For Ministry Leaders | Start A Program

Transfer the Blessings™

Most of our partnerships are called Transfer the Blessings (TTB) partnerships. As the name implies, the TTB program is about helping your members or supporters pass on their God-given gifts to their loved ones and to the ministries they hold dear, once they’re called home to heaven.

In many ways, a TTB program is similar to a capital campaign; the Foundation will work with you to establish goals, identify key contacts and “ambassadors” within your organization, and hold seminars and other events to engage your members or supporters.

Once individuals ask to begin the gift planning program, your counselor will meet with them, usually at their home (or virtually while social distancing guidelines are in place), multiple times over a period of months. There’s no charge to your members to work with a counselor, and most individuals describe the process as joyful, enlightening and a blessing.

Creating a partnership

Your partnership will be customized to your needs. Smaller congregations usually don’t require as robust a program as larger congregations. And larger, more complex ministries, such as the Concordia universities, often want larger partnerships with additional services and expectations.

Our one-year partnerships generally start at about $11,000. This offsets some of the cost of having a gift planner dedicate a set amount of time, each month, to be at your ministry and working directly with your leaders, members and supporters. At that level of partnership, most ministries typically see about 10 gift plans created each year, with the average value of those gifts being approximately $250,000.

It’s important to note that the Foundation cannot guarantee a certain number of gifts, nor that the gifts will benefit your ministry. However, our experience over sixty years shows that nearly all partnerships perform at the averages noted above, and most donors choose to give generously to the ministry associated with the partnership. If you have any questions or concerns, we’re very transparent about what your ministry can expect and are always happy to provide testimonials or to put you in touch with other ministries that can share their experiences working with the Foundation.

Testimonials

As we think about funding the mission in the future, Transfer the Blessings can play a significant role. In the four years our congregation has been involved with TTB over $14.5 million has been designated for ministry with about half to be used in our local congregation.

Rev. Gary W. Byers

Belleville, IL

As a pastor in the LCMS, my wife and I have always desired to be faithful stewards of God’s blessings. It was refreshing to work with the LCMS Foundation to see how we can make a substantial gift to the local congregation and seminary without impacting the inheritance to our children.

Pastor Nathan Janssen

Martinsville, IN

I would wholeheartedly advocate for any LCMS ministry, regardless of its size, to partner with the LCMS Foundation to create, assess, and grow an endowment for the purposes of local Word and Sacrament ministry to be sustained for generations by the grace of God.

Nathaniel Prather

Bloomington, IN

Our partnership with the LCMS Foundation has been a tremendous blessing. In just a few years, we’ve identified more than $20,000,000 in gifts planned for St. Peter and other Lutheran ministries.

Rev. Micah Greiner

Arlington Heights, IL

Start A Program

How to Start a Program for Your Ministry

Transfer the Blessings™

Creating a partnership

Interested in creating a partnership today?

What Your Members Can Expect

Investing the Gifts You Receive

Frequently Asked Questions

Testimonials

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