Financial Integrity

00:00
Speaker 1
The number of people who don’t have a Bible, and then looking at home, and I’m like, oh, there are four on my shelf, and I use one. We have so much here right at our fingertips. 

00:21
Rich Rudowske
Welcome to the essentially translatable podcast brought to you by Luke and Bible translators. I’m Richard Husky. 

00:26
Emily Wilson
And I’m Emily Wilson. 

00:28
Rich Rudowske
And we are going to pick up our series with new leaders here at Lutheran Bible translators. We’ve had the opportunity to sit down with all of the new directors that came on board starting January 1. And today we are talking with Angela Taylor, who serves as the director of operations and chief financial officer here. And she’s been with us since 2017, working in our finance area the whole time. She’s got a great background, and when we come to finance, we don’t like lots of drama or undue. And so she’s a steady hand for us and has guided us well and been a great blessing to me personally. 

01:04
Emily Wilson
Yeah. So we hope you enjoy this interview with our director for operations, Angela Taylor. 

01:14
Rich Rudowske
We are here in the studio today with Angela Taylor, who serves as the director of operations and CFO of Lutheran Bible translators starting January 1. And great to have you with us today. 

01:24
Emily Wilson
Welcome to the podcast. 

01:26
Speaker 1
Thank you. 

01:27
Emily Wilson
So we’re going to just continue with our series on introducing members of our lead team, our leadership directors of the organization. So you began serving with Lutheran Bible translators. It’s 2017, right? 

01:44
Speaker 1
That’s correct. 

01:45
Emily Wilson
But originally, your realm of the field of finance was a little bit more on the corporate for profit side of business. And then was this your first switch with nonprofit or had you had experience before that? 

02:01
Speaker 1
I’d say the hospital was. It was a nonprofit, but I’m not this close to the customers. Does that make sense? 

02:08
Emily Wilson
Right, exactly. 

02:09
Speaker 1
Just in accounting. 

02:11
Emily Wilson
So this is a little bit more of a like, okay, this was a switch when you were in the for profit and you then having that little bit of time with the hospital, you weren’t super close with, okay, what was happening with the patients, and it was more on the behind the scenes, whereas this is very much like it’s behind the scenes and yet forefront at the same time. Right. So what are the facets that have been unique to working for a ministry rather than a for profit? 

02:41
Speaker 1
That’s an interesting question because I still try to look at who is my customer. So the donors are the customer. They may never see the product. Yes. The missionaries are my customer. So I don’t know if I feel like there is a huge difference. 

02:59
Rich Rudowske
Yeah, I think with ministry, too, the part that’s really highlighted, emphasized to people, is the result that’s expected or hoped for, the populations that will be served. But I think it’s important to sort of unpack a little bit of what are some of the behind the scenes things when you are a nonprofit corporation in the United States that you have to pay attention to create the context for ministry to happen and people might not. What’s one thing people probably don’t expect when they think about a ministry that you have to deal with? 

03:31
Speaker 1
All I could think of is reporting is what comes to mind, this constant filling out a form reporting. Because like we had mentioned, ECFA wants me to fill out every year reporting. 

03:46
Rich Rudowske
A report on the financial components of ministry. And then, of course, as an organization in the United States, that means you’re like, in 50 different places. So talk a little bit about that. 

03:59
Speaker 1
That comes into play with our. Some states require you to register as a charity in order to take donations from their citizenship. And thankfully, we have a law firm that takes care of that for us. But she does send me a lot of questions, and I’m really thankful she does that. It takes her a lot of time. There are 27, I think, 27 states that we have to register with. 

04:29
Emily Wilson
I think that’s even a component, too, of what is it that people would expect or not expect. In my brain before I started working for a ministry, I would have just been like, okay, they have the people who are maybe processing donations and the people who have the programs and maybe communications people to produce material and content, but my brain would have never processed law firm and coordinating with a lawyer and making sure that everything was compliant. So has that been something new for the nonprofit, or was that something that you were like, oh, yeah, we did that all the time. 

05:13
Speaker 1
I think the rules are a little bit different for nonprofit. I’ve had to kind of read up on that and using the ECFA as resource. But I worked in banking, and so in my internal audit years in a bank, you had to follow the FDIC rules, and there was specific regulations on the font size for your credit card disclosures. And so, yeah, I kind of was. 

