What Barnabas Foundation does

Barnabas Foundation is a Crete, Illinois-based nonprofit organization founded in 1976 that advises Christian donors, families, churches, ministries, and professional advisors on tax-efficient planned giving and wealth transfer. Its core offerings span a Christian-branded donor-advised fund called the Stewards Fund, gifts of stock or real estate, qualified charitable distributions from IRAs, bequests, and charitable gift annuities, delivered through a confidential "Talk With a Planner" advisory channel. The operating model is consultative and relationship-driven, with planners walking donors through personalized giving strategies grounded in a Christian stewardship framework articulated in the organization's Statement of Christian Faith and Values & Principles documents.

The product surface is completed by two self-service digital portals: a Financial Accounts Portal at bf.iphiview.com/bf that lets donors recommend grants, view balances, and access statements, and a Member Ministries Portal at members.barnabasfoundation.org that supplies marketing materials, training, and resources to participating churches and ministries. Technology is treated as administrative infrastructure rather than a differentiator; no proprietary AI, APIs, SDKs, or data products are disclosed, and revenue mechanics appear to rest on DAF administrative fees and advisory-style services rather than licensed software. The organization operates as an independent nonprofit with no parent company, subsidiaries, or disclosed institutional investors, is governed domestically in the United States, and is small in headcount (11-50 employees) relative to the breadth of its nearly 50-year donor base.

Name

Barnabas Foundation

Legal name

Barnabas Foundation

Website

https://barnabasfoundation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Barnabas Foundation is a Crete, Illinois nonprofit, founded in 1976, that advises Christian donors, families, churches, and ministries on tax-wise planned giving through its Stewards Fund donor-advised fund and related gift, IRA, bequest, and annuity vehicles.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Planned Giving Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

Charitable Giving & Philanthropic Trust Advisory (FSAEAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH)

Keywords

• Planned giving services
• Donor-advised fund
• Estate planning
• Charitable giving
• Wealth transfer

Headquarters

HQ city

Crete

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Stewards Fund Management: The organization operates a donor-advised fund called the Stewards Fund, which likely generates revenue through administrative fees charged to fund holders. Additional revenue may come from consulting and advisory fees for planned giving services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Barnabas Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides planned giving and estate planning advisory services tailored for Christian donors. It operates the Stewards Fund, a Christian donor-advised fund, and facilitates tax-wise giving through gifts of stock or real estate, IRA qualified charitable distributions, charitable gift annuities and income-producing gifts, and bequests via wills. Confidential consultations with faith-aligned planners are offered to design personalized giving strategies.

Product overview

Barnabas Foundation is a planned giving and estate planning services organization that offers a unified platform of charitable giving solutions for Christians. The core offering includes the Stewards Fund (a donor-advised fund), alongside specialized giving products: Gifts of Stock or Real Estate, Gifts from Your IRA, Gifts in a Will, and Gifts That Pay Income. These products are complemented by a confidential planner consultation service. The organization also provides self-service digital portals for donors (Financial Accounts Portal) and member ministries (Member Ministries Portal), enabling grant recommendations, account management, and access to marketing materials and training resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Stewards Fund (Donor-Advised Fund) A Christian donor-advised fund that allows donors to simplify and streamline their charitable giving through a centralized account for individual Christian donors and families.
• Gifts of Stock or Real Estate Non-cash asset giving program allowing individual donors to reduce taxes by giving stock, real estate, business interests, and commodities.
• Gifts from Your IRA Qualified charitable distribution option for individual donors age 70½ or older to reduce taxable income by giving from their individual retirement account.
• Gifts in a Will Bequest planning service enabling individual donors to extend the impact of their generosity beyond their lifetime through their estate.
• Gifts That Pay Income Charitable gift annuity and similar vehicles that provide ongoing income payments for life to individual donors while supporting Kingdom impact.
• Talk With a Planner Confidential consultation service connecting individual Christian donors with planners who understand tax-wise giving from a Christian worldview.
• Financial Accounts Portal Online portal for Stewards Fund donors to recommend grants, view account balance, and access statements, reports, and forms for their giving accounts.
• Member Ministries Portal Online member center containing marketing materials, online training, and resources for member Christian ministry organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduce taxes by giving non-cash assets
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• The Signatry: Christian-focused national donor-advised fund sponsor offering giving solutions, bequest planning, and non-cash asset gifts to faith-aligned donors — a near-direct competitor in mission and product set.
• Raymond James Charitable: Donor-advised fund sponsor affiliated with Raymond James financial advisors; competes for advisor-referred planned giving business similar to Barnabas's 'Professionals' segment.
• Thrivent Charitable Impact & Investing: Faith-affiliated donor-advised fund and charitable planning organization tied to the Thrivent membership base; overlaps with Barnabas in combining planned giving, DAFs, and faith-driven donor advisory.
• National Christian Foundation: A faith-based donor-advised fund sponsor serving Christian donors and ministries; competes most directly with Barnabas's Stewards Fund in the same donor-advised fund category and faith-aligned giving niche.
• Renaissance Charitable Foundation: Independent national donor-advised fund sponsor offering DAFs, gift planning, and custom fund services to individuals and families — a direct comparable in product scope and target market.
• American Endowment Foundation: Donor-advised fund sponsor and charitable giving services provider, offering customizable giving accounts and planned giving services comparable to Barnabas's Stewards Fund.
• Christian Community Foundation: Faith-based community foundation providing donor-advised funds, planned giving, and endowment services to Christian donors and ministries — closely comparable mission and product overlap with Barnabas.

Broad incumbents

• Schwab Charitable: Major donor-advised fund sponsor tied to Schwab brokerage clients; a broad incumbent whose scale and integration advantage represent the most competitive secular threat to smaller niche sponsors.
• National Philanthropic Trust: Large independent DAF sponsor and philanthropic services provider offering donor-advised funds, planned giving, and giving research; a broader incumbent serving HNW donors across multiple segments.
• Fidelity Charitable: The largest U.S. donor-advised fund sponsor, offering low-fee DAFs with integrated brokerage access. While secular, it competes for the same donor wallet and applies structural fee pressure on smaller faith-aligned sponsors.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/barnabasfdn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/barnabas-foundation
• Xx.com/BarnabasFdn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Barnabas Foundation