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Description

What if generosity wasn’t something you reacted to… but something you actually built into your life?

In this episode, Shannon sits down with Tammy Kyte, one of the people behind GiveWise, a platform designed to make giving simpler and more consistent. But this conversation goes beyond tools and systems.

Tammy shares how her journey from building homes to building a giving platform was shaped by a deeper question, how do we make generosity part of everyday life, especially when life feels busy, unpredictable, and full?

Together, they explore the tension many of us feel, wanting to give, but struggling to do it consistently. From the realities of fluctuating income to the challenge of staying organized, this conversation offers a grounded and practical look at what it means to live generously.

You’ll also hear how small, consistent acts of giving can shape not just communities, but our own hearts. Because generosity isn’t just about what we give, it’s about who we’re becoming.

Time Stamps

04:20 Balancing family life and business

07:01 Incorporating generosity into daily life

11:21 Setting aside money for charity

13:50 Managing a charitable fund

18:38 Learning generosity from family

20:30 Family account money transfers

23:33 Making intentional financial decisions

Guest Links

GiveWise: https://www.givewise.ca/

Other Links

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Reach out to us! https://neighbourlypodcast.ca

Email: podcast@careimpact.ca

About the CarePortal: careimpact.ca/careportal

DONATE! Help connect and equip more churches across Canada to effectively journey well in community with the most vulnerable: careimpact.ca/donate

I think back of something just came to my mind during COVID

when it was like, one of those cold nights and there's nothing to do in

the winter and everything's shut down, and you're, like, just kind of feeling

glum and sorry for yourself. And my daughter and I,

I was like, what if we just went out and let's go buy 10 bouquets

of flowers and just go deliver them to people? And it was so

fun. Like, it was nothing and we had nothing to do. So it wasn't even

a huge sacrifice, but just that act of, like,

dropping off flowers at the door lifted our spirit

so much. What if generosity wasn't something

you reacted to, but something you actually built into your life?

Because most of us want to give. We care about our communities, our

churches, the people around us. But between the busy

schedules, fluctuating income, and trying to stay organized,

it's easy for generosity to become inconsistent or even

forgotten. Hey, everyone. Welcome to another episode of

Neighborly, a podcast geared towards stories to inspire us to love

our neighbors better. I'm Johan, your producer, and today Shannon sits

down with Tammy Kite, one of the people behind GiveWise, a

platform designed to make giving simpler and more consistent. But

this isn't a conversation just about a tool. It's about a bigger

question. How do we make generosity part of our everyday

lives and not just something we think about when we're asked?

So let's join Shannon and Tammy at the table.

Tammy, thank you so much for coming on the Neighborly podcast

today. I've been so excited to have this conversation. I think it's going to be

a little bit of a unique conversation than some of the usual ones,

but I think it's going to be just as meaningful. And I can't wait

for our audience to hear more about you and hear more about givewise. So

welcome. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me, Shannon. I'm excited

to be here. And, yeah, I'm excited

because I just visited your beautiful city a week

ago for the very first time, and the people there are just so

warm and friendly. So I'm so glad. I love Winnipeg.

We always kick us off with the same icebreaker question

for everybody. So, growing up, who was

a neighbor that you will never forget? Yeah,

that one took me a little bit of thinking because I grew up in the

country, and so we didn't have a lot of neighbors.

So I was thinking, who can be in place of my neighbors?

And in light of that, we're talking a lot about generosity

today. I really thought of My aunt and

uncle, who we got to spend a lot of time with. And so they didn't

live next door, but it kind of felt like they did because we spent a

lot of time together. My cousins were much younger. I

got to boss them around and babysit them along with my little brother.

But my aunt and uncle were very special in that they were so generous.

And I just remember, like, going out for dinner with them all the time. Our

parents would argue back and forth about who got to pay the bill,

and they were just, like, super generous with their giving.

And in my later years, after I finished university,

I worked for a nonprofit for a year, and they were, like, some of my

biggest supporters. So I would say that

they're family and substitute for neighbors. Yeah, I

think those are some of the best examples of neighbors that we can have, even

if they live close or not. Family that really shows

us what generosity looks like is some of the best

examples, for sure. Well, I'd love to

introduce our audience to you. You and your

husband had built a successful home building business

for over a decade. Just tell us a little bit about that season, what

that was like, and just what was stirring in you during

that time. Yeah, we loved what we did.

