The day Donna sat down to write letters to her adult grandchildren was many years in the making. Their late grandfather had been right all along, and she wanted the grandkids to know it.
“I fretted and worried about money, but [your grandfather] lived in grateful assurance that we would always have enough,” Donna wrote. “A lasting gift I might offer you as you look forward to a life of abundance is the gift he gave me, a lesson in gratitude and trust.”
After her first husband died years ago, Donna eventually remarried. However, financial planning was not a priority, and she admits the couple ignored calls from a financial advisor for several years.
They finally connected with Jon, their advisor who helped them realize two achievable charitable goals: make gifts and minimize taxes. The first step was to establish a
“There must be a better place to give the money than the government,” she says. “I can decide who gets it with the DAF.”
As more time passed, Jon helped them see the fund wasn’t satisfying their generosity goals. He suggested they establish donor-advised funds for each of her grandchildren and plant seeds for the next generation.
Donna agreed. “I love the feeling of sharing at a given moment when crises arise. I wanted to share the feeling of giving.”
In her letter to the grandchildren, she explained as advisors to their own funds they can make grants to charities of their choice. Their funds have the potential to grow with time based on market performance. Donna hopes generosity becomes a family project for years to come.
Jon inspired them to make even more of what he calls “transformational gifts.” The couple has also established generous college scholarships, and they recently sold a house to their church for use as a parsonage. They are gifting the proceeds of the sale to a donor-advised fund to benefit the causes they cherish.
“I have found that when offering my talents, times and treasures, I come away with a hopeful outlook,” Donna wrote. “My gift to you is the opportunity to be generous with those in need. May you come to know your grandfather’s joy in the act of sharing abundance with the world and trusting that God does indeed provide.”
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Talk with your financial advisor about how you can get your family involved in giving or
Thrivent provides advice and guidance through its Financial Planning Framework that generally includes a review and analysis of a client’s financial situation. A client may choose to further their planning engagement with Thrivent through its Dedicated Planning Services (an investment advisory service) that results in written recommendations for a fee.
This donor’s experience may not be the same as other donors and does not indicate future performance or success. Payout rates, charitable deductions and other benefits vary based on a number of factors.