Tag Archive for: WELS Foundation

The charitable gift annuity: “The best thing since sliced bread!”

Marvin and Marilyn Hoepken first learned about the benefits of a charitable gift annuity (CGA) through American Cancer Society mailings: a tax deduction, quarterly annuity payments for life, and a final gift to charity after the Lord takes you to heaven.

Marvin talked to his pastor, Don Patterson, about using a CGA to support WELS ministry, and Pastor Patterson contacted their local WELS Christian giving counselor for help. After speaking to the giving counselor, Marvin was very pleased with the payment rate he’d receive as an 85-year-old, saying, ā€œThis is the best thing since sliced bread!ā€

Ultimately the Hoepkens’ CGA will support WELS Christian Aid and Relief, Martin Luther College, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, and their home congregation, Holy Word in Austin, Texas. But Marvin’s favorite part (besides the great rate) is that, instead of taking the quarterly annuity payments, he can give those away as well.

ā€œWith a CGA the quarterly distributions can go to whomever you want them to go to,ā€ he explained. ā€œSo you can already give things away while you’re still alive.ā€ The Hoepkens plan to use the payments to provide financial assistance to students preparing for ministry (like Martin Luther College students, pictured above).

Their pastor shared that the Hoepkens remind him of the Macedonians in 2 Corinthians 8: ā€œThey gave themselves first to the Lord and then begged for an opportunity to share in this work. Because they live for Jesus, it was easy for them to decide to share their blessings with gospel ministries after they find their place in heaven.ā€

You can fund a gift annuity for yourself, a loved one, or a friend. And you can direct the remainder of the gift to your church, school, synod, area Lutheran high school, or other WELS-affiliated ministry.

To determine whether a charitable gift annuity could be a good way for you to support the ministry or ministries that you love, you can run a personalized gift illustration.

For personal guidance—whether you’d just like to learn more or move forward with setting up a CGA—call WELS Ministry of Christian Giving at 800-827-5482, or e-mail [email protected].

WELS endowments help support tuition assistance

Thanks to the generosity of God’s people, WELS Foundation distributed $1.3 million to gospel ministry in July through the WELS endowment funds. These funds were established by delegates at the 2005 synod convention to provide ongoing, dependable support for the Lord’s work in WELS Ministerial Education and WELS Home, World, and Joint Missions.

In addition to the WELS endowments, WELS Foundation also manages endowments that are set up by individuals, congregations, and other WELS-affiliated ministries. In total, WELS Foundation distributed $4.1 million from more than 375 endowments this year, providing ongoing financial support for Christ’s gospel work throughout WELS.

Several of the endowments managed by WELS Foundation benefit Martin Luther College (MLC), New Ulm, Minn., providing tuition assistance to students training to become teachers.

Katie Rosenau, a member at St. Mark, Leesburg, Fla., is entering her second year at MLC in the Elementary Education and Communication Arts and Literature program. Katie feels blessed to have received crucial financial support through endowments. ā€œThe academic scholarships I have received through the endowment funds have certainly been a blessing,ā€ she says. ā€œMore traditional tuition assistance was not available to me, making the academic scholarships all the more important. It is a gift that my efforts in studying and focusing on classes are being rewarded.ā€

To Rosenau, the support she has received is more than just a financial blessing: ā€œIn working hard to achieve academic excellence, I often end up spending more time in God’s Word. Being blessed through my studies allows me to dedicate even more time to growing spiritually in my faith.ā€

Rosenau extends her thanks to those who have generously supported her through their financial gifts. ā€œKnowing there is support for my academic achievements helps encourage me to strive for my very best,ā€ she says. ā€œI am grateful for all the people behind the gifts who are helping those who might not qualify for other types of assistance. Your gifts are received with appreciation!ā€

ā€œProviding tuition assistance for those wanting to serve in the teaching ministry is a goal everyone can support,ā€ says Mr. Jim Holm, executive director of WELS Foundation. ā€œAn endowment fund can provide a source of stable financial support for these young men and women.ā€

There are a variety of ways to give to an endowment: cash or appreciated assets, or through a will, trust, beneficiary designation on a retirement account, or insurance proceeds. To learn more about adding to an existing endowment or establishing a new endowment for a ministry that you love, contact your local WELS Christian giving counselor at wels.net/giving-counselors or call 800-827-5482.

