Baptist Foundation of Illinois

Name

Baptist Foundation of Illinois

Legal name

Baptist Foundation of Illinois

Website

https://baptistfoundationil.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Faith-Based Financial Stewardship Services

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious Organizations (813110)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

Keywords

• Faith-based investing
• Church lending services
• Christian estate planning
• Donor advised funds
• Stewardship ministry services

Headquarters

HQ city

Springfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Church Loan Interest: BFI provides low-cost church loans for construction and capital projects, primarily financed through bond investments from individuals and churches. Current rate: 5.75% fixed for 5 years with 20-year amortization. Loans are secured by first position mortgage with 50% LTV maximum ratio and 25% debt-to-income ratio.
2. Investment Management Fees: BFI earns fees on investment products including Cash Management (3.75% APR to investors), BFI Bonds, Long Term Fixed Income Portfolio (historic yield 3.99%-6.30%, with 0.5% fee), and Blended Fund (50% LTFI/50% KNGIX equities, target yield 7.5%, 0.5% fee).
3. Donor Advised Fund Administration: DAF allows donors to make gifts (cash, property, stock), receive tax deductions, and advise on timing/amount of distributions to charitable organizations. As of October 2024, DAF accounts earn 3% APY on remaining funds.
4. Family Charitable Endowments: Family Charitable Endowments (FCE) can be started with as little as $100 and once reaching $5,000, support designated organizations quarterly in perpetuity without depleting the corpus. Used for Christian legacy planning.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Baptist Foundation of Illinois provides faith-aligned custodial investing (Cash Management, BFI Bonds, Long Term Fixed Income Portfolio, Blended Fund), low-cost church loans for construction and capital projects, free Christian estate planning and Life Stewardship services, Donor Advised Funds, Family Charitable Endowments, and tuition scholarships for Illinois Baptist seminary and undergraduate students. All offerings are grounded in Biblical stewardship principles and serve approximately 150,000 Illinois Baptist individuals and 1,000 Southern Baptist churches.

