a legacy christmas: gifts that last
By Rev. Keith Pearson, ELCA Foundation
Christmas Eve was always exciting for me as a child. The anticipation from the hidden promise of joy carefully wrapped and placed beneath the Christmas tree was almost too much to bear. But no matter how wonderful the gift, or how much desired beforehand, it didn’t take long until these new wonders were all but forgotten. I can probably count on one hand the gifts I received as a child that had a lasting impact or remained memorable.
What if you could give a gift that is truly memorable – one that permanently shapes the life of the receiver? What if your gift never wore out or broke and never got old? What if your gift became an ever-flowing fountain that kept giving year after year even after you die? It doesn’t take a Christmas miracle. You probably have the means to give such a miraculous gift.
When you give to one of Green Lake Lutheran Ministries’ endowment fund you give a gift that will change the life of a child and you do it in a way that your gift keeps on giving. These endowed funds are your gift put to work in a long-term investment. The fruits of that investment’s work (growth/dividends) produces new gifts every year – gifts that never end. EVER!
Imagine if you could give a gift that would provide a scholarship for one child to attend camp every year forever. Think it would take a fortune? Think again! An endowed gift of roughly $8,000 would be enough to fund one camper every year for the rest of time. If $8,000 is too much for you to pay today, how about a Legacy gift? You could name the camp’s endowment fund in your will, life insurance policy or other estate gift. That way you can make a larger gift without endangering your spending needs today.
Maybe you’ve been richly blessed and you’d like to do even more. Maybe you’d like to memorialize someone who was important to your camp experience or to your growing up as a person of faith. You could create a named endowment of your own. Then every year a gift would be given to the camp in the name of that person. What a great way to honor your favorite loved one, camp staffer, pastor, confirmation guide or youth worker. What a great witness to the faith. What a lasting impact on the lives of future generations!
If this sounds like something that you’d like to do, give me a call. I’d be happy to help you think through the kind of gift that makes the most sense for you. My services are free to you, thanks to a partnership with the camp and your local synod. I’d love to help you find the right way to make this Christmas a Legacy Christmas.
Christmas Eve was always exciting for me as a child. The anticipation from the hidden promise of joy carefully wrapped and placed beneath the Christmas tree was almost too much to bear. But no matter how wonderful the gift, or how much desired beforehand, it didn’t take long until these new wonders were all but forgotten. I can probably count on one hand the gifts I received as a child that had a lasting impact or remained memorable.
What if you could give a gift that is truly memorable – one that permanently shapes the life of the receiver? What if your gift never wore out or broke and never got old? What if your gift became an ever-flowing fountain that kept giving year after year even after you die? It doesn’t take a Christmas miracle. You probably have the means to give such a miraculous gift.
When you give to one of Green Lake Lutheran Ministries’ endowment fund you give a gift that will change the life of a child and you do it in a way that your gift keeps on giving. These endowed funds are your gift put to work in a long-term investment. The fruits of that investment’s work (growth/dividends) produces new gifts every year – gifts that never end. EVER!
Imagine if you could give a gift that would provide a scholarship for one child to attend camp every year forever. Think it would take a fortune? Think again! An endowed gift of roughly $8,000 would be enough to fund one camper every year for the rest of time. If $8,000 is too much for you to pay today, how about a Legacy gift? You could name the camp’s endowment fund in your will, life insurance policy or other estate gift. That way you can make a larger gift without endangering your spending needs today.
Maybe you’ve been richly blessed and you’d like to do even more. Maybe you’d like to memorialize someone who was important to your camp experience or to your growing up as a person of faith. You could create a named endowment of your own. Then every year a gift would be given to the camp in the name of that person. What a great way to honor your favorite loved one, camp staffer, pastor, confirmation guide or youth worker. What a great witness to the faith. What a lasting impact on the lives of future generations!
If this sounds like something that you’d like to do, give me a call. I’d be happy to help you think through the kind of gift that makes the most sense for you. My services are free to you, thanks to a partnership with the camp and your local synod. I’d love to help you find the right way to make this Christmas a Legacy Christmas.
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Keith Pearson is the ELCA Foundation’s Regional Gift Planner in Western Minnesota & North Dakota. His services are available at no charge to congregations and related ministries interested in building and growing endowments and other planned gifts, and to individuals interested in creating estate plans that will provide legacy gifts to local congregations, other ministries of the ELCA, and to charitable causes important to them. He can be reached at 612-718-4197 or [email protected]
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