Our Blog

Our church is making money (or thinking about it). What about taxes?

Don’t let confusion about taxes stop you from doing something new, say two experts in faith-based social enterprise.

Where to Start: A Guide for Faith Leaders on Shifting Ground

Where to Start is a collaborative project to support you — a faith leader who may not know what to do with your resources.

2021 Annual Report

A lot happened for RootedGood in 2021! Read more about it in our annual report here.

August 3, 2022

Impact Investing Resources for Churches

Learn more about impact investing and how to put investment money to work to make more good in the world.

July 14, 2022

Faithful exploration of enterprise: Using business language in church

One of the enduring challenges for churches engaging in social enterprise is unfamiliarity and unease with the language, concepts and practices that have their home in business and economics.

Mission Possible Game: Inspire Creativity & Build Teams

Mission Possible is a game that takes participants through the design thinking process from big problems to creative use of resources to innovative solutions all in less than 2 hours.

Research Report: The Tax Implications for Faith-Based Social Enterprise in the U.S.

What taxes do churches have to pay on revenue generating activity and to whom? Is their tax-exempt status put in jeopardy by engaging in social enterprise? How do churches and faith-based organizations make sense of federal, state, and local tax regulations?

May 2, 2022

How to Develop Well?: A Guide to Help Churches Work with a Property Developer

Is your church considering working with a property developer to do something new on your property? RootedGood’s new tool, How to Develop Well, can help!

What About Taxes!? A Guide for Churches Starting to Generate Revenue

Is your church considering starting a new activity in order to generate revenue or do you have questions about how your activities might impact your tax status? RootedGood’s tool, What About Taxes?! can help.

Supporting Mental Health with Mission Possible Giveaway

Thanks to generous donors who stepped forward during our fall campaign, we have been able to give our Mission Possible design thinking game to nonprofit organizations doing work around the country to support mental health.

January 8, 2021

Mission Possible Giveaway!

This fall we are going to be giving away 20 Mission Possible games to non-profits doing work to support mental health so that they can build capacity and make an even greater impact. Help us help them!

November 10, 2020

The Change Makers Project Learning Report

This report captures the learning and reflection from the innovative Change Makers Project, a partnership between Wesley Theological Seminary & Baltimore-Washington Methodist Conference supported by RootedGood.

Money and Mission Alignment Tool

This Money + Mission Alignment tool is designed to help organizations evaluate their alignment of money and mission in order to do both, better. Gain a deeper understanding of how money and mission intersect in your organization by learning this framework and applying to your context.

January 1, 1970

What Next?

What Next? is based upon the general design of What Now? but with a broader application to ministry contexts beyond the local congregation (such as camps, campus ministries, etc.) and looking beyond the pandemic environment.

June 9, 2021

Let's Talk About Resources

Let's Talk About Resources is designed to facilitate creative and imaginative conversations about how churches can use their resources in service to their local community.

February 25, 2021

Tell better stories - Make it Memorable

Social impact organization have to tell good stories. Thankfully, storytelling can be learned and improved. Make It Memorable is a simple game that will help you and your team tell better stories.

February 16, 2021

Three Little Pigs Evaluation Exercise

Based on the children's story of the Three Little Pigs, this short, engaging exercise will help your team discuss what is going well and what needs some attention in your organization.

September 16, 2020

I Spy

This mini-tool will help you be more observant about the world around you and draw new conclusions about your community.

August 14, 2020

What Now?

The “What Now?” tool will guide you and your leadership team through an engaging, efficient, and interactive process for making decisions about how to fulfill your mission in the current environment.

July 6, 2020

How Will We Gather? Planning Exercise

How Will We Gather? is interactive and will spark generative conversation, helping to create consensus among your team about the best ways forward.

June 12, 2020

Community Discovery Tool

The community discovery tool is designed to help identify the different places in your context where people are interacting in new ways and where communities are forming, and create a map that can be used as a scavenger hunt or trail.

This is the time for entrepreneurship. Agree or Disagree?

Agree! Entrepreneurship is about transforming the world by solving big problems. While entrepreneurship includes creating a business and scaling it to generate a profit, entrepreneurship is about being a part of the solution, making a difference, and contributing to the world’s flourishment.

September 21, 2021

Social Enterprise—A gift or a risk to the church?