We started by building a couple of houses for ourself and

just kind of built and flipped. We were both teachers at the time, and

so, you know, we had summers off. We thought we might as well do some

extra work. And it was a great season. It was fun working

together. We had our unique roles as a couple,

and we're able to build up some equity doing that.

And it was a bit of a crazy time. We started having kids at that

time. We have two kids. And, you know, as a mom, it was a

little crazy trying to be in business and raise your

kids, but it also gave me the amazing opportunity to

have them with me a lot of the times and swap off with my husband

for different things. So it was really a great start

to a family and a great start to a business. Although we loved

building and we. We loved the work, we

loved the people that we worked with. We felt a strong purpose in building

homes and the various relationships. But we also wanted to always

tie our success with involvement in the community

and just thinking, you know, beyond the construction, but

just the idea that not everyone has the ability to build,

like, a very nice custom home. And so it made us start thinking about

ensuring what can we do to ensure everyone has access

to something as foundational as housing. Yeah,

it's a neat evolution then, to hear

what the core then kind of was. It sounds like before,

like the origin, before givewise was givewise,

that there was always a mission, there was always something

there for your family that you knew that this was more than

just about building homes, but creating access, it sounds like for

everyone. Exactly. So when you and your

husband started building givewise, what were you trying to solve or what

problem were you trying to address through that? Yeah, basically a

couple of things. When we learned about the concept,

it really struck with us because it's like a charitable bank

account. And I won't get into too much detail yet, but the idea is

that when you're a builder, you have really high income years and really low

income years. We realized this is something that we could really

use because it would help level out our giving. And

also it would help. I don't like administration.

I can be messy and disorganized. And so

trying to keep a spreadsheet and finding all the receipts

at the end of the year for the accountant was never my dream.

And so the idea that it could all be in one place

really spoke to both Dan and I. So we were really just

excited about the idea. Yeah, I'm excited to

get a little bit more into the practicality of GiveWise. But first,

just talking about that, that shift from going from

this business that you were building and then starting

givewise, I guess how has that changed your view of

generosity or has it changed your view of generosity today?

Yeah, I think a couple of things. I was reflecting on that this morning,

and I guess the biggest thing is that I feel like I've always thought

that generosity is innate and it's in all of us, but it needs

to be part of our everyday life, not just when we're asked,

you know. And so how do we ingrain that into

our lives, into our kids lives, into those people's lives around us?

And I really realized that a lot of it is

storytelling and visibility to the needs

and giving people a simple and easy

way to make it happen. Because people's lives are

busy and they're complicated. And we were business owners and

we worked with a lot of other business owners and, you know,

young families. There's a lot of things going on, but how could we

simplify the act of giving and not have these

complicated spreadsheets so that it felt fun and there was

more of a joy and in it. I love that.

And you kind of touched on this earlier that, you

know, giving is for ordinary people. And I

think there's a sometimes a perception or misconception out there

that we have to have a lot to be able to give. Why

does it matter to you that giving be so accessible and it not

just be for those that do have more significant wealth?

Yeah. I think really a lot of it has to do with the individual.

Like giving. We think it's for the other, and it is,

and it's important, but it's also for us. It's for ourselves.

Right. And it's so true. Like, there's so many times

where, because it's simple, I can just give

easily. I already have the money put aside. And then there's such joy

that comes in that giving. And I'm talking through the eyes of givewise,

but in a broader context. We all know, you know, going out and

just meeting a need that we see in the community, whether it's money or

time or. Or whatever, you know, it's. It's a. Such a great

practice to do. I think back of something just came to my

mind during COVID when it was like one of those cold

nights and there's nothing to do in the winter and everything's shut down,

and you're like, just kind of feeling glum and sorry for yourself and.

And my daughter and I, because, you know, everybody lived at home at that time.

I was like, what if we just went out? You know, grocery stores are still

open. Let's go buy 10 bouquets of flowers and just go deliver

them to people. Yeah. And it was so fun. Like, it was nothing

and we had nothing to do. So it wasn't even a huge sacrifice. But

it just. That act of like, dropping off flowers at the door

lifted our spirit so much. Yeah. You know, so I think

it's so much for the giver as well. Absolutely.

