a generosity newsletter from The Signatry

IN THIS EMAIL

• A prayer for the right use of God’s gifts
• 2026 tax updates 
• Words to the wise giver: "Just start writing checks.” 
• Biblically responsible investing made practical 

For the Right Use of God’s Gifts

Happy New Year from The Signatry! 

From time to time, I like to find beautifully expressed prayers that I can join fellow believers in praying together, across geography and history. 

In searching for a prayer for faithful financial stewardship to share with you this week, I learned there are not many great options out there. 

Careful, Christ-like use of money is a topic God loves to talk to us about in the Bible, but it’s hard for us to talk to him about it. It’s hard to talk to each other about it. At least in the Google results, the old joke mostly holds: pastors preach on stewardship once a year, right before the annual fundraiser. 

I hope we will all be able to think and pray more deeply about wealth in 2026. I hope this newsletter can be an encouragement as you do. To start, join me in praying this prayer for the Right Use of God's Gifts: 

Almighty God, whose loving hand has given us all that we possess: Grant us grace that we may honor you with our substance, and, remembering the account which we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of your bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Jessie McBirney

Senior Content Marketing Specialist

2026 Tax Updates

Now that it’s 2026, OBBBA’s new charitable giving tax deduction rules are in effect. Make sure you have the basics in mind as you plan this year’s giving (and beyond). 

• Floor on charitable deductions
  • Itemizers may only claim a deduction for donations in excess of 0.5% of their AGI.
• Universal charitable deduction
  • Non-itemizers may claim a charitable deduction: $1,000 for individuals or $2,000 for joint filers.
  • This doesn’t apply to donor advised fund contributions.
• Cap on charitable deductions for families in the top tax bracket
  • The marginal value of charitable deductions will be capped at 35 cents for each additional $1 deducted, even for taxpayers in the 37% tax bracket. 

You can read more details on our blog. Also make sure you’re aware of these changes to estate and gift taxes. 

Words to the Wise Giver: “Just start writing checks.”

“The start of a generosity journey can be intimidating because you don’t control it. You're not an expert in that field—you're not an expert in human trafficking or poverty alleviation or whatever those things may be. 

My challenge is: There are organizations that are. 

So for us, our philosophy is just to start writing checks and not overthink it.” 

David Trogden – entrepreneur, investor, and donor to The Signatry 

Watch the interview on Linkedin

Biblically Responsible Investing Made Practical

If you’ve been investing for a while, you may be familiar with the idea of “voting with your dollars.” Where you put your money—your purchases, your savings, and your investments—reflects and even endorses certain values. 

That’s why we at The Signatry chose to offer biblically responsible investments in our donor advised funds (DAFs). 

Sticking to biblically responsible investments looks different for different people. It’s easy to imagine how restricting your investment opportunities could hurt your portfolio’s performance. It’s time-consuming to make sure a company or index fund still meets your criteria years later. 

Hear from one of our investment managers, Thane Cleland, about his team’s approach to building portfolios that perform well for our DAFs and honor the tenets laid out in the Bible.