The church has been static, in decline, and operating with an insufficient resource model for too long. We know things have to change.

July 29, 2021

How to Stop Measuring the Wrong Things

We all know that what gets counted counts, but what do you do when you know the wrong things are getting counted (i.e., measured)?

May 26, 2021

Looking for Ways to Save Time and Money?

Learn more about the value of RootedGood’s self-directed tools, games, and processes. Our tools can save you more than $7000 and 30 hours of time.

April 29, 2021

Measurement: Your New Best Friend

A good friend tells you how it really is -- the good and sometimes hard-to-hear truths. And measurement -- done well -- will do just that.

April 13, 2021

A look back at 2020: Annual Report

2020 was a year with a lot of challenges but we pivoted and found ways to thrive and help others succeed. We are delighted to look back and see all that was achieved. Download our 2020 Annual Report and have a look at what 2020 was all about for us!

February 4, 2021

Join our team - We are hiring!

Join the RootedGood team - we are hiring! We are looking for a committed and detail oriented individual to join us as our Operations & Project Manager. Apply today.

January 20, 2021

Mission Possible: The story and reach of our most popular tool

Mission Possible had an unusual beginning - a way of avoiding speaking engagements! Read about the story of where Mission Possible came from and discover some of the wide variety of contexts the tool has been used in.

September 25, 2020

Five tips for using the What Now? tool

We have been thrilled with the positive response from pastors and leaders to our recently released interactive planning tool: What Now? Here are a few tips for how to use the tool well in your context.

July 29, 2020

What we learned from taking an interactive workshop online: the Measurement 'Master' Class

If we came up with a list of 'what we (think we) do well' as an organization, somewhere near the top of the list would be designing interactive learning experiences and workshops.

Increasing creative confidence one Lego brick at a time

RootedGood co-founder & lead-cultivator, Shannon Hopkins, and her godson invited their neighbors to take 50 Lego pieces and make something. The results demonstrated how small, simple experiments in creativity can be communal and fun.

October 5, 2021

Podcast – The Church Isn't Broke | Mark Elsdon

Mark Elsdon discusses his life and new book with John Terrill of UpperHouse on the Upper Word Podcast.

June 30, 2021

What's next for ministry in the post-pandemic era?

Read more about RootedGood's collaboration with PC(USA) on our "What Next?" tool and other resources to help organizations plan for life post-pandemic.

June 24, 2021

Investing in the Future as a Way of Repairing the Past

In an article written for Faith + Lead, RootedGood Co-Founder, Mark Elsdon, writes on how many Christian churches in the United States have large amounts of "hidden" wealth in invested assets and property and reminds readers of a hard truth: this enormous wealth was made possible by two key stolen inputs: land and people. Land that was stolen from indigenous people and people were stolen from their land. Mark Elsdon offers readers two suggestions on how Churches can help repair injustices of the past by thinking about and supporting reparations in their contexts.

May 24, 2021

Podcast – Mark Elsdon talks about his work at RootedGood & PresHouse on the Give Back Economy Show

Mark Elsdon is a social innovator, author, business and theological person who talks about his work with RootedGood and PresHouse.

April 8, 2021

What could we do with billions of dollars?

Impact investing has the potential to radically transform our faith communities. Intrigued? Mark Elsdon helps you dream up the possibilities for your church in this article.

March 10, 2021

Mark Elsdon talks church assets on Spiritual Capital podcast

Despite sleepless nights, hair pulled out, and unfinanceable mortgages, Mark Elsdon says, "We Aren't Broke." On what grounds? Actually, on the ground beneath his building and other church assets.

March 1, 2021

Economic Innovation in the church - Faith + Finance Plenary

RootedGood founders shared thoughts on economic innovation in the church as plenary speakers at the October 2020 Faith+Finance Church Economics conference. Watch here.

December 1, 2020

10 guidelines for faithful innovation by a social entrepreneur

Innovation isn’t a good unto itself; at its core, innovation is about solving problems, says RootedGood co-founder Shannon Hopkins. Read her 10 guidelines for faithful innovation.

December 9, 2020

Mark Sampson podcast on Spiritual Capital

Craig Mattson, of Spiritual Capital renown, converses with Mark Sampson, one of RootedGood's co-founders, on the need for us to think deeply about the phrase 'social enterprise'.