Product overview

Baptist Foundation of Illinois is a non-profit financial services organization serving Illinois Baptists with a comprehensive suite of stewardship-focused products. The organization operates as a unified platform offering investment management (Custodial Investing, BFI Bonds, Long Term Fixed Income Portfolio, Blended Fund), lending (Church Loans), estate planning (Christian Estate Planning/Life Stewardship), and charitable giving vehicles (Donor Advised Fund, Family Charitable Endowments). Complementary educational resources include the Biblical Financial Management Video Series, while the Scholarships program and Darla Lovell Award provide educational support. All products are grounded in Biblical stewardship principles and designed to help individuals and churches manage God's resources for Kingdom impact.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custodial Investing Faith-aligned custodial investment management service allowing Illinois Baptist individuals and churches to invest funds through BFI's custodial platform with options for various account types and beneficiary designations.
• Cash Management High-yield savings account currently offering 3.75% APR with full liquidity and 24-48 hour bank transfer access, with optional ACH arrangements for faster fund transfers.
• BFI Bonds Defined maturity bonds sold in $1,000 increments to support church and ministry capital projects; default-free since inception; available in Roth or Traditional IRAs with interest options to accumulate, distribute, or assign to a charitable fund.
• Long Term Fixed Income (LTFI) Portfolio Low-risk fixed-income portfolio investing primarily in high-grade municipal, corporate, and government bonds with historic yield of 3.99%-6.30% and a 50 basis point (0.5%) fee.
• Blended Fund Investment fund combining 50% LTFI Portfolio with 50% KNGIX (dividend-yield focused equities), targeting a 7.5% yield while seeking long-term appreciation; charges 50 basis points (0.5%).
• Church Loans Low-cost loans for Illinois Baptist church construction and capital projects at 5.75% fixed for 5 years with 20-year amortization and no balloon payment; secured by first-position mortgage with 50% maximum LTV and 25% debt-to-income ratio; loans typically close within 30-45 days of Board approval.
• Christian Estate Planning (Life Stewardship) Estate planning services grounded in Biblical stewardship principles, including complimentary document preparation and confidential consultations; can work with the client's own attorney or BFI provides complete services.
• Donor Advised Fund (DAF) Charitable giving vehicle allowing donors to make gifts (cash, property, stock), receive immediate tax deductions, and advise on timing and amount of distributions to charitable organizations; funds held in Cash Management account earning 3% APY as of October 2024.
• Family Charitable Endowments Endowment accounts that can be started with as little as $100; once reaching $5,000, support designated charitable organizations quarterly in perpetuity without depleting the corpus.
• Scholarships Annual educational scholarships for Illinois Baptist students pursuing ministry and other careers: Seminary students ($500/credit hour up to 15 hours, max $7,500), Bachelor/Master degree students ($5,000), and Associate degree students ($2,000). Application period January 1-31, with awards announced April 27, luncheon May 30, and disbursements in August.
• Biblical Financial Management Video Series Free eight-part video Bible study series teaching Biblical principles of financial management, with topics including God & Money, Budgeting, Debt Management, Saving & Investing, Risk Management, Incapacity Planning, Stewardship Transfer, and Opportunities for Generosity; includes study guides.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $997,000 awarded to 400+ Illinois Baptist students since 2015
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Baptist Church BuildersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVolunteer builder organization specializing in church construction. Illinois contact: Patrick Staley ([email protected]). Helps churches with building projects by providing skilled volunteers for framing, drywall, and complete building completion.
• RETHINK MinistryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides design, strategic planning, and fundraising counsel for church construction and building projects. Illinois contact: David L. Lewis ([email protected]).
• Simplify ChurchminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner referenced for Church Financial Services on BFI's Best Church Business Practices resource page.
• Church CPA NetworkminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner referenced for Church Audit Services on BFI's Best Church Business Practices resource page.
• SikichcoreOthersNational accounting firm that conducts BFI's annual financial audit. Sikich has extensive experience in non-profit accounting and performs BFI's independent financial audit.
• Bank of Springfield / Charles SchwabcoreTechnology or IntegrationBFI maintains an 'always open' brokerage account managed by Bank of Springfield through Charles Schwab using the DTC (Depository Trust Company) system. Used for securities transfers (DTC 0164, Code 40, Account 9724-4689) allowing donors to transfer appreciated securities without capital gains tax.
• ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability)coreOthersBFI displays ECFA logo indicating membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, demonstrating commitment to financial accountability standards for Christian organizations.
• Illinois Baptist State AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBFI is a non-profit member organization of the Illinois Baptist State Association, an association of approximately 1,000 Southern Baptist churches. BFI operates under a 21-member Board of Trustees elected annually by the IBSA. IBSA provides governance and connection to the broader Baptist network.
• Southern Baptist Foundation CEO FellowshipminorOthersExecutive Director Doug Morrow holds membership in the Southern Baptist Foundation CEO Fellowship, connecting BFI with other Southern Baptist foundations for best practice sharing and collaboration.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Baptist Foundation of Texas: Baptist Foundation of Texas operates the same state-level Baptist foundation model: investment management, church loans, scholarships, estate planning, and donor advised funds serving Texas Baptists. It is the closest direct peer to BFI in scale, product mix, and denominational positioning.
• Missouri Baptist Foundation: Missouri Baptist Foundation provides investment services, church loans, estate planning, and scholarship programs to Missouri Baptist churches and individuals — a near-mirror of BFI's product suite and operating model.
• Tennessee Baptist Foundation: Tennessee Baptist Foundation serves Tennessee Baptist churches with church loans, investment services, estate planning, and retirement services for pastors. Operates an essentially identical state foundation model.
• Kentucky Baptist Foundation: Kentucky Baptist Foundation provides financial services to Kentucky Baptist churches and individuals, including church loans, investments, planned giving, and scholarship programs. Highly comparable in mission, structure, and product offering to BFI.
• Alabama Baptist Foundation: Alabama Baptist Foundation administers planned giving, investments, and loans for Alabama Baptist churches and individuals. Same Southern Baptist state-affiliated foundation structure and value proposition.
• AG Financial (Assemblies of God): AG Financial provides church loans, investments, retirement planning, and insurance to Assemblies of God churches and ministers. Highly comparable denominational foundation operating model, serving a different evangelical denomination.
• Free Will Baptist Foundation: Free Will Baptist Foundation operates a comparable denomination-affiliated foundation model providing investment services, loans, and planned giving to Free Will Baptist churches and members. Same structural model in a different evangelical denomination.
• Georgia Baptist Foundation: Georgia Baptist Foundation offers church loans, investment products, estate planning, and ministry support to Georgia Baptist churches. Comparable state-level denominational foundation model with similar target market.

Emerging players

• The Signatry: The Signatry is a national faith-based donor advised fund provider with a digital-first platform. While it does not specialize in church lending, it competes with BFI for DAF assets and stewardship-oriented Christian donors.

Broad incumbents

• National Christian Foundation: National Christian Foundation is the largest faith-based donor advised fund administrator in the U.S. While it serves a broader Christian audience (not just Baptists), it competes with BFI for donor advised fund assets and estate planning relationships among Illinois Baptists.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@dougmorrow4925/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/BaptistFoundationIllinois
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/baptist-foundation-of-illinois

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Baptist Foundation of Illinois