 

Together Video Update – December 13, 2022

WELS Foundation Executive Director Mr. Jim Holm provides guidance on different kinds of gifts that will support ministry for years to come. Visit wels.net/foundation to learn more.

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WELS again celebrates blessings in endowments program

Thanks to the generosity of God’s people, WELS Foundation was blessed to distribute almost $1.2 million to gospel ministry in July through the WELS endowment funds. These funds were established by delegates at the 2005 synod convention to provide ongoing support for the Lord’s work in WELS Ministerial Education and WELS Home, Joint, and World Missions.

In addition to the WELS endowments, WELS Foundation also manages endowments that are set up by individuals, congregations, and other WELS-affiliated ministries. In total, WELS Foundation distributed $3.8 million from more than 375 endowments this year, providing ongoing financial support for Christ’s gospel work throughout WELS.

Several of the endowments managed by WELS Foundation benefit Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon, Wis., providing tuition assistance to students training to become pastors.

Seminarian Jacob Borgwardt, a member at Redeemer, Fond du Lac, Wis., shares one of the blessings of the tuition assistance he has received through endowments: ā€œ[It] helps me focus on training to be a pastor. Instead of having to work full time to pay off student loans and be a part-time student, it’s the other way around. Seminarians can be full-time students, spending the majority of our time studying God’s Word.ā€

He continues: ā€œOn the spiritual side, I’ll never forget something one of my professors once said in regard to tuition assistance: The people giving generously to these endowments see the support of seminarians as a tangible way to give to the gospel. What a blessing and responsibility!ā€

Borgwardt extends his gratitude to those who have supported him and his wife through their financial gifts: ā€œWe thank God that he has given you such Christlike generosity. You are a help and a blessing to us and to so many of my classmates. Your gifts and prayers are extremely encouraging! Knowing that there are so many people who support us in our pastoral training makes us that much more excited to serve a church someday.ā€

ā€œAn endowment is a great way to create a lasting legacy of Christian faith while providing for the Lord’s work—like supporting our future pastors,ā€ says Mr. Jim Holm, executive director of WELS Foundation.

There are a variety of ways to give to an endowment: cash or appreciated assets; or through a will, trust, beneficiary designation on a retirement account, or insurance proceeds. To learn more about adding to an existing endowment or establishing a new endowment for a ministry close to your heart, contact your local WELS Christian giving counselor at wels.net/giving-counselors or call 800-827-5482.

 

 

WELS Endowment Fund again receives accolade

For the second year in a row, the WELS Endowment Fund’s net investment return placed in the 90th percentile of the foundations that participated in the 2020 Council on Foundations—Commonfund Study of Investment of Endowments for Private and Community FoundationsĀ®. The investment returns for the WELS Endowment Fund were 22.39% and 21.22% in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

ā€œThis is a tremendous blessing to WELS organizations that have an endowment fund through WELS Foundation, because the distributions from the endowments help fund ministry,ā€ says Mr. Jim Holm, WELS Foundation executive director. ā€œThis year, WELS Foundation distributed a total of $3.5 million to gospel work from more than 350 endowments. We praise God for his blessings!ā€

The 2020 study marks the ninth year that Commonfund Institute and the Council on Foundations have partnered to produce this research. With 260 participating private and community foundations representing combined assets of $115.4 billion, the study is believed to be the most comprehensive annual survey of its kind.

The WELS Endowment Fund is one of four portfolios managed by WELS Investment Funds, a self-supporting subsidiary of WELS. Synodical endowments, along with endowment funds benefiting WELS congregations and WELS-affiliated ministries, are invested in the WELS Endowment Fund.

To set up an endowment fund or learn how an endowment fund can support your ministry for years to come, contact Jim Holm at [email protected] or 414-256-3206. Learn more about WELS Foundation at wels.net/foundation.

 

 

 

WELS celebrates milestone in endowments program

This year WELS Ministry of Christian Giving and WELS Foundation are celebrating 16 years of God’s blessings—and the generosity of God’s people—through the WELS endowment funds.

In 2005, synod convention delegates prayerfully considered how WELS could help support gospel ministry in a predictable and ever-increasing manner. One answer was to establish the WELS endowments, which benefit the Lord’s work in WELS Home, World, and Joint Missions and at our four ministerial education schools. Out of gratitude for God’s love and a desire to help more people know Jesus as their Savior, WELS members have faithfully contributed to these endowments over the last 16 years, resulting in more than $100 million in gifts received ($36.7 million) and expected ($68.9 million).