Well, let's get into more of what exactly givewise

is. How would you explain it to someone who is hearing about it for

the first time? Or you're just wanting. With friends around the table. What would

you say? Yeah. So givewise is an online

giving platform. So it's in the form.

So you set it up like you make any online account these

days. Your name, your email, you confirm it. And

then you have a giving fund with GiveWise.

And the giving fund acts like a charitable bank account. So you

get to put money in and give out at any

time. So it allows it to kind of separate those two things.

It can be together. You could put money in today, give it

out today to your favorite cause or your favorite charity, or you can put

it in, save it up for a bigger project or something

like that over time and then it organizes everything

in one place so you can see what you've given throughout the year to each

charity and just keeps everything organized. And my favorite

is you have one tax receipt at the end of the year always available in

your giftwise account. Wow. And how does

that. I'm already thinking about for myself, having one tax

receipt would be so nice. And in our house we have

to file two countries taxes each year. And so I'm just like, oh, that would

be so nice. Absolutely. From what

you've seen, how does things, things being centralized really

change that experience for the donor, for the giver?

Yeah, I think it's just really quick and easy to act

on because just like if you go on vacation, you know, often

you'll put money aside, that money's already there for vacation, then

you don't feel bad spending it on vacation or whatever it is.

You don't have to think, oh, what else am I going to have to cut

out to do this or, or whatever. It's just already

set aside. And so I think that's a really big thing.

It keeps it top of mind as well because you're putting money

aside for charity and it just removes some of that

admin and decision fatigue when you just get things cleanly

set up in that way. And I'll just give

you one little story the other day from my own experience is

that I was reading an email and getting caught up on some emails

and friends of ours who help raise funds

for work that's done in Myanmar, you know,

and a country that has been in civil war and so much

unrest and they needed a motorcycle there and it was

a small need. And I was like, boom, I

already have that in my gift wise giving account. I logged in,

I gave two minutes later, I was done. Wow. You know, and

so it's just like there's not those extra steps, I guess, to make

it happen. And in today's world, if we can pull off something

quick and easy and get a quick win, I think that gives us a

little bit of a boost and also meets a need in the world, which is

really cool. Yeah. At the beginning of our conversation you talked

about when you were starting your business, there

would be kind of an ebb and flow with income and how that worked just

in that type of business. Can you explain how,

how this solves for that and how, you know, this works in a simple

way to kind of address that generosity doesn't have to be so up and

down. Yeah, absolutely. So

for us as builders, for example, you know, I think most of your

listeners are probably old enough to remember the 2008

market mortgage disaster when all the real estate

plummeted. So for us, you know, we had a couple of houses sitting

out there. We live in D.C. and so those houses are

a million dollars plus for sale. And you know, there was just no

buy. And in years like that, like how do we keep giving to

our church, our Compassion Child, our community center, our food bank?

Everybody still needs the money. In fact, they need it even more during those times.

And so in those times, you know, we always

tried to still give, but it was often more

difficult. And had we been able to put money

aside from those very high years, you can put

that money in your giving fund and it can sit there and it can

accumulate and you can keep a bit of a balance, just like a

bank account. If you think of, you know, we always teach our kids, you

have your emergency rent fund, right? You have to have like, you know,

five grand for emergency in case your car dies or whatever it is. It's kind

of like that. So you just have that money sitting aside there for charity

and you can give it out in those lean times.

And so I think it's a great way for Canadians to just keep a small

amount in their. Not like you want to keep a whole huge

piece in there for no reason because that money is needed by charity.

But I think a small amount is good for those times.

