Making any kind of after-tax surplus in today’s tough business environment is a challenge. Every year companies go bankrupt or get absorbed. Giving away profits to benevolence may sound like a luxury that the intelligent businessperson just can’t afford. 

While it’s quite optional, there are sound reasons to consider the B4B model. At least three different audiences find it worthwhile: 
  1. The donation recipients, obviously. Whether an orphanage in Bangladesh or a drug rehab center in Boston, those who serve human need can impact lives more effectively if they have adequate funding. These are dedicated, hard-working people with a sense of calling. Their needs are immediate as well as immense. Giving to these kinds of causes can make a big difference.
  2. Your own employees. Most workers like to feel that their efforts are, in some small way, making the world a better place. They are doing more than simply cranking out widgets week after week to meet some production goal, or to line an owner’s pockets. For employees who endure a repetitive job, motivation is especially important. They can drive home at night saying to themselves, “My company cares about the world. What I do is helping make money that can rescue somebody from the edge of despair.”

    The culture of a B4B that gives away money and adequately compensates their staff will generate employee buy-in for the B4B model and better achieve levels of excellence in retaining high-quality people and morale. They will even talk about how this makes their job distinct from the factory or office down the road.
     
  3. You yourself carry the knowledge that you’re doing more than just “chasing the buck.” At the end of the day, you can hold your head a bit higher because you’re using the levers at your disposal to help others in need.

    The ancient Book of Proverbs says, “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor” (22:9). That is probably what Christ had in mind when he advised one wealthy young man to start giving away his assets if he wanted to gain eternal life and be truly happy. The fellow couldn’t quite swallow this instruction—but couldn’t mount a logical rebuttal either. He simply walked away in silent thought. (See Luke 18:18-30) 

    Since God has called each of us to give, the question might be raised: Does passion follow obedience, or does obedience follow passion? In other words, do we give out of a sense of discipline, and thereafter get excited about the results? Or do we get excited about the potential, and then follow through with giving? 

    The answer is that it depends on the individual. Some people are organized around duty, and the emotional side comes later. Others get very inspired in the beginning, and this is what drives their giving. There is no one correct sequence here. The important thing at the end of the day is that we fulfill the purpose for which God put us here and gave us his blessings. 
Christian author Randy Alcorn writes in his book The Treasure Principle: “Imagine you’re alive at the end of the Civil War. You’re living in the South, but you are a Northerner. You plan to move home as soon as the war is over. While in the South you’ve accumulated lots of Confederate currency. Now, suppose you know for a fact that the North is going to win the war and the end is imminent. What will you do with your Confederate money? 

“If you’re smart, there’s only one answer. You should immediately cash in your Confederate currency for U.S. currency—the only money that will have value once the war is over—keeping only enough Confederate money to meet your short-term needs.” 

The bottom line is: Take the longer view, and invest in things that have lasting value.   

For further reading:
  • The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn (Multnomah, 2001)—only 92 short pages, but brilliant.
  • Halftime: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance by Bob Buford (Zondervan, 1994)
  • Giving Back: Using Your Influence to Create Social Change by Merrill J. Oster and Mike Hamel (NavPress, 2003). This book includes a chapter profile on Bethesda, sponsor of this website.
  • The Shrewd Christian by Neil Atkinson (WaterBrook, 2004).
  • Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America by Ronald J. Sider; foreword by Charles W. Colson and the University of Pennsylvania’s John J. DiIulio (Baker, 1999).


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