ā€œWe praise Jesus for guiding our synod’s plans and prompting our members’ gifts so that we’re now able to distribute more than $1 million from these endowments for greater tuition assistance for ministerial education students and the funding of mission work to people groups located both in the U.S. and in foreign fields,ā€ says Rev. Kurt Lueneburg, director of WELS Ministry of Christian Giving.

In addition to the two synod endowments, WELS Foundation also manages endowments that are set up by individuals, congregations, and other WELS ministries. In total, WELS Foundation distributed $3.5 million to gospel work from more than 350 endowments this year, providing ongoing financial support for gospel work throughout WELS.

One of the endowments managed by WELS Foundation was established by WELS members David and Lynette Buss, longtime supporters of Jesus’ work through their local congregation and area Lutheran high school. ā€œWe read an article about Martin Luther College in a flyer from WELS,ā€ says David, ā€œand we knew we needed to distribute [our blessings] to people in the ministry field.ā€ The Busses are helping reduce the burden of tuition costs for students so they can focus on training for the ministry.

The Busses understand that an endowment fund is an ideal way to support MLC students for years to come. ā€œThis fund will grow as long as we are on this earth, and it will continue to grow and help hundreds of students in future years,ā€ says David.

ā€œAn endowment is a great way to create a lasting legacy of Christian faith while carrying out the Lord’s work,ā€ says Mr. Jim Holm, executive director of WELS Foundation, ā€œand there are a variety of ways to set up an endowment: cash or appreciated assets; or through a will, trust, beneficiary designation on a retirement account, or insurance proceeds.ā€

To learn more about adding to an existing endowment or setting up an endowment for a ministry close to your heart, contact your local WELS Christian giving counselor at wels.net/giving-counselors or call 800-827-5482.

 

 

 

Supporting WELS mission work through endowments

Thanks to the generosity of God’s people, WELS Foundation has been blessed to distribute $3.1 million from more than 350 endowments through its endowment program this year. Areas that benefited from the distributions include WELS missions, ministerial education schools, congregations, and other WELS-affiliated ministries.

One of those WELS-affiliated ministries that was blessed through endowment distributions was the Lutheran Women’s Missionary Society (LWMS).

Back in 2015, Mrs. Karen Fischer, who was then the president of LWMS, approached Mr. Jim Holm, the executive director of WELS Foundation, about setting up an endowment through which LWMS could support WELS mission work.

Holm recalls, ā€œKaren knew that the ladies who support LWMS have such a passion for missions, and an endowment would give them another way to continue to provide for the Lord’s work after they were called home to heaven. WELS Foundation was thrilled to establish this partnership with LWMS to benefit the spread of the gospel both locally and worldwide.ā€

Fischer was also grateful for the partnership. ā€œWELS Foundation staff walked our entire LWMS board through the process with grace and ease. It was such a blessing,ā€ she recalls. ā€œThis new endowment fund allowed LWMS members to give a gift at any time, knowing it would generate an annual distribution in perpetuity . . . leaving a mission support legacy even after they receive their heavenly crown.ā€

Since 2015, WELS Foundation has distributed over $26,000 to LWMS through two endowment funds. The annual distributions support WELS mission opportunities as selected by the LWMS board of directors. The monies are distributed above and beyond the annual mission collections of members and increase the impact of LWMS giving.

The endowment distributions also allow LWMS to address any immediate needs of WELS missions. For example, a July 2020 endowment fund distribution of $7,976 was donated to support WELS Campus Ministry, in conjunction with its 100th anniversary.

Rev. Larry Schlomer, Board for World Missions administrator, says, ā€œThere is so much opportunity in the LWMS endowments that are managed by WELS Foundation. Each year the distributions from these funds go to support Home and World Missions projects. Gospel work in Mexico, Africa, Asia, and the United States have all benefited.ā€

Mrs. Becky Jungwirth, LWMS treasurer, appreciates the peace of mind that comes from knowing that WELS Foundation shares in LWMS’ mission. She adds, ā€œWorking with WELS Foundation is an easy process because they provide all administration and investment management (through WELS Investment Funds) for our endowments. Partnering with WELS Foundation has been a real blessing for LWMS.ā€

To learn more about adding to an existing endowment or setting up an endowment for a ministry close to your heart, contact your local WELS Christian giving counselor at wels.net/giving-counselors. To learn more about WELS Foundation, visit wels.net/foundation.