About Barnabas Foundation

Generosity often begins with a simple desire: God has blessed me, and I want what He's given me to accomplish something meaningful.

The complicated part comes next.

Maybe most of someone's wealth isn't sitting in a bank account. It's tied up in a business, farmland, investments, real estate, or retirement savings. They want to provide responsibly for their family while supporting their church and ministries they deeply care about. Suddenly, an act of generosity involves questions about taxes, estate planning, charitable structures, and decisions that may continue affecting people long after the donor is gone.

Barnabas Foundation exists in that space.

Since 1976, this Christian ministry has helped believers approach charitable giving as an act of biblical stewardship—using their God-given resources thoughtfully so they can care for their families while making a greater Kingdom impact.

Why Barnabas?

The name reaches all the way back to the early Church.

Acts 4 introduces Joseph, whom the apostles called Barnabas, meaning “son of encouragement.” He owned a field, sold it, and brought the proceeds to the apostles so the resources could be used where they were needed.

Barnabas Foundation sees something powerful in that story.

Barnabas recognized that what he owned could become a tool for God's work.

That same idea inspired a group of Christian professionals during the early 1970s. Conversations that originally revolved around planned giving for one ministry gradually grew into something bigger. They envisioned an organization capable of helping Christians become wiser and more intentional stewards while strengthening multiple Christian ministries at the same time.

In April 1976, Barnabas Foundation officially began.

It started with 13 member ministries and $35,000 in seed funding.

Generosity Can Be Smarter Than Writing a Check

Writing a check to your church is beautifully simple.

But not every gift needs to look like that.

Suppose a Christian has stock that has significantly increased in value. Selling it first and then donating the proceeds can create tax consequences that may reduce what's ultimately available for ministry.

There may be a better way to give the asset itself.

The same principle can apply to real estate, business interests, commodities, retirement assets, and other forms of property.

Barnabas Foundation helps individuals and families understand those possibilities.

The point isn't financial complexity for its own sake. It's quite the opposite.

Good planning can sometimes allow a family to give more generously while reducing unnecessary taxes and still meeting important personal responsibilities.

Stewardship becomes intentional rather than accidental.

Giving Today While Thinking About Tomorrow

Some of the most meaningful charitable decisions don't take effect immediately.

A Christian may spend decades faithfully supporting a church or missionary organization and then wonder what happens to that support after death.

Barnabas helps families include charitable giving within their estate plans.

That creates an opportunity to think about legacy differently.

An inheritance can still provide for children and grandchildren while also carrying someone's Christian convictions into another generation. A ministry that mattered throughout a person's lifetime can continue receiving support because generosity was intentionally built into the plan.

Barnabas isn't simply asking, “How much do you want to give?”

The larger conversation is about what someone wants the resources God entrusted to them to accomplish.

One Place for a Life of Generosity

For Christians who regularly support several organizations, Barnabas Foundation also operates the Stewards Fund, its Christian donor-advised fund.

Think of it as a charitable giving account.

Someone can contribute cash or other assets to the fund and then recommend grants to churches, ministries, and other eligible charities over time.

This separates the moment of contributing money from the moment of deciding exactly where every dollar should eventually go.

A family might contribute appreciated assets during a particularly successful year, receive the applicable charitable deduction, and then prayerfully distribute those funds over the following years.

The administrative side becomes simpler too.

Instead of managing separate receipts and transactions from numerous organizations, much of the giving activity can be organized through one account.

And because the Stewards Fund is operated by a Christian foundation, its policies are designed around Barnabas Foundation's Christian faith and values.

Helping Ministries Focus on Ministry

There's another side to Barnabas Foundation that is easy to miss.

It doesn't only serve donors.

It serves ministries themselves.

Building an effective planned-giving program requires specialized knowledge that many Christian organizations simply don't have in-house. Hiring attorneys, financial professionals, gift planners, and administrative staff can become expensive quickly.

Barnabas allows member ministries to share that expertise.

The Foundation can help with complex charitable gifts and planned-giving conversations while the ministry continues concentrating on the calling that makes it unique.

A missions organization can focus on missionaries.

A Christian school can educate students.

A church can shepherd its congregation.

Barnabas works quietly behind them, helping generosity flow toward the mission.

Stewardship That Keeps Bearing Fruit

That behind-the-scenes role has produced remarkable reach.

Since its founding, Barnabas Foundation clients have designated billions of dollars toward charitable causes. Those resources eventually become something tangible somewhere else.

A ministry receives funding it needs to continue.

A church moves forward with its work.

A missionary is supported.

A nonprofit gains resources to serve people in need.

Barnabas may never be the organization standing at the end of that story.

That's part of what makes its ministry distinctive.

It helps move resources from the hands of people who have been entrusted with them into the hands of organizations positioned to use them.

The donor gives.

Barnabas helps steward the gift wisely.

Another ministry turns that generosity into ministry.

And the impact continues long after the original transaction disappears from view.

At the heart of Barnabas Foundation is the conviction that everything ultimately belongs to God, which changes the question Christians ask about their resources. Instead of simply wondering what they own, believers can consider what God has entrusted to them and how it might serve His purposes. By bringing Christian conviction together with expertise in charitable and planned giving, Barnabas Foundation helps generosity travel farther—strengthening families, churches, ministries, and Kingdom work for generations to come.