What if you could make a meaningful charitable gift while also receiving a lifetime income stream?

In this episode, Eric Fleshood and Katie Brubaker explore charitable gift annuities (CGAs), how they work, and who they may be a good fit for. They discuss the difference between charitable and commercial annuities, immediate and deferred payments, payout rates, potential tax benefits, and how a CGA can combine generosity with predictable income.

A charitable gift annuity can offer a thoughtful way to meet financial needs while also creating a meaningful gift that supports the work God is doing through ministry.

Note: This episode is for spiritual edification and educational purposes only and is not intended as legal or tax advice. Consult your professional adviser before making financial or charitable decisions.

For more information, visit: https://www.crufoundation.org/family-giving/

What does it really mean to leave a good inheritance? For believers, inheritance is about more than passing down money or material possessions—it’s about preparing the next generation to become faithful stewards of what God has entrusted to them.

In this episode of The Smarter Generosity podcast, Eric Fleshood and Katie Brubaker discuss how generosity can be modeled, taught, and passed down through families. They explore practical ways parents and grandparents can involve children in giving, explain why generosity should be visible within the family, and point to the greater inheritance we have in Christ. Discover how simple conversations, family traditions, and intentional generosity can help shape a lasting legacy of faith and stewardship.

Note: This episode is for spiritual edification and educational purposes only and is not intended as legal or tax advice. Consult your professional adviser before making financial or charitable decisions.

A Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) can turn retirement resources into an opportunity for Kingdom impact. In this episode of The Smarter Generosity Podcast, Eric Fleshood and Katie Brubaker explore how QCDs work, who can use them, how they interact with required minimum distributions, and why they can be such a powerful tool for generous retirees.

They also discuss the potential tax benefits, giving beyond the QCD limit, inherited IRAs, and how retirees can use their resources to continue supporting churches, ministries, missionaries, and the Great Commission.

You can learn more about QCD's here: https://www.crufoundation.org/ira-rollover/

Note: This episode is for spiritual edification and educational purposes only and is not intended as legal or tax advice. Consult your professional adviser before making financial or charitable decisions.

In this conversation, Eric Fleshood and Katie Brubaker explore the role of ROI in generosity and why biblical stewardship goes beyond measuring results. Through the parable of the talents, they discuss how our view of God shapes the way we handle what He has entrusted to us. Rather than seeing God as a demanding taskmaster focused only on outcomes, we are invited to know Him as a generous Master who calls us into relationship, faithfulness, and trust. Discover why good stewardship begins with understanding the heart of God—and how generosity becomes a response to His grace rather than a checklist to complete.

Cru Foundation and The Smarter Generosity Podcast exist to accelerate the Great Commission through Smarter Generosity.

To talk through your own stewardship questions, start a conversation with a Cru Foundation specialist.

This content is provided for spiritual edification and educational purposes only and should not be considered legal or tax advice. Please consult your professional advisor regarding your specific situation.

Zacchaeus and the rich young ruler had much in common. Both were wealthy. Both met Jesus. Yet one walked away sad while the other opened his home, his hands, and his resources.

Katie Brubaker and Eric Fleshood explore what separated their responses and what these familiar stories reveal about surrender, identity, and faithful stewardship. Their conversation offers a reminder that generosity begins deeper than a financial decision. It grows from a personal encounter with Christ and a willingness to trust Him with every part of life.

Cru Foundation and The Smarter Generosity Podcast exist to accelerate the Great Commission through Smarter Generosity.

This content is provided for spiritual edification and educational purposes only and should not be considered legal or tax advice. Please consult your professional advisor regarding your specific situation.

How much is enough? It's a question our culture rarely asks, yet it shapes every financial and stewardship decision we make. In this episode, Eric Fleshood and Katie Brubaker explore what it means to define "enough" through a biblical lens, why Christians are called to live as stewards rather than owners, and how answering this deeply personal question can bring greater freedom, intentionality, and joy in managing the resources God has entrusted to us.

Estate planning is often treated as a legal task, but what if instead we viewed it as a stewardship conversation? In this episode, Katie Brubaker and Eric Fleshood discuss Estate Design Services and why planning for the future is about more than documents. From family relationships and legacy to purpose and generosity, they explore how to create a plan that reflects your values and God's calling for your life.

What exactly is a donor-advised fund, and why are more Christians using one as part of their stewardship journey? In this episode of The Smarter Generosity podcast, Eric Fleshood and Katie Brubaker unpack the purpose and practical benefits of donor-advised funds (DAFs), exploring how they can simplify giving, maximize charitable impact, and create space for smarter generosity. Along the way, they address common misconceptions, discuss the importance of values alignment in charitable giving, and share a powerful lesson from Hezekiah's tunnel that illustrates how believers can protect and direct the resources God has entrusted to them.

Whether you're new to donor-advised funds or looking for ways to better align your finances with your faith, this conversation offers practical insight into bringing stewardship, generosity, and spiritual purpose together.

A lot of generous Christians have a question they have not quite answered for themselves. They want to give faithfully, and they also know tax incentives can change what their giving makes possible. The two impulses often seem to argue with one another. Eric Fleshood and Katie Brubaker open this episode with that question and work through it carefully, considering both sides.

What if the reason Jesus talks about money so often has nothing to do with rules?

The Bible addresses wealth, possessions, and giving more than almost any other topic, and most of us assume that's because God wants something from us. In this conversation, Eric Fleshood and Katie Brubaker dig into what's actually going on beneath the question.

They unpack why generosity feels so personal (and sometimes offensive), the three places in the human heart that money tends to expose, and what Jesus' compassion for the rich young ruler reveals about His real intent. Along the way, they trace the ownership mindset back to the garden, and ask why Jesus never once mentions the tithe in the New Testament.

If you've ever wrestled with how much is enough, this episode is for you.