September 18, 2020

Good Grief & Organizational Change - Shannon Hopkins

Organizational change isn’t for the faint of heart. In this podcast, RootedGood co-founder Shannon Hopkins explores what it is to lead well when success means letting go.

August 20, 2020

Podcast - Impact Measurement with Spiritual Capital

In this podcast with Craig Mattson, Mark Sampson explores some of the concepts and ideas that inform RootedGood’s approach to impact measurement.

July 31, 2020

The Need For Economic Theology

A partner of RootedGood, Faith and Finance, is a new movement that explores the implications of faith traditions for finance, economics and entrepreneurship. Mark Sampson has written this piece, exploring the need for economic theology.

Aligning Mission and Money

In this piece from Religion News Service, Mark Elsdon describes Pres House's ability to combine church owned property, denominational impact investment, and a mission approach to create a thriving ministry and sustainable financial model.

Leading Non-profits towards Resilience

Mark Elsdon shares some thoughts on non-profit growth and leadership in a series of blog posts through Princeton Seminary. The first one is here:

The Story of Pres House

This article describes how Mark Elsdon, Executive Director of Pres House, and his team transformed a dormant organization into a nationally recognized campus ministry that generates more than $2 million in annual revenue.

Understanding Social Enterprise through the Lens of Gift

Based on his doctoral work at King's College London, Mark Sampson explores the connection between social enterprise and gift-giving with Shari Oosting of Princeton Theological Seminary.

Promise and Peril of Missional Enterprise

Demonstrating the theological framework behind how RootedGood conceives of social enterprise, this article explores the promise and peril of missional enterprise and creating new ways to combine missional intent with enterprise models.

Gamification and Social Innovation

This broad-ranging interview with Shannon Hopkins explores the story of Matryoshka Haus and the role of design-thinking and gamification in the creation of the tools and products available through RootedGood, such as Mission Possible.

Research Report: The Tax Implications for Faith-Based Social Enterprise in the U.S.

May 2, 2022

2021 Annual Report

A lot happened for RootedGood in 2021! Read more about it in our annual report here.

August 3, 2022

Faithful exploration of enterprise: Using business language in church

One of the enduring challenges for churches engaging in social enterprise is unfamiliarity and unease with the language, concepts and practices that have their home in business and economics.

This is the time for entrepreneurship. Agree or Disagree?

September 21, 2021

Social Enterprise—A gift or a risk to the church?

The church has been static, in decline, and operating with an insufficient resource model for too long. We know things have to change.

July 29, 2021

How to Stop Measuring the Wrong Things

We all know that what gets counted counts, but what do you do when you know the wrong things are getting counted (i.e., measured)?

May 26, 2021

Looking for Ways to Save Time and Money?

Learn more about the value of RootedGood’s self-directed tools, games, and processes. Our tools can save you more than $7000 and 30 hours of time.

April 29, 2021

Measurement: Your New Best Friend

A good friend tells you how it really is -- the good and sometimes hard-to-hear truths. And measurement -- done well -- will do just that.

April 13, 2021

A look back at 2020: Annual Report

February 4, 2021

Join our team - We are hiring!

Join the RootedGood team - we are hiring! We are looking for a committed and detail oriented individual to join us as our Operations & Project Manager. Apply today.

January 20, 2021

Mission Possible: The story and reach of our most popular tool

September 25, 2020

Five tips for using the What Now? tool

July 29, 2020

What we learned from taking an interactive workshop online: the Measurement 'Master' Class

If we came up with a list of 'what we (think we) do well' as an organization, somewhere near the top of the list would be designing interactive learning experiences and workshops.

Mycelium End of Year Sale

Join Mycelium between November 25, 2022 and December 3, 2022 and receive 50% off your first year of membership!

November 25, 2022

How to Rent Well: Helping Congregations Navigate their Economic Future

October 12, 2022

Where to Start: A Guide for Faith Leaders on Shifting Ground

Where to Start is a collaborative project to support you — a faith leader who may not know what to do with your resources.

Impact Investing Resources for Churches

Learn more about impact investing and how to put investment money to work to make more good in the world.

July 14, 2022

Mission Possible Game: Inspire Creativity & Build Teams

Mission Possible is a game that takes participants through the design thinking process from big problems to creative use of resources to innovative solutions all in less than 2 hours.

