It’s important to give

Mike Christian

For more than two decades, Mike Christian has been giving his time — and his money — to good causes in the Appalachian Highlands.

The former president of three banks is now retired but still active in a consultant role and has made two donations of at least $100,000 to the Ballad Health Foundation (or the former Mountain States Health Alliance Foundation) over the years. Those include helping fund the creation of the Families Thrive program at Niswonger Children’s Hospital, which supports babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). NAS occurs when babies are exposed to addictive substances before birth. Babies with NAS often have high-pitched cries, suffer from tremors and have difficulty eating as they go through withdrawal.

He’s made many other generous financial contributions while also giving graciously of his time, serving on numerous boards and fundraising campaigns. In fact, his service on the board of directors for Mountain States Health Alliance inspired him to become a major donor.

He’s also made large donations to his college, his church, The United Way, Johnston Memorial Hospital and Smyth County Community Hospital in Southwest Virginia and to various other organizations.

“I remember when Scott Niswonger announced his $10 million donation to construct Niswonger Children’s Hospital,” Mike said, referring to the Greeneville businessman who became the hospital’s namesake. “In fact, even after that, I remember being at a dinner where Scott was receiving an award, and he said about having wealth, ‘don’t will it away.’ And that’s stuck with me.”

Not every giving tool works for every person. Mike chose to make some of his major contributions in the form of a qualified charitable distribution (QCD), which allows people who are 70½ years old or older to transfer up to a total of $100,000 annually to one or more charities directly from a taxable IRA. The transfer is not included in their taxable income and therefore not subject to tax.

“There are lots of ways to give,” Mike said. “Doing a QCD is so clean and simple. It’s a smart way for certain people to give. I always thought it was important to save and to invest, and now it’s important to give.”