Tag Archive for: WELS Investment Funds

Second WELS Investment Funds video highlights ministry partnership

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WELS Investment Funds is featuring its ministry partner Kettle Moraine Lutheran (KML), a WELS area Lutheran high school in Jackson, Wis., in its newest video.

Established in 1973, KML has been blessed by God with steady growth and increasing enrollment. In order to support that growth and provide more opportunities for ministry, the KML Foundation knew sound management of its investments was critical, because investments can provide a solid financial foundation to accomplish ministry goals.

So in 2013, the KML Foundation began entrusting its investments to WELS Investment Funds. “It was one of the best decisions we ever made,” says Mr. David Bartelt, vice president of the KML Foundation. “They have kept our funds secure and made us good stewards of God’s blessings.”

Bartelt and the KML Foundation value how WELS Investment Funds aligns so closely with KML’s ministry. Plus turning over the investment management to WELS Investment Funds allows the team at KML to focus on ministry, not on managing money.

Mr. Jim Holm, executive director of WELS Investment Funds, appreciates the opportunity to serve KML: “KML is one of several area Lutheran high schools that benefit from our cost-effective, professionally managed investment portfolios. By pooling our God-given resources, we can take advantage of lower cost, institutionally priced investment opportunities that are not available to smaller investment accounts.”

Holm continues, “As more WELS ministries, like the KML Foundation, invest in WELS Investment Funds, these cost benefits increase. It’s another way WELS ministries can support each other.”

Currently, WELS Investment Funds manages more than $240 million for WELS and over 200 WELS-affiliated organizations, including congregations, area Lutheran high schools like KML, and other ministries.

Bartelt appreciates how the partnership with WELS Investment Funds helps KML achieve its ministry goals. He concludes, “I am so happy that we have made that relationship with WELS Investment Funds. Going forward I would encourage anybody to do the same. They are a great partner for us.”

To see how WELS Investment Funds partners with the KML Foundation, view the second in a series of new WELS Investment Funds videos.

To learn how WELS Investment Funds can also be your strong partner in ministry, or for a free review of your organization’s current investment portfolio, contact Executive Director Jim Holm at [email protected] or 414-256-3206.

 

 

 

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Supporting WELS mission work through endowments

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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, “Karen 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.”

Fischer was also grateful for the partnership. “WELS Foundation staff walked our entire LWMS board through the process with grace and ease. It was such a blessing,” she recalls. “This 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.”

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, “There 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.”

Mrs. Becky Jungwirth, LWMS treasurer, appreciates the peace of mind that comes from knowing that WELS Foundation shares in LWMS’ mission. She adds, “Working 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.”

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.

 

 

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New WELS Investment Funds video highlights benefits to ministry

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Since 1997, WELS Investment Funds has been faithfully providing investment portfolios to WELS and ELS ministries, helping them to achieve their ministry goals.

Currently, WELS Investment Funds manages more than $225 million for our synod and over 200 organizations, including congregations, area Lutheran high schools, and WELS-affiliated ministries.

“It’s another way we can support each other,” says Mr. Jim Holm, executive director of WELS Investment Funds. “By pooling our God-given resources, we can take advantage of lower cost, institutionally priced investment opportunities that are not available to smaller investment accounts.”

WELS Investment Funds has released the first video in a series to highlight the benefits to ministry when organizations partner with WELS Investment Funds.

“I recommend that ministries view the video and prayerfully consider WELS Investment Funds for their investment needs,” says Mr. Dennis Walters, chairman of the WELS Investment Funds board. “Our investment advisor and co-fiduciary, Vanguard, gives us access to the world’s premier index and active fund managers. Our goal is for all ministries to be aware of the services of WELS Investment Funds and be able to benefit from them.”

Mr. David Bartelt, vice president of the Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School Foundation in Jackson, Wis., knows those benefits firsthand. Since 2013, Kettle Moraine Lutheran (KML) has partnered with WELS Investment Funds, but that wasn’t always the case. Prior to 2013, the leadership at KML thought they should manage their investments themselves.

Looking back, Bartelt says, “We spent meeting upon meeting being money managers rather than ministry managers.” He wishes they would have entrusted their investments to WELS Investment Funds sooner. “What they have done for us is immeasurable. They help us focus more on ministry rather than managing money.”

If you would like to learn how WELS Investment Funds can help support your organization’s ministry goals, or for a free review of your current investment portfolio, contact Executive Director Jim Holm at [email protected] or 414-256-3206.

 

 

 

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