What Southern Baptist Foundation does

The Southern Baptist Foundation is a nonprofit religious organization established in 1947 and headquartered at 901 Commerce Street, Suite 600, Nashville, Tennessee. It provides investment management, estate planning, and charitable giving services to individuals, families, churches, and ministry organizations aligned with the Southern Baptist Convention. The Foundation reports $7 billion+ distributed to Christian organizations since inception and $805 million in future estate planning gifts facilitated since 2013.

The Foundation's product platform comprises six core managed funds (Enhanced Cash Fund, Short-Term Investment Pool, Income Fund, Flexible Income Fund, Balanced Fund, and Equity Fund) plus Custom Fund Options, all subject to biblically responsible social screening. Complementary services include Trust Administration, Donor Advised Funds, Charitable Gift Annuities, Charitable Remainder Trusts, Estate Planning, Tax Preparation, Fiduciary/Trustee services, and educational resources (legacy planning calculators, downloadable guides, seminars). The Foundation is ECFA-accredited and operates with 11–50 staff. No proprietary technology stack or AI capability is disclosed.

Revenue is generated through investment management fees on managed assets and professional service fees for estate planning, trust administration, and tax preparation; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is described as quote-based. Go-to-market combines direct, relationship-driven sales (personalized consultations, conferences, church and ministry presentations) with a self-serve online giving platform enabling donations to a cross-section of SBC entities. Primary customer segments are individuals/families seeking biblically aligned planned giving, and churches, ministries, and SBC entities requiring endowed and fiduciary services.

Name

Southern Baptist Foundation

Legal name

Southern Baptist Foundation

Website

https://sbfdn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Southern Baptist Foundation is a 1947-founded Nashville nonprofit providing biblically screened investment management, estate planning, and charitable giving services to individuals, families, churches, and SBC-affiliated ministries, with $7B+ distributed since inception.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Faith-Based Investment and Charitable Planning Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Philanthropic & Charitable Trust Services (FSAAANAI), Charitable Giving & Philanthropic Trust Advisory (FSAEAKAH), Endowments (Universities, Foundations, Nonprofits) (FSAAAGAC), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• Investment management services
• Estate planning services
• Charitable giving instruments
• Trust administration
• Biblically responsible investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Investment Management Services: The foundation provides investment management services for trusts, endowments, donor advised funds, scholarships, gift annuities, and estates. Revenue is generated through fees associated with managing investment portfolios for individuals, churches, and ministry organizations. Services include custom portfolio construction, investment policy reviews, and consulting.
2. Estate Planning and Fiduciary Services: Full range of estate planning services including trust administration, gift annuity programs, charitable remainder and lead trusts, pooled income funds, and endowment administration. Revenue derived from fiduciary services including trustee services, donor advised fund administration, and endowment management.
3. Tax and Accounting Services: Preparation and filing of fiduciary tax returns, distribution of tax information to income beneficiaries, administrative and management services for complex gifts of real estate and closely held stock. Revenue from tax preparation and accounting service fees.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Southern Baptist Foundation provides biblically responsible investment management, trust and estate administration, and charitable giving services to individuals, families, churches, and ministry organizations within the Southern Baptist Convention ecosystem. The foundation offers six managed investment funds plus custom portfolio options, alongside donor advised funds, charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, fiduciary and tax services, and stewardship education resources.

