Our generosity is often rooted in thanksgiving. As a foundational aspect of our discipleship, generosity is a reflection of God’s goodness and an acknowledgement that God’s abundance should be shared. To Jack and Carol Nuzum, they think of it as Theology 101.
In 1975, Jack and Carol joined St. John’s UMC in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Like many others, they were drawn to the high-quality music and steadily became more involved. They made life-long friends and raised their family surrounded by this faith community. As educators, they were not expecting to have much in the way of finances to leave behind to their church, but both of their parents turned out to be savvy investors. They soon realized they would be able to multiply their unexpected blessings by leaving money to the church they loved.
Having served on the church’s foundation board, Jack saw firsthand how important the St. John’s Foundation’s work was to the life of the church funding special projects and investing in pilot ministry programs. During his tenure, Jack also learned about different giving vehicles. The one that caught his and Carol’s attention most was the Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA).
A Charitable Gift Annuity allows donors to make a gift to charity and receive a partial tax deduction. It also returns a fixed income to the donors for their lives. The remainder is then given to the donor’s charity of choice. Jack and Carol believed this was an excellent fit for their philanthropic goals, so they created a Charitable Gift Annuity with the New Mexico United Methodist Foundation that later merged with TMF.
“The gift annuity was the best of both worlds,” Jack shared. “We would have a good return on our investment while we were alive and generously support the work of our church after we passed. We knew we wanted to keep our money with TMF because we had confidence in their leadership and their financial strength and generosity through loans, grants, loans, and leadership ministries were very compelling.”
Years later, TMF’s investments in ministries are still incredibly meaningful to Jack and Carol, but now those investments are also personal. During the pandemic, St. John’s UMC received a COVID grant from TMF to support their food ministry , which is led by their son Tim. After a career working in biology labs that he never enjoyed, Tim took an opportunity to learn the culinary arts and within a few short years he impressed St. John’s hiring committee so much that they made him the Director of Food Ministry. When the pandemic hit, Tim’s team was making 500 meals each month for hungry families in the community, and they launched a garden, growing hundreds of pounds of fresh produce for the homeless.
For more than half of the church’s life, the Nuzums have been deeply engaged in the life of St. John’s, teaching Sunday School, participating in leadership, and giving generously. Their son’s vital ministry is now part of their family legacy and a reflection of their commitment to “Theology 101.”
“We always joke that our annual gifts to St. John’s support the light bill and people seem confused by that statement,” Carol said with a laugh. “Of course, you cannot support missions without general funding for the church and people tend to forget that, so naturally, we wanted part of our legacy to be focused on supporting missions. Our CGA will support the work of the church foundation, funding the ministries that enhance the mission of St. John’s.”
If you are interested in creating a CGA like Jack and Carol, or would like to discuss your philanthropy, please feel free to reach out to Sally Richard to discuss how you can make a difference.
SRichard@tmf-fdn.org | 512-583-1940