In 2018 an estimated $124.52 billion was given to religious organizations, which represents roughly one-third of the total $427 billion given to charitable organizations. This figure included giving to your local church, synagogue, or mosque, but another several billion represented giving to large organizations in other categories such as World Vision, The United Jewish Appeal (UJA), and The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The key takeaway from these facts is that nonprofits are not just about doing good deeds—they are big business. And faith-based nonprofits require a special type of leader to navigate the business side of the organization if they have serious hopes to make a real impact.

M. Gasby Brown has decades of experience working with nonprofit organizations, serving at the cabinet level of the National Urban League, Greenpeace, and The Washington National Opera and is a much sought after consultant who helps nonprofits develop efficient business strategies. She wrote Business of a Spiritual Matter because she identified a need. She realized that too many nonprofits, particularly in the faith-based sector, use an obsolete model to run their operations. This is largely because their leaders tend to be overly focused on the greater “mission” and overlook the importance of building an infrastructure to support their cause. This in turn compromises the effectiveness of their efforts to secure funding.

There is an abundance of wealth available to any noble endeavor through grants, foundations, and generous individual gifts, but it takes savvy leadership and strategic planning to access the full benefit of these offerings. Business of a Spiritual Matter is intended to be a guide to unlocking this wealth to help the heads of Faith-based nonprofits succeed in making the world a better a place.