Confessions from a Recovering Toxic Charity Addict

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By Jeff Rutt, Founder, HOPE International; Chair, HOPE International Board of Directors; Founder/CEO, Keystone Custom Homes


I didn’t intend to found HOPE International.

We were just church members looking to help a sister church in Ukraine. Year after year, we dropped shipments—of clothes, food, supplies.

But we received a wake-up call.

The pastor took me aside. He outlined his growing concerns. Here was the summary:

  1. Charity was toxic. His congregation was becoming dependent on charity. Forgetting the value of hard work, they were less motivated to provide for their own families.
  2. Entitled individuals. In the process, the congregation began to believe they deserved free goods—and were becoming less generous to others.
  3. Quick fixes aren’t the answer. What if the American church stopped giving? Could the church members transition after the church stopped donating goods?
  4. Aid has unintended economic impact. Local business owners couldn’t compete with free goods flooding the local market. Harming the local economy, the shipments were hurting livelihoods of businesspeople.
  5. “We need a hand up, not a handout.” These were his concluding words. The pastor’s words were the best advice I’d ever received.

I’d been a Toxic Charity Addict all my life. Whenever I heard people were lacking food, shelter, or clothing, I would give. (And, yes, we should give materials to people in need.)

But it’s not dignifying to deny people in poverty their God-given ability to work.

Starting HOPE, we discovered many church members were talented entrepreneurs. Through HOPE’s financial services, they could use their God-given gifts to start businesses. In the process, they could provide for their families—and give generously to others.

I’m thankful for the pastor’s courage.

By confronting this Toxic Charity Addict, he stopped the devastating cycle of charity in his congregation—while opening my eyes to see people in poverty as providers, rather than passive recipients.

 For more blogs by Jeff Rutt, go to A Home Builder’s Blog

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  1. […] Jeff Rutt, founder of HOPE International offers Confessions from a Recovering Toxic Charity Addict. […]

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