Product overview

Southern Baptist Foundation is a financial services organization offering a unified platform of investment management and estate planning products designed for individuals, families, and Christian organizations. The core investment offerings include six managed funds (Enhanced Cash Fund, Short-Term Investment Pool, Income Fund, Flexible Income Fund, Balanced Fund, and Equity Fund) plus Custom Fund Options for tailored portfolios. These are complemented by trust administration services, charitable giving vehicles (Donor Advised Fund, Charitable Gift Annuities, Charitable Remainder Trusts), tax services, fiduciary services, and estate planning tools. The foundation also provides educational resources including seminars, calculators, and planning guides. All investments are socially screened to align with conservative Christian values.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Enhanced Cash Fund A cash fund providing FDIC protection with daily liquidity, invested in top-quality certificates of deposit and money market fund accounts for capital preservation. Designed for individual, church, and ministry investors seeking biblically responsible cash management.
• Short-Term Investment Pool An investment pool providing liquidity for permanent investment and withdrawal requests, invested in certificates of deposit, commercial paper, corporate bonds, and money market funds with daily liquidity.
• Income Fund A lower-risk fixed-income fund invested in U.S. Treasury obligations, high-quality corporate bonds, and funding agreements of highly-rated insurance companies, focusing on preservation of principal.
• Flexible Income Fund A more aggressively managed fund offering maximum income with potential for growth of principal, invested in U.S. Treasury obligations and high-quality corporate bonds with an enhanced bond strategy program.
• Balanced Fund A diversified fund with approximately 50% equities and 50% Flexible Income Fund allocation, designed for accounts with long-term objectives.
• Equity Fund A growth-focused fund maintaining participation in long-term appreciation through ownership in high-quality, large-capitalized growth companies, 100% screened for biblical values alignment.
• Custom Fund Options Tailored investment fund solutions designed to meet specific client needs and goals, providing personalized portfolio construction for individuals, churches, and ministry organizations.
• Trust Administration Services Expert management of gift annuities, charitable trusts, and pooled income funds, including administration of charitable remainder and lead trusts, for individuals and ministry organizations.
• Donor Advised Fund A giving vehicle that allows donors to give more to Kingdom-building causes with donations that grow tax-free before recommending grants to Christian charities.
• Charitable Gift Annuities A planned gift instrument offering fixed payments not dependent on stock market performance, an immediate tax deduction, and payments lasting for a term of years, life, or joint life of donor and beneficiary.
• Charitable Remainder Trusts A planned giving vehicle that converts appreciated assets into a diversified portfolio that pays income while providing potential growth over time.
• Estate Planning Services Full range of estate planning services to assist believers in providing for families and making gifts to Christian organizations during their lifetime or by will.
• Tax Services Preparation and filing of appropriate fiduciary tax returns, distribution of tax information to income beneficiaries, and administrative services for complex gifts of real estate and closely held stock.
• Fiduciary Services Trustee, agent, and endowment administration services for managing client assets with integrity and according to stated intentions, including state regulatory compliance assistance for charitable gift programs.
• Social Screening of Investments Investment monitoring service ensuring funds are placed only in companies and investments that do not conflict with conservative Christian values and biblical testimony.
• Seminars and Consulting Support Stewardship presentations delivered to conferences, ministries, and church groups on an array of financial stewardship topics, assisting churches and ministry organizations in advancing biblical stewardship.

Quantifiable outcome

• $7 billion+ distributed to Christian organizations since inception
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA)coreOthersThe Southern Baptist Foundation holds ECFA accreditation, demonstrating commitment to the highest standards of Christian ethics, financial accountability, and biblical stewardship. ECFA accreditation serves as a trust seal for donors and helps the foundation maintain credibility within the Christian ministry ecosystem.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GuideStone Financial Resources: The Southern Baptist Convention's own retirement and insurance benefits organization, with significant investment management for SBC pastors and entities — overlapping institutional client base and values-aligned investment mandate with SBF.
• The Signatry: A faith-based donor-advised fund and grantmaking organization serving Christian families, churches, and ministries with similar planned-giving, charitable trust, and values-aligned investment offerings to SBF.
• Barnabas Foundation: A Christian planned-giving and charitable gift planning organization serving faith-based donors, ministries, and churches with estate planning, gift annuities, and charitable trust services — directly comparable service mix to SBF.
• National Christian Foundation: The largest faith-based donor-advised fund administrator in the U.S., offering biblically-responsible investing, planned giving, and grantmaking services to Christian donors and ministries — directly comparable product set to SBF but operating at national scale across denominations.
• AG Financial (Assemblies of God): Faith-based financial services organization affiliated with the Assemblies of God, offering planned giving, investment management, retirement, and stewardship services to ministers, churches, and members — a parallel denominational-foundation model to SBF.
• Presbyterian Foundation: Denominational foundation providing planned giving, donor-advised funds, endowment management, and investment services to Presbyterian churches, members, and ministries — a near-analog of SBF's role within the Presbyterian ecosystem.
• Lutheran Church Extension Fund / Lutheran Foundation: LCMS-affiliated investment, lending, and stewardship services organization with planned giving, endowment management, and donor services — comparable denominational-foundation model to SBF but in the Lutheran context.

Broad incumbents

• Fidelity Charitable: The largest U.S. donor-advised fund sponsor, with extensive planned-giving and investment management capabilities for individual and institutional donors — represents the secular scale competitor SBF faces for donor wallet share.
• Schwab Charitable: Major donor-advised fund administrator and a meaningful competitor for planned-giving dollars from Christian and non-Christian donors, with strong digital infrastructure that SBF currently lacks.
• Thrivent Financial: A large fraternal/Christian-affiliated financial services company offering investments, insurance, and charitable planning to Christian individuals and congregations — much larger scale and broader product set, but a similar faith-aligned customer base and planning services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/So_Bapt_Fndn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Southern Baptist Foundation