<\/p>\n
As Thanksgiving approaches, Joel and Denise Luehmann are reflecting on the many blessings God has given their family. \u201cWe are so thankful for our faith, family, church, and the opportunities
God has provided,\u201d Denise shared. \u201cWe want to give back in gratitude\u2014to honor God with the gifts he has entrusted to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now in a new stage of life with their children grown, they wanted to give in a way that is both intentional and impactful. They found a donor-advised fund (DAF) to be the ideal tool. It allows them to \u201cbunch\u201d donations and provide consistent gifts to the ministries they support\u2014a feature they value because it helps ministries better plan for the gifts they receive each year. \u201cDenise and I have also used the DAF for appreciated assets due to the tax and administrative advantages,\u201d Joel added. They appreciated how a WELS Christian giving counselor helped clarify the details and guide them through the process. Working with their giving counselor and WELS Foundation, which manages DAFs and other planned gifts, the Luehmanns found the process straightforward and rewarding. \u201cThe WELS Foundation staff was warm and helpful and made it easy to get started,\u201d Joel said. \u201cThey explained the options, answered our questions, and helped us implement a giving plan that fit perfectly with our goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Luehmanns also appreciate that their DAF is invested through WELS Investment Funds, which has generated strong returns. \u201cIt\u2019s an underappreciated program,\u201d Joel shared. \u201cProfessional management, very low fees, and the ability to pool investments with others\u2014it actually generates better returns than we could on our own. The Lord increases the returns, which gives us even more to give\u2014and more joy in giving.\u201d Through their DAF, Joel and Denise support their home congregation\u2014St. Paul\u2019s in North Mankato, Minn.\u2014as well as their area Lutheran high school, ELS ministries, and several WELS-affiliated ministries.<\/p>\n
This Thanksgiving, you too can turn gratitude into lasting impact. To explore these opportunities\u2014or to learn how to establish or donor-advised fund for a ministry close to your heart\u2014contact your local WELS Christian giving counselor at wels.net\/giving-counselors or call 800-827-5482.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As Thanksgiving approaches, Joel and Denise Luehmann are reflecting on the many blessings God has given their family. \u201cWe are so thankful for our faith, family, church, and the opportunitiesGod has provided,\u201d Denise shared. \u201cWe want to give back in gratitude\u2014to honor God with the gifts he has entrusted to us.\u201d Now in a new<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[838,1823,348,1824,1822,745,290],"class_list":["post-10030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-prayer","tag-action","tag-donoradvised","tag-faith","tag-fund","tag-luehmanns","tag-put","tag-wels"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}