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What We’ll Cover
Al Mueller is the founder and President of Excellence in Giving, a transformative organization dedicated to guiding High Net Worth families in making impactful philanthropic decisions. Al shares his inspiring journey from a successful Wall Street career to his current impactful role as a philanthropic consultant.
Al’s faith played a pivotal role in shaping his life’s purpose and mission. Through prayer and reflection, he crafted his mission statement: to motivate Christians to give significantly and sacrificially with maximum efficiency to Kingdom activities.
This statement led him to take a leap of faith and establish Excellence in Giving, a transformative consulting organization that now serves over 40 High Net Worth families, guiding them in strategic giving decisions ranging from $1 million to $25 million annually to various causes both domestically and internationally.
Al also helped launch the Kingdom Giving Fund, a pooled grant-making organization that focuses on high impact projects that change the trajectory of well-proven ministries. Throughout his interview, Al emphasizes the importance of stewardship, a deeper approach to generosity, where discernment and wise decision-making play a crucial role in making a meaningful impact.
Major topics covered include:
- Al’s journey from Wall Street to philanthropy
- The need to go beyond simple giving and foster a deeper approach to generosity for a lasting impact
- Al’s approach to highly effective giving
- The importance of celebrating wins in generosity
- Excellence in Giving’s approach to philanthropy
- The Kingdom Giving Fund model and collaborative giving
Quotes to Remember
- “I felt like the Lord had a kingdom purpose for me that wasn’t helping wealthy people become wealthier.”
- “Faith is definitely important. And the crown ministry allowed us to really rethink that.”
- “Giving away money thoughtfully is a challenge.”
- “If you’re not experiencing the joy of generosity, you’re not doing it, right.”
- “Only the Lord has the capacity to deal with all the problems in the world.”
- “Joy is a big part of what God promises in the world of generosity and stewardship.”
- “Your passions have to be a subset of God’s passions.”
- “There is really no substitute for doing your own homework in the area of giving.”
- “When God breaks your heart, then figure out who’s championing that area and join them.”
- “There should be things in our lives that break our heart.”
- “When you have more money, you will just do more of what you’re already doing now.”
Links from the Show
- Excellence in Giving
- The Kingdom Giving Fund
- Crown Ministries
- Halftime by Bob Buford
- Jesus Film (see our interview with Executive Director Josh Newell)
- Ben Carson Reading Rooms
- Generous Giving (see our interviews with cofounder, Todd Harper and CEO, April Chapman)
- Rick Warren
- Compassion International
- The Finish Line Community Facebook Group
- The Finish Line Community LinkedIn Group
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.
