both college-bound shortly. You will often find Jeff reading non-fiction books, cycling, cheering on his beloved Oregon Ducks or tinkering around on their acreage out in the country with the family dog, Calvin, a black and tan coon hound. He also is deeply passionate about men and women who are incarcerated, and one day wants to create an impact fund that benefits both these ex-offenders and investors.

Takeaways

Impact investing involves aligning investments with values to make a positive impact on people's lives.

Investing with a focus on impact can bring joy and freedom, in addition to financial returns.

Common Good Capital sources, conducts due diligence, and educates wealth advisors to help investors align their investments with their values.

Examples of impact investments include affordable housing, environmental stewardship, lending to small and medium-sized enterprises, and supporting formerly incarcerated individuals. Impact investing focuses on both financial returns and positive social and environmental impact.

Due diligence is crucial when evaluating impact investments, including assessing the manager or sponsor, understanding the investment thesis, and considering the impact and faith integration.

Individuals can use their charitable capital for impact investing, and financial advisors can help facilitate these investments.

Generosity should be thought of more broadly, and investing in causes can have a lasting impact.

Investing requires faith and a willingness to take risks, trusting that the outcomes are in God's hands.

Connect with Jeff

Website: https://commongoodcap.com/

A New Lens Podcast: https://commongoodcap.com/podcast/