Breaking New Ground in Benevolence
In June of 2023, Held launched our first guaranteed income partnership with Triad Goodwill. Through this partnership we began providing $833 per month, no-strings-attached to four people in Triad Goodwill’s career navigation services.
The support that we received from First Baptist Church Greensboro was vital in launching that project. They gave $30,000 from their Christian Restoration Fund to provide directly to three of the participants in the partnership.
The Christian Restoration Fund
While many churches have benevolence funds that are used for one-time emergencies, going to things like overdue bills to keep the lights on unpaid rent to prevent an eviction, the Restoration Fund's approach is based on empirical evidence showing the positive effects of direct-to-recipient cash transfers, such as improved well-being, increased financial stability, and enhanced motivation for workforce participation.
Founded in 2015, The Christian Restoration Fund has an open ended approach and has been used for everything from groceries to car batteries to several months rent and now to direct, unrestricted cash.
This longer-term approach allows the church to provide for people beyond their immediate emergency needs and to truly plan ahead and take steps beyond the month-to-month struggle.
The Fund’s mission is driven by the church’s commitment to follow Jesus' teachings of helping those in need and establishing relationships of trust and by biblical teachings that emphasize love for neighbors and the importance of directly addressing financial barriers.
Finding Home
The first recipient of the guaranteed income provided by the church is a 19 year old named David. He became homeless after his parents kicked him out of the house and cut off all contact with him because of his transgender identity. In July, he began receiving his guaranteed income through Held, and a few months later, he moved into his very first apartment.
When the Held staff met with David at the beginning of the project, he said his goals for the year. “Sustainability,” he said, “and just survive.”
Now David is doing more than just surviving thanks to the support from Held provided by First Baptist.
Beyond Emergency Aid
At Held, we know that many churches and faith communities use their resources for benevolence or emergency funding. Typically, these funds go to one time expenses like overdue rent or unpaid bills. The funds prove vital for the people that receive them, but can often only act as to prevent an emergency from getting worse.
Often churches lack the capacity to utilize those funds for longer-term support. Ministers and support staff have a myriad of responsibilities in their community and to their congregations limiting the time they can devote to setting up more sustainable support for people in need.
At Held, we partner with faith based communities and enable them to put their resources to use providing for longer term stability for people in need in their community. This enables people to not only avoid an emergency, but to plan for the future and tackle small financial setbacks as they arise before they ever turn into an emergency.
We love the way that our partnership with First Baptist Greensboro and the Church’s Christian Restoration Fund enables the congregation to extend their support and care for people in need beyond one-time emergency aid and empower others for long-term financial stability and independence.
This partnership is a testament to the power of faith-driven support in conjunction with strategic community partnerships, creating a tangible impact in the fight against poverty and empowering individuals towards a more stable and prosperous future.
If you would like to know more about how churches and other faith communities can work together with Held to provide direct income support to people in need, please feel free to reach out.
