Randall Murphree
AFA Journal editor
The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit, but anyone who is reckless only becomes poor. – Proverbs 21:5 (HCSB)
February 2014 – “God wants us to plan, to accomplish a well thought out, responsible plan for our estate,” says Dan Celia. In December, Celia and AFA Foundation staff members sat down with AFA Journal for a roundtable discussion about services the foundation offers to AFA constituents.
Celia’s passion shone through, bright and clear – passion for the overall ministry of AFA and passion for helping people manage personal assets to secure their own future as well as advance the kingdom of God.
“We want people to know that we offer a broad range of no-obligation services,” said AFA Foundation director Diane O’Neal. “We’re not just soliciting gifts to AFA.”
Though Celia’s first ministry is his own – Financial Issues (financialissues.org) – he pours a lot of himself into his daily radio program heard on AFR Talk stations and into his on-going work alongside AFA Foundation.
“Dan Celia may be AFA’s biggest cheerleader,” said AFA president Tim Wildmon. “And we return the favor – we think Dan is incredible. He is a man of God, and his integrity is solid. We’re grateful for his partnership with AFA.”
Satisfying our constituents
Satisfied supporters are the strength of any non-profit, and AFAF has a growing list of them. Myrtle is one of the many.
“I’m a widow,” Myrtle said. “I worked for a bank for 31 years and I’ve been retired now for 10 years. I had a lot of financial questions, and Dan Celia answered my questions and helped me with a lot of decisions.
“I contacted Diane O’Neal and she walked me through everything that I needed.”
“I remember Myrtle ’s phone call,” O’Neal said. “Eventually she decided to establish a charitable gift annuity [CGA] with AFA.” Not only will her donation be a gift to AFA, but Myrtle will soon begin receiving a monthly income from her CGA.
“I believe in what AFA is doing because they are working for us,” Myrtle said.
Carol, another CGA donor, told AFA, “Back in 2007, my father passed away, and my mother had passed away seven years earlier. They left me a small inheritance, and I wanted to give back to AFA for all they have done for me.
“I’m an avid listener to AFR, 12 hours a day – and I hear Dan Celia talking about the CGA.”
Carol, too, contacted O’Neal and liked how a CGA fit into her own situation. “I donated a certain amount, and from that I get a check every month,” Susan said. “It’s as simple as that.”
O’Neal said one distinction that makes AFAF different from most other non-profits that receive CGAs is that AFA does not use any of the donors’ contributions for current ministry operations. Many other groups dip into those CGA funds for current operations, thus running the risk of depleting the funds while the donor is still living, and possibly endangering the donor’s income.
“We don’t do that at AFA Foundation,” O’Neal said. “We are committed to protecting a donor’s gift as long as he or she lives, thus assuring the monthly income for that donor.”
Succeeding in practice
“In the world of finance and estate planning, people want to deal with a group that has proven successful,” Celia said, “and AFA Foundation is proving very successful for such a foundation operating in our uncertain economic times.”
O’Neal confirmed that analysis. She said the foundation has grown at an amazing rate since Celia began consulting and working with it. The foundation was in its infancy when Celia came on board in 2010, and it has grown more than 10-fold, an achievement he says is unmatched in any similar ministry or foundation.
“I take no credit for that,” Celia says. “I credit that to God’s hand in this ministry.”
For Financial Issues, he maintains the same principles that he espouses for AFA Foundation clients: financial security for the individual and responsible investment into the kingdom of God. His scriptural base for his ministry is 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 (NKJV): “Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.”
When he felt God’s direction to affiliate Financial Issues with a broader ministry, he contacted AFA and two other ministries.
“I’d been following AFA’s work for some time,” Celia said, “and I wanted to work with them because I saw that the ministry was run on sound financial principles.
“I called Tim Wildmon one Tuesday in 2009,” he remembered. “I asked if we could talk about working together, and Tim said, ‘When can you come down?’”
In their first conversation, Celia explained that he always recommends CGAs as a part of a responsible plan for everyone’s future, especially for believers who want to support kingdom work and assure their own retirement income. Soon thereafter, Celia’s Financial Issues radio program began airing on AFR, and it wasn’t long before his column began appearing in AFA Journal.
Standing on principle
In conversation around the table, foundation staffers kept repeating several key words – serving, relationships, confidence and, more than any other, trust.
“AFA Foundation is truly an organization others can put trust in,” Celia said. “If it weren’t, I would want nothing to do with it.”
Serving constituents in planning their future, building relationships, inspiring confidence and earning trust – these are the principles to which AFA Foundation aspires. Perhaps Clyde,” another satisfied donor, illustrates its success.
“We are in the financial business,” Clyde said. “We manage a couple of trusts, some estates and of course our own monies. I understand annuities about as much as anyone can.”
He sees a CGA as a win-win situation for many people, and he wanted to invest in AFA. “AFA is all about serving others, and no one ever pushes you,” he concluded. “They are there to help you.”
“That is my highest desire,” O’Neal said, “for our donors to know they can trust us.” 
How can AFA Foundation serve you?
With a proven record of success and the offer of no-obligation counsel, AFA Foundation may have insights and facts you need for planning your financial future and investing in the kingdom of God at the same time. Here’s how the foundation can help:
▶ Guidance in drafting your will
▶ Help with estate planning
▶ Determining if a CGA is right for you
▶ One-on-one consultation for more complex situations
▶ Taking advantage of tax breaks
AFA Foundation also hosts free Town Hall Meetings in which Dan Celia and Diane O’Neal address financial planning issues. Dates are tentative; check the foundation website (afafoundation.net) for updates:
▶ Mobile, AL – April 7, 2014
▶ Lafayette, IN – April 14, 2014
▶ Columbus, OH – April 15, 2014
▶ Grand Rapids, MI – May 5, 2014
For more information: Please contact Diane O’Neal or associate director Wriley Wildmon Davis at foundation@afa.net or 800-326-4543 x345.
