Looking at his first post-college paychecks made Stephen Reiff nervous. With a bachelor’s in finance from Southern Methodist University (SMU) and a job in corporate strategy, his entry-level salary was more than enough to afford him a great life. But that was precisely the problem.
“It was the first time I was making consistent money, which was exciting,” Stephen says, “but I could also see how easily greed could take root in my life if I was not intentional about it.”
He reached out to David Luttrell, a friend and mentor, who had graduated from SMU the previous year. “David is one year older but about 40 years wiser. He is strategic and thoughtful, especially when it comes to financial decisions,” Stephen says. “I was a first-time giver, but I knew David had thought about how to steward financial resources biblically.”
The two met for coffee in Dallas’ uptown neighborhood.
David laughs when he remembers that conversation. “Sure, I had a year of ‘real-world’ experience under my belt, but I was searching for answers, too.”
New to the workforce himself, he realized the resource of time he once had to serve his church and Young Life was now severely limited. “The resource I did have was income, and I desperately wanted to follow Jesus’ model of generosity in how I stewarded my finances.”
Borrowed boardrooms and biblical stewardship
In pursuit of answers, they widened the circle. Stephen and David gathered a few friends in a borrowed boardroom to have recurring discussions about building lifestyles of biblical stewardship. Most of the group were young professionals earning entry-level salaries. All were seeking to understand how to allocate their time, talent, and treasure faithfully.
Building any habit requires practice and accountability. David and Stephen understood generosity was no different. They posed this question to the group: “Why wouldn’t we start building those lifestyle choices and habits of generosity now, when we are still early in our careers?”
One of the barriers to giving the group identified was a perceived lack of impact. Young professionals don’t normally have the means to write huge checks. Would their contributions to a nonprofit even make a difference? They recognized they could have greater kingdom impact if they pooled their resources rather than giving individually. They also recruited matching donors in the community to multiply their gifts even further.
In 2010, those informal conversations evolved into Ambassadors Club (AC), a strategic grantmaking and Christian stewardship group for young professionals in Dallas.
“We often describe Ambassadors Club as an ‘investment club for nonprofits,’” Stephen says. “Instead of members talking about stock market investing, the group meets to discuss non-profit ministries to invest in collectively.”
Twelve years later, that initial giving circle has grown to include more than 140 contributing givers in Dallas. When members of that chapter moved, some took the concept to new cities, like Palo Alto, CA, and New York City. The Dallas chapter meets quarterly (still in borrowed boardrooms) and continues to discuss avenues for amplified giving.
“One of the problems we identified early on was that we were unsure which organizations to give to,” David says. “We were giving to our churches, but we also wanted to know how to invest in other nonprofits responsibly.”
Over the years, the group has refined its processes. The practice of giving in the context of community has become a vital component of the AC’s success. Here’s how it works.
Amplifying the impact responsibly
At a typical AC meeting, members present grant requests for specific organizations as “giving narratives.” These written overviews outline the nonprofit’s mission, financial structure, and the member’s rationale for proposing the organization. Often, the executive director or founder of the proposed organization is invited to Zoom in for a Q&A session to share about their ministry. (These short interviews are generally easy to schedule since AC meetings happen early, kicking off at 6:45 a.m. to accommodate young professionals who don’t always have autonomy over their work schedules.)
While the group has agreed upon a set of biblically informed giving criteria that guide the types of organizations or ministries AC members submit, they can be anything from international relief organizations to local Christian schools or crisis centers. A subset of members serves on the review committee to vet giving narratives before they are presented to the broader group. Finally, at the quarterly meetings, members discuss and ask questions about the proposed organizations.
After all the giving opportunities are presented, members have a few weeks to prayerfully consider how much to give. They send contributions to the group’s Giving Fund (donor-advised fund) at the National Christian Foundation. Then, each member’s gift is matched (up to $2,500 per year) by the chapter’s platform donors, plus any other specific ministry matches the group is able to secure for that quarter.
Exposure to new giving opportunities
Giving in a community amplifies each individual’s resources and provides a strong pipeline of high-quality ministries for members to consider supporting. Because members bring ideas for charities, the group is exposed to more giving opportunities than they would have alone.
At the end of each year, David and Stephen survey the group to understand what is working well and what needs to be refined. They also invite members to share suggestions. One of the consistent themes is that members appreciate the opportunity to learn about new ministries.
“My wife and I love giving to Ambassadors’ ministries because we trust they’ve been vetted by others, and we also get to look into them ourselves,” one AC member said.
Peer-to-peer accountability
While no one is ever put on the spot or asked to divulge how much they will give, accountability is another natural benefit of practicing generosity within community.
“In a way, AC functions as a recovery group for people (like me) who struggle with greed,” says Stephen, who attests to the power of having regular conversations about generosity.
Another way AC seeks to empower young professionals to experience the joys of generosity is by providing opportunities to learn more about biblical stewardship. The group hosts several options for members to glean pragmatic wisdom about biblical stewardship throughout the year. These gatherings include fireside chats with guest speakers sharing their generosity stories and biblical investment philosophies.
The group also hosts optional retreats to explore the call of generosity more deeply. (Several AC members have been through training to host Journey of Generosity weekends.)
“Jesus was the best model of selfless generosity, and he never shied away from talking about money…. The Bible actually covers the topic of money and possessions in more than 2,300 verses,” David says. “Ambassadors Club offers young professionals regular opportunities to be generous and to discuss God’s view of money in the life-changing context of a biblical community.”
Reversing the trends
To date, the collective giving of the group has surpassed $1.9 million dollars. “It’s amazing to reflect on all God has done!” Stephen says.
The research organization Barna reported that only 13 percent of millennials and six percent of Gen Z give money frequently. AC is working to boost those percentages. According to their 2022 year-end survey, AC members disclosed giving an average of 11 percent of their gross incomes (8.5 percentage points above the national Christian average of 2.5 percent of income).
For these young professionals, the joy of generosity is being experiencing by not waiting until their 401(k)s are fully funded. They are reaping the benefits of biblical stewardship today by building a community around generosity and inspiring others to do the same.