05:41
Emily Wilson
Used to checking up on things, reading the fine print. 

05:45
Speaker 1
Yes. 

05:46
Emily Wilson
Of all of the expectations and the regulations and making sure that you’re having all of your bases covered. It’s so interesting because it’s so necessary. I think that maybe sometimes that can be glossed over. It’s like, oh, ministry is happening. That’s great. But there’s a lot of the behind the scenes of like, okay, are we compliant? Is this meeting the needs of the state or the federal tax exemption versus non tax exemption? I know like any. 

06:21
Speaker 1
Please consult your tax. 

06:25
Emily Wilson
Anytime. We have so giving Tuesday, when we had that particular, like, you would almost call it a drive. I know were asking you a million questions of what is it that we can do or not do as we’re interacting with donors. And you’ve been a huge blessing with that. So there have been unique challenges when serving in this role. So I know that you just started January 1 as the CFO, but you’ve been with the organization since 2017. What are some of the things that have stood out to you as, like, I wasn’t thinking this when I chose the career that I did. What is it that stood out to you? 

07:10
Speaker 1
I don’t know. I take things in little bits and pieces. Yeah, you have stressful days. Everything’s conquerable. I think something here that came to mind was the cost centers. Yeah. Sometimes that’s a challenge to keep it all straight and in line. 

07:29
Emily Wilson
So for the Listeners, the cost centers are, for our budgeting purposes, being able to say, like, what the funds are going to for. Okay, is this going to this particular regional director or this particular language program or being able to say, this is budgeted and this is what the costs are. And being able to have all of that in place and then going through annual audit and being able to make sure that all of that reporting has been processed. And we also distribute grants to our projects and being able to process all of that. There’s a lot of numbers. 

08:11
Speaker 1
I love it. 

08:13
Emily Wilson
And that’s why we love you, Angie, that the numbers are not overwhelming, but rather that you love and are using your gifts and the abilities that God has given you. 

08:26
Rich Rudowske
Right. So with you is basically in Lutheran Bible translators, fine print central, like any fine print, is ultimately somewhere in your group overseeing the finance function as well as human resources and it as well. So just talk a little bit about those other areas. And of course, you got a great team working in there. But what are some, again, just the challenges or the aspects of being a ministry that’s located in the United States in 2023 that you address through those functions? 

09:00
Speaker 1
And as you talk about, know, on our mind always is the security HR, again, that goes back to written regulations kind of like that. And Melissa loves reading. Yeah. So I have some good help there. 

09:17
Rich Rudowske
Yeah. And all of it, again, in a ministry context, I just can’t understate. And you shouldn’t understate either. The value of being sure to create good context for ministry to happen. Like, if nobody notices numbers, really, or notices HR, or maybe not even the security, but if we get something wrong, then all of a sudden the context for all kinds of ministry no longer exists. 

09:40
Speaker 1
I do like to stay under the radar. That’s good. 

09:45
Emily Wilson
I was thinking about it. Like, each of the departments rely on building a strong foundation. You can’t do programs work without having a strong foundation of understanding God’s mission and our role in it. And to be able to say, uncompromising, this is what we’ve been called to for being transparent and good stewards of our ministry funds and how to best even, like, okay, like, being able to say, we have this tax exemption and how do we apply that and where do we make our purchases and where can we find discounts? Like, you’re the chief researcher in all of that, and you’re building a strong foundation so that the ministry can happen, so that there’s not a diverted focus. Right. Because it’s easy for us to say, like, oh, the funds are coming in, here it is. Okay, fine. 

10:46
Emily Wilson
But there’s a lot going on behind the scenes to make sure that process is not only smooth, but also correctly allocating. So you joined the team in 2017, and Lutheran Bible translators has actually had a number of various certifications and high ratings to distinguish us from other nonprofits. Other nonprofit charities wanting to share with our listeners and the people who maybe are like, oh, I’ve never given, but tell me more, what are some of our certifications and ratings and what does it actually mean? 

