The Sacred Story of Stewardship

The Center for Sacred Story embraces a vision of social responsibility and harmony, promoting empathy and understanding for the sake of a common good. Indeed, the history of humanity is defined by a complex web of social relationships and how we have chosen to order them. And while such social order requires respect for the other’s rights and duties, the presence of empathy and understanding is what makes such order sacred.

Nevertheless, practicing empathy and understanding challenges us. Even though at this stage in our cultural evolutionary path, we are indeed social animals with some natural predispositions toward relationship, we remain competitive animals as well, equally predisposed to secure our own survival, even at the expense of others. Empathy and understanding are therefore not altogether natural human tendencies. They must be cultivated and practiced. To practice them well, we must learn to become better listeners, expand our consciousness, desire the good of others, and be willing to make some sacrifices. We must orient ourselves more toward becoming stewards, whose first question is not “what can I get with my talents and resources?” but “what am I charged to do with my talents and resources that contributes to the greater good?” One cannot answer that latter question properly without first engaging in empathy for and understanding of the other.

In my various activities, I seek to practice this form of stewardship and produce my own sacred story through commercially responsible ventures, teaching, and the operations of a think tank dedicated to using the best of what science and theology have to offer our never ending quest to grasp what it means to be human. The story of one such commercially responsible venture is described below.

DOING WELL AND DOING GOOD—A SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE COMPANY THAT WORKS IN ENTERPRISING NEIGHBORHOODS

EZ Tax, Inc. (the Company) is a fee based electronic income tax filing service, operating on easy to use touch screen kiosks, strategically located in specifically targeted geographic markets, with design benefits geared to certain targeted segments of the taxpayer market. Although the Company’s electronic tax return service is versatile enough to accommodate more sophisticated returns for taxpayers who like the convenience of its delivery system, the service is primarily designed to help those with W-2’s, who do not itemize their deductions and who eligible for the earned income tax credit (EITC) and/or child care tax credit (CCTC).

Almost all the taxpayers in this segment of the market prefer e-filing, because of its simplicity and efficiency, but do not have viable access to the Internet. They are therefore generally at the mercy of the tax preparers such as H&R Block, who charge significantly more than EZ Tax.

EZ Tax has test marketed its service and proved the dynamics of its business model. Key to the success of the Company’s development plan will be identifying and enabling motivated “intrapreneurs” to penetrate the Company’s target markets and establish a loyal customer base. The Company intends to work with churches and non-profits within its targeted geographic market segments to identify these potential entrepreneurs and give them several different opportunities for self-development and financial upside. In addition to the training and support the Company will provide to these intrapreneurs, who will receive commission income of $10 per return, the Company will establish a foundation to provide further development of skills for intrapreneurs who are interested. Moreover, the Company may provide additional revenue generating opportunities to these intrapreneurs once the tax season has ended in April.

The Company’s targeted geographic market segments are easily identified. The IRS provides sufficient income level and other financial information for all the returns filed in each zip code, allowing the Company to pinpoint the 2000 zip codes that fit its primary target market profile. On average, in each one of those 2000 zip codes, there are 10,000 tax returns filed, 7000 of which were prepared by professional tax preparers, and 7000 of which were eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (not necessarily correlated to the 7000 preparer returns).

The Company’s tax preparation and touch screen software provide it with a competitive edge in the market and allowing it to make considerable profit while charging reasonable fees to people who are often marginalized by the American economic system. The Company is developing a network of enterprising young people who want more opportunities to deploy their talents and succeed economically. At the same time, the Company is reaching out to hardworking folk and helping them secure their well-deserved EITC refunds in an efficient, cost effective way.