But also, you know, with business owners, you may sell a business or

you may inherit everyday Canadian, you may inherit money and you might have

a big estate tax like all of those things. So there's really

beneficial ways and there's complex ways that we won't get in

here, but that people can benefit from tax

wise as well to put bigger amounts in there and then give

it out over time. It sounds like there's just so much

opportunity across sectors because you even, you mentioned church, you

mentioned nonprofit organizations or child sponsorship

that I can only imagine the different kinds of stories

that people have had from using GiveWise. I'd love to spend

a little chunk of time here and just hear some of those stories of

someone whose generosity grew or what are some of those things that come to

mind? Yeah, for sure. And I mean, I don't

get to hear, I think a lot of the stories, right? Because I mean, people

just go on their merry way. But a few testimonials and things that

we've seen I can share. And so, you know, in the early days when we

just launched and every day we'd sit on the platform and see, oh, my gosh,

is anyone signing up yet for this? It always stuck with

me that there was somebody who is a young professional just out of university

and their first sort of job. And it was so neat

to see him put in consistently monthly, year over year

over year. And just that consistency with the gifts every time,

probably I. I don't know the scenario, but every time maybe that he got a

paycheck, he put something in. It was like every single month without

fail, and then granting it out. So that was really neat to see

younger people as well just get on board with that and

start that habit of generosity. And then there's also

somebody in their later half of life

who was probably in their mid-70s or so. They

started to understand some of the complex assets and the way

that you can give those and the tax savings that

happen when you do that. And they were actually able to add like a zero

onto their gifts. And that was really fun for everyone. And I

got to talk to this donor and it was like, this is so cool. I

mean, who wants to pay more in tax? Nobody.

You can unify people, conservative or liberal, wherever you are on

the spectrum, but nobody really wants to pay more in tax. So if you can

see those tax dollars going out specifically to needs that you're

passionate about, everybody's on board with that. So that's one of the

really cool things that I see that it allows you to do.

Thinking back to starting givewise and now

where you're at and all the growth that you've experienced, what

surprises have you had? Whether it was being

surprised about, you know, somebody who was using the platform or just things that

have come up that you didn't expect, does anything come to mind there?

I think the biggest surprises recently is,

you know, you kind of grow in your own community. And that's really cool because

it's word of mouth and that kind of thing. And it's really neat now

to get this word out across

Canada. And that's what we're seeing. So it's really

surprising and delightful to see it grow in

Alberta and Saskatchewan and Manitoba and Ontario and across

all the way to eastern Canada. And we just. We

have a partner now in Halifax who's bringing us clients.

So we've kind of got sea to sea. And so

that's. Yeah, that's really, really fun. And I think the

second thing is what I touched on in the last story, but the consistency

in giving, like, there's a lot of very faithful

people who give small amounts, but Very consistently,

which is really encouraging, but something that

maybe I wasn't aware of before. So that's cool. Yeah,

it just, as you were talking, it got me thinking about my own

experiences with generosity. And

so much of what I have learned about giving and

being generous has come from watching my parents set that example

for us, just like you were saying with your aunt and uncle.

And I think really at the time, I think I took for granted as a

kid what I was observing and how my parents were

not just consistent in giving towards in their tithe and

to our church, but in other ways. I think about when I

went to university there was. We would always do. Every student

went on a mission trip, like a short term mission trip in the spring. And

everyone had to raise their own support. And even watching my parents

give towards friends of mine that, you know, they weren't

necessarily invested in that student, but they were

invested in them even if they didn't know them personally. And so I

guess you talked a little bit about the example you're trying to set for your

kids. What have you noticed or what have you learned

and what it means to teach your children about

generosity. Yeah, and I think it goes

much further than money. I think it's in all areas. But

I'll just focus on the money because that's sort of what we're talking about.

And obviously it's a huge part of generosity

for us. It's been really, really neat because since our kids

were little, every Christmas we would give them a gift that we said

was for charity. And so whether maybe it started at $100

or whatever and it was like, where do you want to give this? And we

usually start with the gift catalog, you know, and they might

pick a cow for a family or whatever it is and

they would, you know, say their why. And then as they got

older, we were able to. Then Once we started

GiveWise, we were able to. We have this functionality where I can put

money into my account and I can give it to my

kids account or your account or my

employee's account. And so through that transaction,

my husband Dan and I could move that into each of our kids accounts.

And they can now, you know, they're

adults now, they're 21 and 23. They can decide where do

they want to give that money. And their grandparents have also done that on

some Christmases. And so they end up with this neat lump of money in

there. And I think it's just part of

like just having conversation and being intentional as families around

that and this platform just Gives you the opportunity.

It's not like it's the magic answer, but it just gives you the opportunity to

do it easily. And then for that discussion to happen around the

table, right. Like, where did you give? Why? What's close to your

heart? What matters to you most? It's just a really great

conversation, I think, that we can all have with our kids and our

peers and those around us. Yeah, that's powerful

because like you said, you know, we always say with. With careportal and what we're

doing with careportal, it kind of takes the guesswork out of compassion.

