After seven years of discernment and planning, the Dominican Sisters of Hope permanently protected 34 acres of their property from future development with a conservation easement.
Faithful Generosity Story Shelf
This story collection highlights congregations and other religious groups who are using their assets and resources in creative ways as an expression of faithful giving. Each story is short enough to read and discuss during a committee meeting or other group gathering. Use these accessible vignettes to spark new questions, conversation, and imagination with your leaders about funds, buildings, land, and other resources in your care. If you know a story that should be included in the Story Shelf, suggest it here.
Read stories about:
Investing for Impact
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A Pastor’s Jericho in North Carolina
An enterprising pastor in Wilson, North Carolina pushed his congregation to revive its nonprofit and launch a plan to improve seven properties.
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Building Black Wealth through Homeownership
Amid calls for reparations, Arlington Community Church launched a foundation to lend interest-free funds to help Black Americans purchase their first home in their community.
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From Discernment to Epiphany
Atlanta’s First Presbyterian Church launched a social entrepreneurship program to recognize how God was already moving in their city and to provide business mentorship and financial assistance to aspiring social entrepreneurs.
Innovative Giving
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A Thanksgiving Tradition of Presence
Despite limited financial resources, a Latino church in San Antonio has sustained a 20-year Thanksgiving meal ministry through the commitment and generosity of its congregation.
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Challah and Intergenerational Generosity
A synagogue brings together seniors and youth to talk about the change they want to see in the world, learn about local nonprofits, raise funds, and distribute grant money.
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Hotdogs with a Higher Purpose
Instead of asking people to come to their church for a hot meal, Emmanuel Episcopal operated a free hot dog cart around the city to feed those experiencing homelessness.
Selling/Donating Property
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Church Finds Freedom in Selling Property
The congregation of Biltmore United Methodist Church sold their property and is devoting their energy and resources toward responding to Asheville, North Carolina’s most pressing social needs.
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A Life Cycle and a Legacy
A rural Tennessee church closes with one final, old-time singing and a donation to a Christian disaster relief agency.
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Presbytery Gives Property to Indigenous Group
Hudson River Presbytery transferred the title of former church to the Indigenous-led Sweetwater Cultural Center as a "pledge of partnership" and in an effort to make amends for harm done to Native American populations.
Sharing Property
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Seniors Find Home at Historic Church
When a century-old congregation faced an enormous price tag for essential repairs, they found a way to stay, keep worshiping, and provide affordable housing for seniors.
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Worship, Journalism, and Dentistry
Origin Church constructed a new building in hopes that their congregation would grow to fill it. When that didn't happen, they gave it to a local journalism organization whose values matched their own.
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From Trash Pickup to Community Hub
Through neighborhood canvassing, a pastor felt his church was called to be a convener of organizations already at work in the community, rather than create something new.
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Bethel AME is helping to address the affordable housing crisis in San Diego by building affordable units on their property. They raised funds to offset construction costs enough to make the project self-sustaining.
Cass Community United Methodist Church plans to build a village of 25 tiny houses that the working poor or formerly homeless can rent to own.
Beyond the first step of acknowledgment, some faith communities are taking up concrete reparations as a way of demonstrating authentic repentance for their role in systemic oppression.
A story about how one Cooperative Baptist Fellowship congregation imagined using their space in a new way.
When asked to use its building and property to shelter women and families, Salt House Church said yes.
A story about how one Cooperative Baptist Fellowship congregation sold their land to reduce debt.
Neighborhood Bike Works, a Philadelphia nonprofit serving the larger community, operates out of the basement of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.
A story about two Cooperative Baptist Fellowship congregations who offer examples of rethinking the profit there is in pavement.
Kinder Academy boasts of “quality childcare that provides a structured preschool program with the convenience of daycare hours.” The childcare center at Bustleton UMC is the jewel in Kinder Care’s crown, made possible with the space and support offered by the congregation.
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