WELS Foundation

For Don and Joyce Frisque, supporting Christ’s gospel ministry is close to their hearts. Joyce served as a WELS teacher for more than 35 years, and Don served as a WELS teacher for 6 years and as a school social worker for 31 years. Their two children, Deb and Paul, have also devoted their lives to ministry.

As they planned their retirement, the Frisques wanted to thank the Lord for his goodness to them. “God has blessed us, and we want to pass those blessings on,” Joyce says. “We don’t need anything more for ourselves, so we are going to give it back where we can to the church.” They also wanted to share their blessings with their children and grandchildren.

The Frisques knew that funding a legacy gift from their individual retirement accounts (IRAs) could help them fulfill their giving goals, but they were searching for the right type of planned gift. When they met with WELS Christian Giving counselor Tom Mielke, he explained the benefits of a legacy charitable remainder trust (often called a “give it twice” trust), which would allow Don and Joyce to support both the people and the ministries they love, in addition to providing tax benefits.

The Frisques set up a legacy charitable remainder trust, with WELS Foundation serving as trustee. When they are in heaven, their children will receive quarterly income payments from the trust for 15 years. After that, the remainder will support the multiple WELS ministries that the Frisques have chosen.

“Everything we have been given has been entrusted to us, and we are responsible for managing it in a God-pleasing way,” says Don. “In this way we believe we are doing that.”

As the Frisque family (pictured) learned, there are many ways to leave gifts to support gospel work, based on your situation and giving goals. Visit wels.net/foundation to learn more or contact your local WELS Christian giving counselor at wels.net/givingcounselors.