And it sounds so similar with givewise. It really takes the

complexity out of being generous, and

it's another way of being a neighbor. And I think we're always looking

for those ways that simplify it, that make it easy to do

but have a greater impact. And so it's just. It's

neat to hear that because I think your own kids, I'm sure, are going to

then be able to pass that on to their generations and their generations. And it's

a really. It's legacy building for sure.

For sure. And what seems like a small tool. Right. And

often technology is the tool. Right. Like for care

portal, you know, that's a tool that you're using. The

GiveWise technology is similar. It's not

like it's like the be all and end all, but it is a tool. And

when you have that tool in your tool belt, it just makes life a little

bit easier. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Well,

if somebody is listening to this and they care about their church or

they care about some organizations and they're not sure

where to start, what is maybe one simple step

that they could take this week to get a little bit more intentional.

Yeah, a couple of things. I think one thing is just the

consistency of generosity is so important.

So just like anything, exercise, eating healthy,

taking your vitamins, it's the daily that helps so

much. And not to pick something big and overwhelming, but just to pick

something small. And so I suggest to people

like monthly giving, I know, just matters so much to

charities because they know that money is coming. They know they can keep the lights

on and keep doing the amazing work that they're doing. So, you know, set

up monthly giving, I would say, is really awesome. You know, whatever your

paycheck is, put a little bit aside for that.

That's something that I think most people can do and there's times that you

can't, and that's okay. And maybe it's more time

that you want to spend on something, but make it a small decision

and make it intentional. And I would say consistent.

And then the other is for those who do have some extra,

just actually take the time to think and learn and

educate yourself on tax efficient ways to give.

Because I see a lot of people not giving in the most tax

efficient, efficient ways. And when they do and they learn and they

educate themselves and their advisors take the time or their

accountants, you know, I see much bigger gifts going out and

more impact being made. And that's where it's at. Right. So

those are some great practical steps. And one last

question I have for you before we wrap up. If there is somebody

listening who's thinking, I don't really have that much to

give, I don't have that much extra, does this really matter?

What would you say to them? Yeah, absolutely. Every gift

matters. Pooled impact is real. We've had

different people do different things. Actually, I forgot about this, but

years ago, we don't even know where she came from or how she found

out about us. But in our very early years, a young girl, I think

she was doing a run or something. And so she did, she used our

platform, which you can do, and you get a giving link and. And she

decided to fundraise and she brought in so many

small gifts. I mean, they were $10 gifts, $20 gifts,

$50 gifts. But in the end, she raised a few thousand

dollars for her cause and it was just really cool to see.

And every week how the platform works is money goes in, it gets

pulled together, and it goes out with everybody else's to that charity.

Okay. And so it just shows that pooled

impact really makes a difference. And then I would also

say back to the idea of like bringing joy to the

giver. Right. So even if you don't have much to give, when you do give

something little, you feel a part of something and a part of a community

and it can just boost your spirits as well. And just, you know, sometimes we

just have to. We're all like this. We can become inward looking

and sometimes that inward looking does not bring

joy. And so. Or peace or we're looking at the news and

those different things that are happening and that the world's not a great place to

live in and it feels overwhelming. So I get that. But at the same

time, I think just pick one thing and do that and be consistent

with it and just feel that joy and peace that that brings.

That's so good. That's so good. Thank you. Tammy, thank you so much

for coming on and not just describing this incredible

platform. But I think you've really inspired me in

just thinking about how can I change? Or how can my husband and I

look at our own finances and think about it as this

is just about bringing joy to others and making an impact that

goes far beyond what we can see, but also

internally challenging us to think outward. So thank

you. Awesome. Thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure.

The stories we share here remind us that CARE does not have to be perfect

to be powerful, it just has to be present. Neighbourly is

an initiative of Care Impact, a Canadian charity equipping churches,

agencies and communities with technology and training to CARE Better

Together. This episode was produced by CARE Creatives Co,

a social enterprise of CARE Impact. If you're building a podcast and want help

with strategy, editing or full production, visit

CareCreativesCo CA to connect with us.

I'm Johan. Thanks for listening and keep being the kind of nature

neighbor someone will never forget in a good way.

Breaking all chains When I see you

in a stranger I'm no longer a

sacrifice Turning over table

tearing down Building

up the bridges between the

soul of his Turning over table

Breaking.