Giving from the Heart: An Eleven-Year-Old’s Generosity

You probably don’t know NoraJean Worland.  She doesn’t own a business.  She doesn’t sit on any boards.  You won’t find her at Public House or Old Gilman Grill during the lunch hour.  She’s in grade school, and she’s awesome. 

NoraJean, together with her cousin and her grandparents, recently opened free giving funds at The Generosity Trust, with the hope that it would foster fun conversations about generosity.  Her grandparents provided a small initial gift, and NoraJean quickly added a few dollars of her own that she had saved up.  A couple of staff members at TGT met with the group to listen and help foster some discussion around ministries that might be aligned with their hearts.  NoraJean’s eyes lit up at a few of the ministries mentioned, and she left motivated to do some extra research. 

Not long after, NoraJean informed TGT that she had made her initial grant decision.  She was going to give $20 to Living Free, a non-profit Christian ministry that provides churches and ministries with small group curriculums that focus on helping people prevent and overcome life-controlling issues.  She had been encouraged that her generosity would make an impact, but she didn’t expect what happened next.

A week or so after her grant, she received a personal letter from Greg Keylon, President at Living Free, thanking NoraJean for her gift and explaining some of the ways he saw it having a potential impact.  Well done, Greg!  NoraJean eagerly sent a picture of the letter to her grandmother followed by a phone call where she shared, “Grandmama, I am helping over 4,000 people come to know the Lord!”

It doesn’t get much better than that. 

If you or your family are interested in learning more about Donor-Advised Funds at The Generosity Trust, call us at 423-266-5257, or email josh@thegenerositytrust.org.