11:29
Speaker 1
Gotcha. We are members of the ECFA and we are charter members. So we’ve been there quite a while. I don’t know how many. 

11:39
Rich Rudowske
Yeah, it’s from the beginning, I think it was established in the 1990s, if I’m not mistaken, and that’s a renewal process on annual basis. ECFA is the evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. 

11:52
Emily Wilson
Okay, so what does that entail? What are some of their requirements? Do you know, off of the top of your head, I know that there’s a lot of paperwork. 

12:02
Speaker 1
They do ask for a copy of our audit, so it has our financial statements in it. They ask a series of questions, like how many missionaries we have in the field? And some of that is summarized out on their website when people look up Lutheran Bible translators. 

12:15
Emily Wilson
So it really is, like, all out there for people to see. 

12:19
Speaker 1
It is, yeah, there’s quite a bit of information out there. So the other is charity navigator. We’ve been certified through them for ten years. 

12:28
Rich Rudowske
Yeah. Four star rating for ten straight years. Yeah, which is remarkable. 

12:34
Speaker 1
Same type thing. They take our audited financial statements and ask a few extra questions. 

12:41
Emily Wilson
Not an easy thing to accomplish. 

12:43
Rich Rudowske
Yeah. And there’s a distinctive there for the charity navigator. Don’t have to be christian, but just doing charitable work. So that reaches a potentially larger audience of folks and it’s not a bad idea to have different sets of benchmarks and lenses to look at things through. So the charity navigator really looks at your financials and how you use the funds and their perception of your transparency based on several indicators as well, which are they kind of recalibrate those calculations on a periodic basis based on donor preferences, things like that. 

13:18
Speaker 1
And we’ve recently been given a rating by excellence in giving as transparent. 

13:25
Rich Rudowske
Yeah, that one certainly has the financial component too. And I’m speaking to this because the programs piece is another piece they dive a lot more into. Tell us about how funds are used and then give us a measurable metric of progress that you’ve accomplished towards your mission. So were able to talk to them about numbers of chapters of the Bible translated in a certain period of time, numbers of literacy students over a certain period of time, things like that. As she was saying, the common denominator with all of them is we receive the highest rating and are know donors that are using those are advised that if you’re looking for a ministry to be confident in your giving, then Lutheran Bible translators is one. 

14:06
Rich Rudowske
And that speaks a lot to Angela and her team then, because there’s the ministry implementation, but they’re really focused on the resource utilization and how the resources are used and tracked and whether somebody who wants to dig in and ask more questions can do that fairly easily. 

14:22
Emily Wilson
There’s really a lot of homework that people can do to be able to look up. Is this in fact an organization that I want to be partnering alongside? So we’ve named a few of them for you to be able to look not only for Lutheran Bible translators, but to also be able to say like, hey, I’ve been supporting a ministry. I want to know more information. That’s a road that they can go down to be able to determine is this where the Lord is leading them and how they might be able to be good stewards of the gifts that they have been given. So there’s another component within Lutheran Bible translators that’s unique. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with people about what they expect of ministry versus maybe what has been the common practice. 

15:15
Emily Wilson
So there’s this perception that in order to be a good ministry, it would best to use 90% of funds towards programs and 10% towards everything else, administrative and otherwise. But as an organization, we are a little different. So can you explain what it means when people are asking, are you a 90 ten? Can you explain that for our listeners who maybe are unfamiliar? 

15:51
Rich Rudowske
The 90 ten idea comes from, I think, well meaning people who are ministry minded, and they’re thinking in terms of a tithe. Right. So just use 10%, but set aside 10% for this, and then use the other 90% for what they would perceive as ministry. But in general, the ratings agencies and things that we look at would actually rate a ministry lower for that. And what are some of the reasons for that? And again, we choose 80 20, which is highly rated. 

16:21
Speaker 1
Right. And I think we actually kind of beat the 80 20. 

16:25
Rich Rudowske
Sometimes we do just a little. Right. 

16:29
Speaker 1
I think that’s because I see the behind the scenes, the 80 20 seems more reasonable because there is a lot that happens that legal wise, that you need to make sure you’re in compliance and setting up a website. And there’s a lot more that goes into making it happen than 10% could cover. 

