CEO of the National Christian Foundation Speaks on the Power of Giving to God’s Kingdom
You may have never heard of the National Christian Foundation, but more than likely, you have felt their generosity. The National Christian Foundation, headquartered in the Atlanta area, serves more than 30,000 families who trust the organization to carry out the work of serving 90,000 charities and churches. In a sit-down interview with Crosswalk, the organization's CEO, Kendra VanderMeulen, discusses why the work of the organization is important, along with making it clear that she loves the seat that God has her in seeing all of the work that the organization does.
Crosswalk Headlines: What does the National Christian Foundation do?
Kendra VaderMeulen: We operate the largest Christian donor-advised fund, and on top of that, we work with givers, to help them along their generosity journey. We do this because we believe that lives are changed to the glory of God through biblical generosity.
CWH: What is Biblical generosity?
KV: Biblical generosity is when people come to grips spiritually deeply with God's ownership of everything that I am and everything that I have. It changes the givers, the charities that they give to, and us. We are very passionate about that. We use a donor advice fund as a platform for executing all of the transactions that result from that. Our first love is to walk with people and help them make the most of all God's entrusted to them.
CWH: What do you personally enjoy about your job?
KV: I love the people; I love our customers. Our customers are amazing. I love our teammates, all of whom love the Lord. I love that we are working to produce fruit for the kingdom, last year we distributed out of our NCF fund over $2 billion in grants to charities.
CWH: What happens when people discover the gift of generosity?
KV: It's very emotional when I get to see it up close and personal. Before I was CEO of NCF, I worked in our northwest region. For fourteen years, I walked alongside families, and I got to see their decision-making up close and personal. It's just such a gift and delight to be invited into those deep places. God designed us so that we are not just supposed to hang on to stuff.
CWH: How is the decision made as to who receives funds?
KV: One of the aspects of a donor-advised fund is the grants; we call them grants. Our givers request grants that are made to various charities. So, givers deposit money in an account with us. When they do that, they get a tax deduction because they're giving the money to us as a charity, but we hold it in their account, and then they come along and say, I want you, NCF, to give this much to this charity and we release the funds to the charity or church that they choose.
CWH: How does one open an account?
KV: It's like opening a bank account, only simpler. I opened a new bank account recently, and it turned out to be a substantial undertaking. An account with NCF is not that hard. You just go online, and you open a fund. It takes you about five minutes to fill out a form, and then you put resources into that fund.
CWH: What are some examples of NCF's partnerships with organizations that their givers give to?
KV: Last year, we made grants to 35,000 organizations. Seventy Five Percent of those being Churches.
Photo Credit: ©LinkedIn/National Christian Foundation
Originally published February 26, 2025.
