Research On Religion » Young Life

Martin Barrett on Sozo Friends & For-Profit Charities

tonygill — Sun, 26 Jun 2016 08:00:39 +0000

It is common for most people to attribute “non-profit status” to a faith-based organization that is dedicated to charitable giving. But can such an endeavor be run as a for-profit enterprise? This week we visit with Martin Barrett, co-founder of Sozo Friends, a small wine-bottling business that seeks to “facilitate community and funding around friends who meet basic needs.” By teaming with restaurants, auto dealers, realtors, mortgage companies, and other businesses, Sozo Friends is able to provide funding for such organizations as Emergency Food Network, Rescue Freedom, and Olive Crest (to name just a few). Mr. Barrett details his own upbringing in a faith-filled home, along with his participation in, and work for, Young Life. It is with this youth-oriented organization that he developed the sense that religion needs to be relational, building community beyond the boundaries of the walls of the local church. He then discusses the origins of Sozo Friends, conceived during a conversation over wine with the company’s other co-founder Monte Regier who had returned from a several year stint serving in Liberia with Mercy Ships. Martin details the various trials and errors of setting up a business model centered around wine and community, using focus groups with young professionals to explore new ways to engage people in charitable giving. Their first attempt at “Party in a Box” proved to be unsuccessful, but both Martin and Monte forged ahead with other ideas and settled upon using sales of premium wine at restaurants to help fund various charities. Canlis, a Seattle restaurant, was the first to jump on board. Martin notes how the idea is first to sell a high-quality product and then follow up with the story of how each bottle sold (or glass poured) helps an orphan or other person in need around the world. This marketing is atypical of other charities that tend to lead with the story and then sell the product. We then discuss how Sozo Friends has expanded into the area of chocolate and coffee, as well as expanding the business model beyond restaurants to other businesses — e.g., auto dealers — who give bottles of wine in a gift basket following the purchase of a vehicle. Martin notes that when someone who just bought a car receives this gift and learns that the proceeds of the sale go to a charity selected by the auto dealer, a bond of trust and community is created that is beneficial to all parties involved — the customer, the auto dealer, and the organization running the charity. Mr. Barrett finishes off explaining his business philosophy of how building relations and trust are central to a well-functioning marketplace and why he runs his business as a for-profit, rather than a non-profit. Recorded with the gracious assistance of Willows Lodge (which partners with Sozo Friends) in Woodinville, WA on June 15, 2016.

(Note: This interview, while not “social scientific” in nature, per se, is part of our occasional series on “practitioners” who live their faith at ground level. Talking with these folks about how they actual do the things they do is part of the social scientific process according to this podcast’s host.)

Monte Regier & Martin Barrett on how Sozo Friends began (YouTube video).

Martin Barrett on the Sozo experience (YouTube video).

“Sozo Friends Pairs Premium Wines with Fighting Hunger,” by Glenn Drosendahl (article in Puget Sound Business Journal).

“Sozo Wines: Let’s Chug-a-Lug for Charity,” by Leslie Kelly (article in the Seattle Weekly).

Young Life (mentioned in podcast).

Mercy Ships, Olive Crest, and Rescue:Freedom (charities mentioned on the podcast).

Willows Lodge – Woodinville, WA (gracious host of the interview).

RELATED PODCASTS

Jay Hein on the Quiet Revolution and Religious Social Work.

Jay Hein on the Faith-Based and Community Initiative.

John Fea on the American Bible Society.

Owen Strachan on Chuck Colson.

William Wubbenhorst on Serve, West Dallas.

David Wills on Religious Charity and Taxes.

Michael Cromartie on Religion, the Media, and Think Tanks

tonygill — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 08:00:22 +0000

Jay Hein on the Invisible Revolution. How did the secular and religious media react to the recent visit of Pope Francis to the United States? And what does a think tank do to influence the national dialogue and policymakers on a variety of issues related to religion and faith? These area a few of the questions we explore with Michael Cromartie, vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC. A former research assistant to Chuck Colson, member of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, and founder of The Faith Angle Forum, Mr. Cromartie has a unique perspective on the world of faith, the news media, and public policy.

We begin with a lesson on the Scottish pronunciation of names. Tony, being the football fan he is, mispronounces “Cromartie,” placing the emphasis on the wrong syllables, but Michael instructs him on the proper syllabic emphasis. And then it is off to a discussion on the pope’s recent trip to the United States. Instead of focusing on what the pontiff said, we look at how both the secular and religious media covered the event. Michael points out that the media is fascinated by Francis due to his lack of ostentation, but the coverage of what was said was skewed towards the economic and climate message, but avoided the cultural issues that were part of Francis’s message. We also talk about the liberal and secular nature of the national news media and the recent emphasis on “religious nones” and why a population that is seemingly becoming less religious would be so fascinated with this spiritual figure. Michael also tosses in some of his thoughts on how the Protestant media covered the pope and how this opens a door for evangelicals to reframe their image in the public square.