16:52
Rich Rudowske
Right. And so if you’re in the 10% and you cut corners, what are some of the risks? 

16:57
Speaker 1
Legal risk, definitely misreporting numbers. There’s security issues. I could see with, I was going. 

17:05
Emily Wilson
To say, being able to say that the risk is that much higher every time we make an advancement, technologically speaking, for malware or just the individuals who have a mindset of, I’m going to do cyberattacks, they’re always trying to keep up with whatever software is trying to make it more secure. And so our work, thank goodness, is not on typewriters. We are using technology and we’re always pushing forward, but those with ill intent are also pushing forward. So the idea of it being 10%, you wouldn’t be able to match the battle it out, actually. 

17:59
Speaker 1
So being able to, even at home, we differentiate between being cheap and frugal. Sure, there’s a big difference. And sometimes you need just that little extra to actually be really productive. 

18:14
Emily Wilson
Yeah, that’s true. 

18:15
Rich Rudowske
Yeah. Leverage. Again, I can’t say enough about creating context for ministry, and I think the risk is losing that context. If you are trying to file again, I think it would be awesome if we could exist in an environment where it was possible to just say 10% can really set you up well for good context in ministry. But we’re in the United States of America, which has great opportunity and just great responsibility as well. Right. I mean, there’s the great opportunity for this society to contribute vastly to making the world a better place. And we’re in a place where you just want to be sure there’s regulation ongoing for the protection of consumers and ministry partners and sometimes with agendas that aren’t as good. 

19:00
Rich Rudowske
But in any case, the Lord’s called us to work in this context, and so it’s good to apply a good amount of resources there. And again, that’s what your team does really well. I’m really thankful that you’re part of the team since 2017 and really grateful that you’ve stepped into the new role as well, has some old and some new in there. But over the time that you’ve served with us, how have you been enriched by your role in ministry and what inspires you as you work with this organization? 

19:28
Speaker 1
I enjoy coming to work. I like the challenge and the people. Yeah. It was a ministry that I hadn’t realized was going on, but kind of seems I should have known it was going on because how do these bibles get in different languages and how would you reach those people? So, yeah, sometimes that is a little intimidating to think about. 

19:51
Rich Rudowske
Yeah. So what’s a component of that in terms of, like, if you wanted somebody listening here or this gets shared with somebody who hasn’t really heard about the ministry itself, what’s the thing? Like, if you could say, I got just a minute to tell you the most important thing you need to know about Bible translation ministry, what would it be? Or just thinking of your own experience, you were surprised you didn’t never heard of this ministry. So somebody reaches out, says, we do this, you’re like, do what? And then what is the thing that. 

20:17
Speaker 1
I think that the number of people who don’t have a Bible, and then looking at home and I’m like, oh, there are four on my shelf and I use one. And it just kind of, it’s humbling to, we have so much here and right at our fingertips. 

20:38
Emily Wilson
Being able to share that and say, I’m part of this. The Lord’s using my gifts and my interests and loving numbers, that this is something that not only is needed, but that it’s a joy for you to be able to walk alongside and to be able to support this ministry. Because if we didn’t have someone who had that love and that interest and that passion and that focus, it wouldn’t be a strong foundation. 

21:13
Rich Rudowske
That’s really like the well known passage about the body of Christ in all of its parts that there are many people in this organization that do not like numbers and they are glad that you do. And if we talk 80 20, I mean, it’s not 80 20, that’s a lot smaller percentage that like numbers. And your impact on those who don’t, who want to do other things is great. So it’s again, really important that all the parts of the body work together. And what a joy to find people in each of these roles that enjoy their part. 

21:47
Emily Wilson
So we shared in the last podcast that prayer is the strategy. It’s not just a strategy, as we are looking to accomplish this amazing goal of God’s word in people’s hands, in every language. So how can we pray for you and your team as you serve alongside each other? 

22:09
Speaker 1
It’s a tight schedule. So I think that’s the concern sometimes that runs through my head. Am I catching it all? Am I dotting all the I’s, crossing all the t’s? 

22:22
Emily Wilson
Yeah. So just that prayer of being able to see those rhythms and those rest periods, not that they’re very long, but being able to see them, identify them, assess and evaluate how to make the most of that, but to also encourage one another as a team. 

