Also important in upholding their family values is being good stewards with what God has entrusted them, so investing in World Vision didn’t come without its due diligence.

“A friend invited us; that was our entree. And we trust him,” says Liza, a 38-year-old investment banker. “Then we did our own deep dive and found that World Vision is technically excellent. We’ve even heard from people in the field, like our missionary friends, that World Vision is well respected overseas. That has taken time to digest, but it all reinforces the same thing—that it’s a great organization to partner with.”

Liza and Byron didn’t come to this decision lightly. Before making an investment, their deep dive included learning more about World Vision’s scope of work, digging into financial documents, and examining World Vision’s Christian identity.

What they discovered was that World Vision encompasses all that they value in terms of the quality of the work and staff, fiscal responsibility and economic impact, and their Christian faith. They particularly appreciate World Vision’s holistic approach to community development.

“Treating any individual cause does not really solve the problem,” Byron says. “You need a holistic view of the spiritual, physical, and emotional. And I like the fact that World Vision does all of those things.”

They both deemed the organization well-run from both a business and financial perspective and found themselves impressed with not only the strategic planning but also the impact reports.

“World Vision can measure the change that they make in people’s lives,” Liza says.

Also important to them is that World Vision is equipped to effectively utilize substantial donations.

“The scale that World Vision has is unparalleled,” says Byron. “It’s appealing to plug into an organization that already has the infrastructure in place, has shovel-ready projects they’re able to scale up, and deals with capital in a way that’s useful.”

The trust they developed in World Vision is further evident as their investments support the Where Most Needed Fund, which allows World Vision the flexibility to direct resources based on timing and greatest need.

“World Vision knows World Vision better than we do. They know where the ROI is,” says Byron. “The level of trust I have with World Vision is quite high. So, if World Vision thinks the money is best used in this way, then I’m sure that’s a better decision than what I could say. Why try to control something that I have less knowledge about?”

Now, they’re deepening their engagement with World Vision by becoming Visionaries. 

They’re particularly looking forward to the network of support, where people with similar values can learn from each other about the struggles they have encountered and discuss investment and wealth management—conversations sometimes difficult to find the right context for.

“I’d like to welcome you, whoever’s reading this, to join in on this journey because iron sharpens iron,” Byron says. “I hope that we can build this into a community of people who will sharpen each other, and grow each other, and challenge each other to live more faithfully and to care for the poor together.”

Just as Liza and Byron were invited on this journey by a friend, they are both challenging others to come alongside them.

“Come and see,” Liza says. “Come and see how you can partner with a world-class organization to make a lasting change in the lives of children and the poorest of the poor. Come and see how you can learn what God’s heart is for people everywhere.”

Liza and Byron's story is one of 6 Visionary donor profiles. You can explore the other stories below. Read about how their contributions are helping to end extreme poverty.