As Doug Yoakley reflects on his personal giving journey, a common theme emerges. In every decision, every choice, every interaction, and every prompting to give, he and his wife, Sara, have responded with one question: “How can we intentionally make an impact?”
“We’re always trying to be intentional in our giving,” Doug says. “We try to be prayerful to see what we need to give and where we need to give to make an impact. We just let the Lord lead us.”
That intentionality has led the Yoakleys to give both locally and globally. From supporting organizations that serve the homeless population in their hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, to giving directly to hurricane relief in the Southeast, to seeing their money make a difference all the way around the world bringing clean water to Uganda, Doug and his family have witnessed God using their gifts to change lives in real ways.
“The water well project in Uganda was my first direction of donor-advised funds through NCF,” Doug says. “To see, in person, how that money was spent to help that community and to watch villagers come to fill jugs of water was absolutely incredible.”
After seeing the impact of his giving firsthand, Doug has continued to be inspired to do more than just give from a distance.
“We’ve been moved to give to and get involved with organizations that we felt were trying to be helpful to causes and places close to our hearts.”
A hometown mission
One such place: his hometown – Knoxville, Tennessee! The Yoakleys support and serve alongside The Restoration House of Tennessee, a ministry serving single mothers, as well as with the Knoxville Area Rescue Mission (KARM), an organization working to restore the lives of the homeless in the area through Christ-centered outreach and support. What started as a simple partnership to help manage the latter nonprofit’s finances turned into a relationship rooted in helping Knoxville’s growing homeless population in tangible, lasting ways.
“When I first joined up with KARM, I was able to step in and bring some stability to the financial aspects of the organization,” Doug says. “But to see firsthand what they were doing to serve the people of our city was really rewarding for me. It’s what made me want to get involved and stay involved.”
In this relationship, Doug’s not giving from a distance; he’s giving in personal proximity to the organization and the people it serves.
“We do volunteer work down there,” he explains, “and what they’re trying to do in the Knoxville and surrounding areas is so important. The work they’re doing on the frontlines of the city is exactly where Jesus wants them to be. And that’s the place we want to give and serve as well. There’s just so much need and so many people to take care of.”
The impact of generosity
One of those people was Joni Mitchell. After battling addiction for nearly six years, Joni found herself at a crossroads.
“I was homeless, addicted, and had lost my marriage and family,” she recalls. “I was on the side of the road in the middle of a winter snowstorm with nowhere to go and no one to help me. And that’s when KARM came into my life.”
After being picked up that night by a volunteer, Joni was brought to the mission and given food, shelter, and the support she needed in a desperate season.
“I was welcomed in,” she says. “I was fed three times a day and given a place to shower and sleep. That’s a lot when you have nothing. I honestly don’t know where I would have been that night without that place to go.”
It would be several more years of hard-fought recovery before Joni found the Lord and began walking the healing paths of both sobriety and salvation.
“My life has changed so much,” she says. “I love God with everything I have, I have my family back, and I’m so blessed to have a job where I can be an example of God’s grace and mercy to others.”
Joni now works at one of KARM’s many retail locations in the Knoxville area where they re-sell donated items to support the ministry. The very organization that served her at her lowest point is now the place she goes to work every day to help others who find themselves in the same circumstances she was in.
“They took a chance on me and trusted me because God changed me,” Joni says. “Now, the shelter I was provided is a place I work to help provide for others. It’s the kind of full circle thing only God can do.”
More than the money
It’s through the generosity of givers like Doug Yoakley that God provides for people like Joni Mitchell and millions of others being served by organizations that depend on faithful giving.
“Places like this are 100 percent dependent on the generosity of others,” Joni says. “It’s about more than the money; what you’re giving when you give financially is hope to people like me. I’m living proof of the impact of that kind of generosity.”
For Doug, the gift of serving people like Joni with his money, his time, and his resources is the exact impact he hoped to see God make.
“Every day, you see things that make you say, ‘Gosh, I wish I could do something about that,’” Doug says. “And while you can’t help everyone and do everything, you can go where the Lord leads. You can put your money where your heart is, and your intentional giving can make an impact.”
Faithful giving
This impact is exactly why Doug continues to share with others about the value of generous, faithful giving and the way a Giving Fund at NCF can help them do just that. A CPA and investment manager by trade, Doug uses his passion for intentional giving and his partnership with organizations like NCF to inspire his clients toward generosity on a larger scale.
“We have a lot of clients who’ve opted in to donor-advised funds with NCF,” Doug explains. “Of course, I’m one of those people, too! It’s been great to tell clients from personal experience the advantages of making contributions into their funds at NCF.”
As an advisor, Doug doesn’t just talk the talk; he walks the walk of intentional investment and generous giving right alongside his clients.
“What we like is that NCF wants to take the money in and help us give it back out to organizations that need it. They want to be intentional about making sure money goes to approved charities, and that’s exactly how we want to approach our giving, too: with the intent to make an impact for the glory of God.”
Photo: Doug Yoakley
