December 8, 2005 | Read Time: 1 minute
Terry Parker didn’t invent donor-advised funds, but he was among the first to realize their potential for Christian fund raising when he founded the National Christian Foundation in 1982, writes Michael Reynolds in Mother Jones magazine (December). The fund appeals to Christian donors by promising to “enable faithful stewards to give wisely to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
And its approach has been successful: With approximately $450-million in assets, the organization is the sixth-largest donor-advised fund in the country, and distributed $170-million in grants in 2004, according to the magazine.
Mother Jones reports that recent grantees include groups like Focus on the Family, which received $2.7-million, and Campus Crusade for Christ International, which received $2.4-million.
But the magazine says that donors to the fund may be surprised by some beneficiaries that have more in common with furthering a conservative agenda than with spreading the Gospel. Its list of grantees also includes Accuracy in Media, the Federalist Society, and the Heritage Foundation, according to Mother Jones.
The article also raises questions about possible “self dealing” practices at the fund, including large payments to law firms and other businesses run by two of the fund’s directors — Mr. Parker and Ronald Blue, who ran Gary Bauer’s bid for the presidency in 2000. Steve Chapman, vice president of marketing and communications at the National Christian Foundation, denied that any improprieties had taken place.
