When Jim Branch and other community leaders agreed to serve on the committee to bring Dr. Billy Graham and his son Franklin to Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1994, they thought it would be easy to cover the costs.  But four months before the event, they were tens of thousands of dollars short.   

"We hastily organized a golf tournament," recalls Jim, "which we called Fore the Lord.  Cliff Benson, Jr., a local Christian philanthropist and head of the Palin Foundation, generously agreed to match the first $25,000 we raised.  Our goal, which we thought was ambitious, was to recruit a dozen players at $1000 each, so we'd have $24,000."

By God's grace, the leveraging power of the foundation's matching gift enabled the group to recruit sixty-four players and raise $89,000!  The Graham crusade was a success, and it even had excess funds to forward to another city on the Grahams' itinerary. 

Encouraged by this positive experience, Jim and his colleagues formed a board of directors and turned Fore the Lord into a permanent ministry to benefit local Christian charities (www.forethelord.org).  The second year's golf tournament, facilitated by a $50,000 matching gift from the Palin Foundation, raised $125,000.

Initially the board accepted contributions and made distributions through a secular community foundation.  That worked satisfactorily at first, but over time the disparate values of the two groups became more apparent.  When the Christian Foundation of the Triangle (CFT), an affiliate of The National Christian Foundation (NCF), opened its doors in 2001, Fore the Lord moved its assets into a Giving Fund.

CFT assumed all the administrative burdens associated with receipts, distributions, and reporting.  It also provided Fore the Lord with an additional level of accountability, by thoroughly screening potential gift recipients.  For example, CFT verified that every ministry's 501(c)3 was up to date and that its mission statement was compatible with Fore the Lord's vision.

"It's a delight working with CFT," comments board member Cliff Benson, III.  "They're very professional, they provide outstanding administrative support, and their values align perfectly with ours.  Our donors feel much more comfortable knowing that their contributions are managed by a reputable Christian organization."

Fore the Lord gave one of its first grants to a local Christian ministry that needed $100,000 to complete the purchase of a building.  But rather than give $100,000 in cash, it took a page from the Palin Foundation's playbook and offered to match the first $50,000 of funds raised.  When Fore the Lord's board saw how quickly the ministry raised the money it needed, they decided to make all future distributions in the form of matching grants.

"Matching grants promote the Biblical concept of multiplication," adds Jim.  "Jesus talks in Matthew 13:8 about the farmer who sowed seed on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.  In this situation, each $1,000 contribution we raised from golfers became $2,000 because of the Palin Foundation's matching grant.  Then every $2,000 we gave away doubled again to $4,000 when the ministry matched it. That's an increase of 300 percent!"

Since its inception in 1995, Fore the Lord has distributed in excess of $4 million to more than one hundred ministries, primarily in the Raleigh area.  Most gifts are in the $5,000 to $10,000 range, and all are matching grants.

"Because of the power of matching, our impact has far exceeded the $4 million we've distributed," says Cliff.  "On average, every $10,000 we give multiplies into approximately $30,000 for the Lord's work.  In fact, one national ministry headquartered in our area leveraged our $50,000 matching grant into $500,000!"

Today, most of Fore the Lord's funds come from contributions.  It still organizes an annual golf tournament, but primarily for fellowship purposes.

"Fore the Lord's Giving Fund has an excellent reputation," attests Alanna Linden, Director of Donor Relations for CFT.  "Its very existence has stimulated godly stewardship in our community. Christians who don't have much prior stewardship experience have confidence that their contributions will be used wisely and Biblically.  And when they write checks to CFT, designated to Fore the Lord's Giving Fund, we automatically connect them to a wealth of resources and opportunities through CFT's and NCF's extensive stewardship network."  

"One of our missions is to encourage Christian ministries to operate more effectively," comments Cliff.  "Before grants go to ministries, applicants must provide evidence that they meet certain standards of professionalism.  We may ask what percentage the board gives to the ministry in relation to its annual budget, in order to ensure that the ministry's board is committed and active.  And we provide ministries with an incentive to broaden their donor base, because we only match funds raised from first time donors or from repeat donors who are contributing over and above their prior giving levels."

Fore the Lord believes in partnering with other Christian organizations to utilize their expertise, rather than duplicating services.  Recently it invited Ministry Ventures (www.ministryventures.org) to teach nine local ministries about the key management practices of successful Christian not-for-profit organizations.  And it asked Generous Giving (www.generousgiving.org), a ministry of the McClellan Foundation, to conduct a stewardship seminar for several local Christian business leaders. 

"We want to teach Christians about the joy and responsibility of Biblical stewardship," says Jim.  "We especially want to reach people in their twenties and thirties, because that generation is coming into power and influence.  We also want to convince pastors and other church leaders that it's Biblically correct to encourage their members to give generously of their time, talents, and financial resources."

"Fore the Lord has exploded before our eyes," exclaims Cliff.  "But it didn't result from our wisdom.  God has done it, and it's been amazing to watch Him work!"

"We'd love to see other cities replicate this concept," adds Jim.  "I'm convinced that success in serving God depends not on our ability, but on our availability."