The Finish Line Podcast Jay Dykstra, Physician and Founder of Bless Big, on Why Where You Give is More Important than How Much You Give (Ep. 48)
Jay Dykstra is a practicing radiologist and founder of the website BlessBig.org. Jay’s financial journey started in med school and residency where he and his wife learned to live with a modest lifestyle. As they looked ahead to the large income jump Jay would experience as a practicing physician, they realized they didn’t need any more to be happy. And thus began their financial finish line.
As Jay explored giving and generosity early on, he developed a passion for the global church and for giving where the impact would be highest. By changing where you give, your impact can be up to 10,000 times greater in some cases. It was from this passion that Jay founded BlessBig, which aggregates data and research from over 20 major charity evaluators to list the highest impact organizations working in a number of different impact categories.
Jay shared about a wide variety of topics including:
- Why he thinks it’s better to give now rather than later
- How giving to the local church fits into generosity
- Why it’s so important to reach young adults with the message of generosity and effective giving
- And why where you give is probably more important than how much you give
Listen now to hear all he had to say. If you'd like to reach Jay, text him at 616-610-3412 or email him at email.jay.dykstra@gmail.com.
QUOTES TO REMEMBER- “Just set aside an unspendable chunk of money that feels a little sacrificial and is something you cannot spend.”
- “Get used to the mindset of having something you cannot touch, that’s going to be used for something else.”
- “It was huge for us to be able to learn those principles while we were still in the financial formation phase so that when we did have more to give, it wasn’t at all difficult for us to decide where to give or how to give because we had already been doing that.”
- “Jesus knows that what we do with our money is really more of a heart issue than a how much you give issue.”
- “It ends up being where you give that ends up being far more impactful than how much you give.”
- “Is our heart truly somewhere where we want to give, or is death the only thing that is going to succeed in separating our money from ourselves. Death should never be more generous than we are.”
- “Money is just another resource to use as an expression for how we are aligning ourselves with God.”
- “In developed nations, we’ve solved all the problems that money is good at solving. And all the problems that are left are problems that money is not good at solving.”
- “Give time to those around you, that’s what empathy is for. But give cash to the world’s lesser served and you’ll heal 10,000 more.”
- The Effective Altruism movement
- BlessBig.org
- ROI Ministry (see our interview with Founder and Director, Tim Barker)
- GiveWell.org
- Calvin Edwards and Co. (see our interview with Founder, Calvin Edwards)
- National Christian Foundation (see our interview with President Emeritus, David Wills)
- The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
- The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group
Mark 12:42-44 | A Widow’s Offering
42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Matthew 13:8 | The Fruit of a Seed
Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Matthew 7:16-20 | Know a Tree by its Fruit
16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
Acts 4:34-35 | There Were None Needy Among Them
34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!If you have a thought about something you heard, or a story to share, please reach out! You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You can also contact us directly from our contact page. If you want to engage with the Finish Line Community, check out our groups on Facebook and LinkedIn.