Donor Stories

 

Throughout his childhood, Todd Moore watched his parents make sacrifices to help others. He even went to Ecuador, Mexico, and Haiti with his father, an optometrist who volunteered his time at eye clinics.

This upbringing sparked Todd’s interest in missions. Yet God led Todd to stay in the United States, where he became a surgeon and married Angela, a dermatologist. The couple committed to conservative financial values that have allowed them to invest in missions from their home in Arlington, Texas.

One organization Todd and Angela support is Campus Crusade for Christ, which directs the JESUS Film Project, an evangelism tool based on the Gospel of Luke. “We learned that one of the ‘JESUS’ film’s biggest bottlenecks is getting the translations of Luke ready to be dubbed,” Todd recalled. “We asked who does the translation, and they said The Seed Company is one of the big partners.”

Realizing that Bible translation provides a foundation for many forms of ministry, Todd and Angela decided to invest in the work of The Seed Company, one of Wycliffe’s strategic partners. Since then, they have taken their two young sons to observe translation projects in Nepal and East Asia. Last fall, they visited Ethiopia. There, they watched a translation team wrestle with a passage in 1 Timothy about purity among believers—a message particularly relevant in Ethiopia, where sexually transmitted diseases are widespread. 

“It was a good reminder of the power Scripture has to transform a culture, nation, or continent,” Todd said.

Several years ago, Todd and Angela discovered the benefits of a donor-advised fund. Since then, they have contributed two primary assets to the fund: a percentage of an S-coporation and a percentage of a business partnership. The donor-advised fund allowed them to contribute these assets immediately and decide later where to distribute the gifts.

It also resulted in tax savings, reduced paperwork, and an opportunity to share their values with their sons. “For us, it is important that our kids not only develop in their faith, but also their generosity,” Todd said. “As our boys grow up, they will have an increasingly large influence on where those grants are made.”

Through a donor-advised fund, Todd is furthering the legacy his parents began and making a significant impact on The Seed Company’s work in Bible translation.