22:46
Rich Rudowske
Accomplish one of the jokes that Angie and I have, and we’ve worked together for the whole time, closely. I was operational head before, so is we don’t want drama in finance. Like when we have a report for finance, it’s not going to be exciting. That’s the whole thing. Like stability is what you’re looking for in this area. And yeah, I’m excited about some of the upcoming initiatives we have in the finance area and some of them that we’ve just recently completed, like a new donor management system. The virtuous system really just brought us into the current decade really well in terms of the work that’s done, the reporting that’s done, and the marketing components, and then upcoming cost accounting, would you be able to talk a little bit about why cost accounting is important? Because it doesn’t sound like cost accounting is not fun. 

23:36
Rich Rudowske
It’s a whole different slicing and dicing. 

23:38
Speaker 1
But trying to figure out how to put it in real people terms. 

23:44
Rich Rudowske
Well, the net result, so our next big project that we’re collaborating on in several components, but that’s really headed up in your area, is building a cost accounting system here. And the net result of that is much more efficiently being able to describe to the donors there’s a need and this is how you can get involved and invested at this amount. And this amount will get you this and that clarity, it just removes further barriers. So our organization in general is about removing barriers to the gospel, removing barriers to mission service and that mission involvement. And so, yeah, you can think of accounting and think, people think numbers and boring and you think awesome or whatever, and you think cost accounting and think, oh my goodness. But it’s where those things all lead, right? So anyways, it’s an exciting project coming. 

24:30
Rich Rudowske
I’m excited about it. I’m maybe the other person that likes numbers here. So pray for that. That’s what she wants to say. Because it’s a lot of work. You got a little taste. We had you doing some behind the scenes cost accounting work for us, right, for the campaign. So it’s like an escape room. 

24:47
Emily Wilson
I was going to say there are some people who have gifts in this area and there are some of us who don’t have gifts in this area. And that was very much made clear to me. We’re all working in that exercise. 

25:01
Speaker 1
So how that felt is how, when you say, Angie, be creative. 

25:07
Emily Wilson
Why must I. 

25:10
Rich Rudowske
Perfect. Well, this was a lot of fun talking and just getting a little behind the scenes look at operations, the part that nobody ever gets to see, but really one of the most important parts of any ministry, creating context for ministry to happen. And again, I know our listeners and our ministry personnel are really grateful for your team and your service. Even if they don’t get what you do, they know that what you do creates context for them to do what they do. So thank you. 

25:36
Emily Wilson
Thank you, Angie. 

25:37
Speaker 1
Thank you. 

25:42
Rich Rudowske
One of the things I think that I’m most proud of Lutheran Bible translators is the high ratings that we receive for financial integrity and transparency and Angela’s leadership behind the scenes, guiding those processes and checking all those boxes has led to that year in and year out and really inspires then high degree of donor confidence. And that has really helped serve us well and position us well to serve the Bible translation movement and God’s mission. 

26:09
Emily Wilson
And it really is that the vocations that we are called into that sometimes it’s like, okay, how is this possibly fitting in with God’s mission? And how is it that my skills, my interests, my abilities are able to serve in the kingdom of God? And I’m just always in awe of whenever Angela is able to share about not only her interests, but also how she’s able to manage all of these working pieces. The behind the scenes with Lutheran Bible translators and how it is just such a testimony to God is using all of our gifts in the body of believers to strengthen the church and to encourage one another and to hold one another to good accountability. So it’s just been a real blessing to serve alongside her. 

27:00
Rich Rudowske
Thank you for listening to the essentially translatable podcast brought to you by Lutheran Bible translators. You can find past episodes of the podcast@lbt.org slash podcast or subscribe on audible, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Follow Lutheran Bible translators’social, media channels on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Or go to lbt.org to find out how you can get involved in the Bible translation movement and put God’s word in their hands. The essentially translatable podcast is produced and edited by Andrew Olson. Our executive producer is Emily Wilson. Podcast artwork was designed by Caleb Rotewald and Sarah Rudowski. Music written and performed by Rob Weit. I’m Rich Radowski. So long. For now.