For a minimum gift of $2,500
you can provide for your favorite ELCA ministry and receive an income for life. At the same time, you can lower your investment risk and overhead costs by pooling assets with others investors in a Pooled Income Fund.

With a gift to an ELCA Pooled Income Fund
you receive an immediate income tax charitable deduction for the present value of the charitable remainder of your gift, avoid capital gains (if funded with long term -- 12 months or more -- appreciated assets), and may reduce federal estate and gift taxes.

Your gift is "pooled" with gifts from other individuals.
Professional investors manage the Fund of pooled gifts. The PIF is often referred to as a charitable cousin to the mutual fund.

You receive quarterly income based on how many units of the Fund you receive in return for your gift.
Your pro rata share of income will vary from year to year depending on how much the Fund earns. For example, if fifty people each contribute $5,000, for a total of $250,000, each person would receive an income of 1/50th of the Fund's earnings.

You choose the life income beneficiaries.
You may choose yourself, you and your spouse, or others. Discuss the tax impact of this option with the ELCA Foundation.

You choose the ELCA ministries to be the charitable beneficiaries of your gift.
Any ELCA ministry may be chosen to receive the charitable remainder of your gift. You may choose churchwide, a specific congregation, synod, social ministry organization, college, seminary, disaster relief, Women of the ELCA, World Hunger Appeal, Fund for Leaders in Mission, etc. Gifts of certain amounts may establish an endowment to benefit certain ministries in perpetuity.

You choose whether a predictable income or increased growth is more important to you.
The ELCA Foundation has a growth fund, which invests 60% in equity funds and 40% in bond funds, and an income fund, which invests 10% in equity funds and 90% in bond funds. A $10,000 gift made in 1972 to the growth fund had a value of $31,086 in January, 1999.  A gift made in 1982 to the income fund was valued at $14,225.

You can make additional contributions of at least $2,500 as often as you like.

The examples and information on this page are for illustrative and educational purposes only and should not be considered tax or legal advice. Please consult with your tax or legal advisor before proceeding with your estate plan.

Call us at 800/638-3522, ext. 2970 to discuss

gift planning options that will support your favorite ministries

and fulfill your legacy goals at the same time.