Sound Stewardship’s Generosity Goal: Give away $500K by 2029

November 22, 2021 by Matt Syverson, CFP®

As we approach the end of 2021, Sound Stewardship is excited to share that we’ve contributed another $40,000 to the Sound Stewardship Foundation, bringing our corporate philanthropy total to $90,000 since we began in 2019. Our generosity goal is to give away $500,000 by 2029. And we do mean give away, not just have stashed half a million in our Foundation’s fund. With the help of Sound Stewardship’s generous team, we’re well on our way to our ambitious 10-year generous giving goal.

When Jonathan and I became business partners in 2019, we sat down with the leadership team to set objectives for Sound Stewardship. We realized quickly that the most meaningful goal we could commit to—and one that every employee, from the rookies to the owners, could get behind—was living out our core value of generosity in a dedicated, participatory way. So we funded the Sound Stewardship Foundation in December 2019. A few short months later, exactly when many nonprofits and scared families needed it the most, our employees made their first grants from the fund.

Yes, our employees got to make these grants! Generosity is a team effort at Sound Stewardship. Every new employee gets to make a grant of $1,000 from the Foundation to the nonprofit of their choice—a philanthropic signing bonus, if you will. Then each quarter, we make new grants together. Sometimes, every employee gets a certain amount to grant to a chosen charity.

“I’m so grateful that I get to work for a company that is so charitably minded,” says Josh Spradling, Sound Stewardship Client Care Associate. “Through the Sound Stewardship Foundation, I have been able to give to The Light House, which I really have a heart for. It is such a blessing that, as a team, we desire to give back what we have been given.”

Other times, we vote as a team on where to send larger grant amounts. For example, when we saw the impact Covid-19 was having on distressed communities internationally, we had our employees research and propose nonprofits who were making an impact outside of the United States. Together, we chose to send larger grants to both the JoyCorps and Samaritan’s Purse this year.

“It is a blessing to work with a group where the communicated core values are ingrained in the culture and exemplified by action,” says Ben Buethe, a Sound Stewardship Client Care Associate who got to distribute his first grant as a new employee this year. “The existence and activities of the foundation demonstrate that the company is committed to living out its core values (generosity being the first listed) and exemplifies that those values are ingrained in the company culture. It is also a blessing that associates are allowed to participate to further impact ministries and organizations of personal interest and significance.”

Here are some nonprofits our employees have chosen to support since the foundation began in 2019:

Why is a wealth management company so excited about giving money away? Learn more about why generous financial planning is at the heart of our organization.

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Sound Stewardship’s Generosity Goal: Give away $500K by 2029

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