How to Develop Well?: A Guide to Help Churches Work with a Property Developer

Is your church considering working with a property developer to do something new on your property? RootedGood’s new tool, How to Develop Well, can help!

What About Taxes!? A Guide for Churches Starting to Generate Revenue

Money and Mission Alignment Tool

January 1, 1970

What Next?

June 9, 2021

Let's Talk About Resources

Let's Talk About Resources is designed to facilitate creative and imaginative conversations about how churches can use their resources in service to their local community.

February 25, 2021

Tell better stories - Make it Memorable

Social impact organization have to tell good stories. Thankfully, storytelling can be learned and improved. Make It Memorable is a simple game that will help you and your team tell better stories.

February 16, 2021

Three Little Pigs Evaluation Exercise

Based on the children's story of the Three Little Pigs, this short, engaging exercise will help your team discuss what is going well and what needs some attention in your organization.

September 16, 2020

I Spy

This mini-tool will help you be more observant about the world around you and draw new conclusions about your community.

August 14, 2020

What Now?

July 6, 2020

How Will We Gather? Planning Exercise

How Will We Gather? is interactive and will spark generative conversation, helping to create consensus among your team about the best ways forward.

June 12, 2020

Community Discovery Tool

Our church is making money (or thinking about it). What about taxes?

Don’t let confusion about taxes stop you from doing something new, say two experts in faith-based social enterprise.

Increasing creative confidence one Lego brick at a time

October 5, 2021

Podcast – The Church Isn't Broke | Mark Elsdon

Mark Elsdon discusses his life and new book with John Terrill of UpperHouse on the Upper Word Podcast.

June 30, 2021

What's next for ministry in the post-pandemic era?

Read more about RootedGood's collaboration with PC(USA) on our "What Next?" tool and other resources to help organizations plan for life post-pandemic.

June 24, 2021

Investing in the Future as a Way of Repairing the Past

May 24, 2021

Podcast – Mark Elsdon talks about his work at RootedGood & PresHouse on the Give Back Economy Show

Mark Elsdon is a social innovator, author, business and theological person who talks about his work with RootedGood and PresHouse.

April 8, 2021

What could we do with billions of dollars?

Impact investing has the potential to radically transform our faith communities. Intrigued? Mark Elsdon helps you dream up the possibilities for your church in this article.

March 10, 2021

Mark Elsdon talks church assets on Spiritual Capital podcast

Despite sleepless nights, hair pulled out, and unfinanceable mortgages, Mark Elsdon says, "We Aren't Broke." On what grounds? Actually, on the ground beneath his building and other church assets.

March 1, 2021

Economic Innovation in the church - Faith + Finance Plenary

RootedGood founders shared thoughts on economic innovation in the church as plenary speakers at the October 2020 Faith+Finance Church Economics conference. Watch here.

December 1, 2020

10 guidelines for faithful innovation by a social entrepreneur

Innovation isn’t a good unto itself; at its core, innovation is about solving problems, says RootedGood co-founder Shannon Hopkins. Read her 10 guidelines for faithful innovation.

December 9, 2020

Mark Sampson podcast on Spiritual Capital

Craig Mattson, of Spiritual Capital renown, converses with Mark Sampson, one of RootedGood's co-founders, on the need for us to think deeply about the phrase 'social enterprise'.

September 18, 2020

Good Grief & Organizational Change - Shannon Hopkins

Organizational change isn’t for the faint of heart. In this podcast, RootedGood co-founder Shannon Hopkins explores what it is to lead well when success means letting go.

August 20, 2020

Podcast - Impact Measurement with Spiritual Capital

In this podcast with Craig Mattson, Mark Sampson explores some of the concepts and ideas that inform RootedGood’s approach to impact measurement.

July 31, 2020

The Need For Economic Theology

Aligning Mission and Money

Leading Non-profits towards Resilience

Mark Elsdon shares some thoughts on non-profit growth and leadership in a series of blog posts through Princeton Seminary. The first one is here:

The Story of Pres House

Understanding Social Enterprise through the Lens of Gift

Based on his doctoral work at King's College London, Mark Sampson explores the connection between social enterprise and gift-giving with Shari Oosting of Princeton Theological Seminary.

Promise and Peril of Missional Enterprise

Gamification and Social Innovation