Tony follows this discussion by probing Mr. Cromartie’s background, wondering how he ended up in a Washington DC think tank. Michael reviews his high school and college experiences, including time living in a Christian commune, and how he surprisingly ended up working for Chuck Colson and getting mugged in Denver. It is from there that he eventually became linked to the Ethics & Public Policy Center (EPPC) in Washington DC. We then follow the conversation into the world of think tanks and discuss what the EPPC does and how it originated. Tony asks about how and whether such think tanks actually effect policy and Michael provides a number of examples of how EPPC attempts to slowly change the nation’s dialogue by bringing academics and policymakers together in a number of different forums. We discuss two of these programs that Mr. Cromartie helped shape — the Evangelicals in Civic Life Program and the Faith Angle Forum. As to the latter, Tony asks how the EPPC is trying to get journalists and academics to break out of the bubble they are in. Michael presents some of his thoughts on this.

We finish the interview with some of Mr. Cromartie’s personal reflections on his own life experience and how this might be useful for a younger generation. He notes that rather than trying to make a world-changing impact immediately when you are young, it is important to be “significant where you are right now,” which relates to being faithful in the ordinary tasks of life. Recorded: October 9, 2015.

The Faith Angle Forum.

Evangelicals in Civic Life Program.

Religion and Politics in America: A Conversation, edited by Michael Cromartie.

Religion, Culture, and International Conflict: A Conversation, edited by Michael Cromartie.

A Public Faith: Evangelicals and Civic Engagement, edited by Michael Cromartie.

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Jeremy Lott on the Media’s Pope-O-Rama.

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David Brody on the 2010 Midterm Elections and Religious Journalism.

Owen Strachan on Chuck Colson.

Jon Shields on Democratic Virtues and the Christian Right.

Jay Hein on the Quiet Revolution.

David Wills on Religious Charity and Taxes

tonygill — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 08:00:05 +0000

(While your host is taking a short break, we rebroadcast this interview from two years ago. The issues remain as timely today as they were then!)

David Wills, president of the National Christian Foundation (NCF) and a lawyer specializing in charitable giving and estate planning, joins our program to discuss the relationship between charitable giving, taxation and other government regulations. Our discussion starts on a broad philosophical level, examining how our society decides to allocate resources to solve various social problems — either via private charity or government intervention. We center our attention on disaster relief but observe that the pincipals we discuss apply to a wide range of social services. David reviews how his foundation operates and facilitates the relationship between donors and charitable organizations, which include both religious and secular organizations. Surprisingly, we discover that the NCF not only serves large philanthropic donors, but regular folks who might be donating just a couple thousand dollars each year. Tony notes that the NCF represents a unique entrepreneurial institution that allows individuals to make the most efficient use of their giving. We then discuss whether increases in taxation and government services have affected level and nature of charitable giveing. David provides an interesting grassroots perspective on this issue that contrasts with an earlier podcast we had with Daniel Hungerman. Our conversation turns to tax laws and other regulations affecting charitable organizations. David discusses how both tax rates and the regulatory defnition of what constitutes a charity can have a large impact on religious charity. He provides some insight into some potential legal and tax code changes on the horizon that may have a large impact on NGOs and donors. Anybody who runs, or donates to, a charitable organization will want to listen closely to what is happening as these changes are not widely discussed in the news media. Tony asks David about his thoughts on the Bush Administration’s Faith-Based Insiative. David finishes with some interesting observations about the role of megachurches with respect to these potential legal changes and his views on the future of megachurches contrasts with that of our previous guest, James Brettell. Recorded: March 23, 2011.

RELATED LINKS

The National Christian Foundation.

Investing in God’s Business, by Terry Parker, Gregory Sperry, and David Wills. (Free selection here.)

Family.Money: Five Questions Every Family Should Ask about Wealth, by David Wills, Terry Parker, and Gregory Sperry. (Free selection here.)

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Dan Hungerman on Religious Charity and Crowding Out.

Jay Hein on the Faith-Based and Community Initiative

Jim Houser on the Christian Music Industry

tonygill — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 07:00:04 +0000

What is it like to work in the contemporary Christian music (CCM) industry and how has that business changed over the last few decades? Jim Houser, managing parter at the music division of Creative Trust, discusses his role in the CCM business and how it has changed over the years. We start by talking about how Jim entered into the music industry and how he worked his way over to Creative Trust where he manages such artists as Steven Curtis Chapman, Brandon Heath and CALEB. Jim then tells us about his daily, weekly, and annual activities in managing these artists. We talk about the difficulties that he and his clients face when they are on the road and how they overcome such challenges. Our conversation then turns to a discussion of how the CCM industry has changed over the past three decades, with particular respect to how artists and managers have tried to adjust to the digital music and file sharing revolution. We also talk about the variety of Christian music sub-genres (e.g., metal, punk) and how the industry has accomodated these new forms of expression and the challenges faced by “crossover” artists who make music that reaches a more secular audience. Our conversation finishes with a discussion of Steven Curtis Chapman’s most recent tour and how it is structured, as well as the adoption charity he founded – Show Hope. Jim also provides us with “coming attractions” for a couple of the artists he manages. Public disclosure: Tony likes listening to Steven Curtis Chapman music. Recorded: November 1, 2011.

RELATED LINKS

Creative Trust, Inc. Entertainment & Literary Management.

Steven Curtis Chapman’s site at CT and official website.

Brandon Heath’s site at CT and official website.

Lindsay McCaul site at CT and official website.

Britt Nicole site at CT and official website.

CALEB site at CT and official website.

MIKESCHAIR site at CT and official website.

Show Hope, an adoption charity founded by Steven and Mary Beth Chapman.

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