If you’re like 90 percent of Americans, you won’t be itemizing deductions on your federal tax return. In years past, that meant your charitable contributions could not be deducted. But for the 2020 tax year, you can take an additional “above-the-line” federal income tax deduction of up to $300 per person for qualified charitable contributions you made in 2020, in addition to the standard deduction. This “above-the-line” deduction will reduce your taxable income, which will reduce the amount of federal income tax you owe.

This morning I was privileged to spend time with some of my colleagues here at Orchard Alliance as well as four financial market experts who advise us on our investments. Three of the advisors represent Morgan Stanley, and one is on Orchard Alliance’s Board of Directors. Currently, Orchard Alliance has about $100 million of reserve, operating, and fiduciary funds invested…

As fires rage across the west and Hurricane Sally affects the southeast, our thoughts and prayers go out to our Alliance family and friends who are being impacted. Recently, Orchard Alliance received a prayer request from Okanogan Valley Alliance Church in Okanogan, Washington. Fires in their area are about 25 percent contained and the devastation is great.

As we begin a new year, we’re excited to see how the Lord will work in His Kingdom. Recently, my oldest son was baptized along with several other young people at our church. As a father, with tears of joy I was reminded of God’s faithfulness to complete the work He has started (see Philippians 1:6).

Guest Post by Joe Lamendola - Our president, Larry McCooey, asked me to reflect on this past year and share my thoughts. I was glad for the opportunity and found many reasons to praise the Lord. As I look back on 2019, I am thankful to see how God worked in and through Orchard Alliance to advance His Kingdom. Much was accomplished this past year, and we recognize the Lord’s blessing on our work and give Him the glory.

In October, we celebrated the one-year anniversary…

In my last post, I shared the story of my aunt and uncle, who have ministered faithfully throughout their lives—and who have prepared carefully for their financial future. In this post, Timothy A. Stephenson, professional fiduciary and guardian at Southwest Florida Advocates, encourages us to consider the cost of failing to prepare.

On July 31, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time since 2008. The rate was reduced by a quarter of a percentage point to a range between 2 and 2.25 percent. The Fed Board Chairman, Jerome Powell, stated that “The outlook for the U.S. economy remains favorable and this action is designed to support that outlook.”

My father used to say, “You never retire from the work of the Lord.” He taught me—and many others—that ceasing work for the last 20 or 30 years of one’s life (or more!) is not a biblical idea. Throughout Scripture we read about Sabbath rest, but not once do we read about retirement. The concept is a fairly recent invention, popularized in industrialized nations in the last 150 years or so.

You may have prepared a purpose or mission statement for yourself, your family, your workplace, or your ministry. It’s an expression of why we are here. For Orchard Alliance, our mission is to equip God’s stewards for greater Kingdom impact. This is a succinct way of describing what we believe to be our God-given, unique role.

There is a never-ending stream of information available to us on economies and financial markets in the U.S. and around the world. At this time of the year, much of the information focuses on best guesses about what the coming year will bring.

Most IRA and retirement plan limits increase for 2019. On November 1, 2018, the IRS announced the 2019 IRA and retirement plan limits. Many of the key limits are increasing for 2019, including the IRA contribution limit and the employer-sponsored retirement plan deferral limit…

Sometimes when people own real estate in addition to their home, it was given to them through their parents' or grandparents' will. Most people don't realize that passing real estate down through the generations can become problematic. This is true because each generation typically multiplies the number of owners, who each bring their own...

Imagine moving your family to a foreign country. You don’t speak the language or understand the culture’s values. Something as small as buying food is stressful. But what if your kids need medical care? How are you going to navigate the transportation system? What if people take advantage of you? For some 12,000 people in Sacramento, California...

I recently had the great pleasure of spending time in Puerto Rico. Rosilio Roman, assistant vice president for Church Ministries of The Alliance, joined me and an ADF colleague there. As some of you might know, ADF has made loans to a large number of churches in Puerto Rico for many years. 

“We want to be a church that makes a difference in our community,” says Greg Rhodes, Pastor of RiverLife Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. RiverLife is only a few years old and is primarily composed of second-generation and third-generation Hmong Americans. The Hmong are one of the ethnic groups of China and Southeast Asia that immigrated to the...

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 went into a two-week slide after reaching all-time highs on January 26, 2018. Both stock indexes dropped by more than 10%, a margin that is typically considered a market correction. Analysts have been saying for quite some time that the market was due for a correction, so the drop was not a surprise when we consider the big picture. Even after the correction, the Dow was up 19% over the previous 12 months, and the S&P was up 12.5%. 

As I’ve mentioned in the past, ADF uses investment advisors from both Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. These advisors help us invest our required reserves, and they provide insights into what factors are driving the economy and financial markets. In a recent presentation, one of our advisors mentioned the challenges of expensive stocks and bonds (relative to rates and risks). He also talked about the upward pressures of inflation, which will contribute to rising interest rates. 

In this edition of Alliance Financial Care, I’m interviewing Joseph Padilla, Vice President for Development with The Orchard Foundation, about charitable gift annuities (CGA). We specifically want to address how ADF investors can increase your fixed return anywhere from 4.6% to 9%…

The vision of Hope Alliance Bible Church (HABC) is to seek “Total dependency on Christ…moment by moment and day by day.” And with Christ’s help, this small church is making a significant impact on its community.

Thank you for your faithful partnership in ADF’s ministry of "Building the Kingdom, Transforming Lives, One Investment at a Time." I have been reflecting on the Transforming Lives statement. Pastor and author John Piper once called transformation “a profound, blood-bought, Spirit-wrought change from the inside out.” I like this definition.