Carey and Kim Koele
Creating Family Giving Traditions
Carey and Kim Koele established the Carey and Kimberly Koele Family Fund, a Donor Advised Fund, in 2014 to educate their sons about philanthropy and to participate in giving decisions together as a family.
“Family is so important to us. We thought about what we wanted to leave as a legacy. We want to pass down what we were taught by our parents and grandparents. The Community Foundation is a great partner for us because they enable our legacy to be multi-generational,” noted Kim.
The Koeles have been teaching their sons Christian, 16, and Evan, 13, about giving back for as long as they can remember.
“We involve our children in our giving decisions because we want to provide our sons with the best foundation possible. As parents, you have to be intentional and take the opportunities to have these conversations with your kids and spend time together as a family,” said Carey.
“We’re really blessed and we want to be wise stewards of God’s gifts and bless others. We have tried to teach our boys that you can make a difference in so many ways. Little things add up to big impact,” said Kim.
The charitable spirit that the Koele family has instilled in their children has already become evident. “We see it in how thoughtful they are,” noted Carey.
“Our experience has been that when you grow up with giving, it pretty much becomes part of your DNA.”
Carey is passionate about investments and teaching his children about financial literacy. “It’s what I do every day. With many of my clients, we approach giving as part of life’s expenses. It’s just that natural,” noted Carey.
Carey serves on the Zeeland Christian School Board and Kim serves on the Family Hope Foundation Board, is a youth leader for high school youth and volunteers for Hand 2 Hand Ministries. “The boys see that we volunteer our time, and they understand that you can give of your time and talents in addition to financial gifts. You give what you can.”
Christian and Evan make their own decisions about where to give some of the money they’ve saved each year. They’ve sponsored a child after going on a mission trip and have donated money from raising pigs through 4-H.
One year, in lieu of birthday gifts, Evan asked for contributions for the Family Hope Foundation. Christian has been working towards his pilot’s license and hopes to one day help with Wings of Mercy.
Despite having two boys with busy schedules, the Koeles try to volunteer as a family as often as possible. They’ve gone on mission trips together, they’ve packed lunches for those in need, and they bring Christian and Evan to nonprofit events when appropriate.
“Talking about giving is important, but we also try to lead by example and show it by what we do. What better way to teach our kids than to live out what we’ve been called to do?” said Kim.
“Even in a community as great as this one, there’s never a shortage of needs to support. Our Donor Advised Fund allows us to consolidate and streamline our giving. It’s the perfect fit to help us make our giving more effective. The Foundation shares knowledge and leads us to further interests that we may not initially have been familiar with. We trust the Foundation to listen, to walk alongside of us, and to guide us to make the best decisions possible,” noted Carey and Kim.
When talking to their children about giving, the Koeles often refer back to Winston Churchill’s quote, “You make a living by what you make, you make a life by what you give.”
Involving their children in giving through their Donor Advised Fund will be an annual and ongoing process for the Koele family. Their children’s involvement will continue to increase as the boys get older, and the Koeles hope that the boys will find passion for their own favorite nonprofits in the process.
“We want our giving to be multi-generational because our children are our future. Being part of the Community Foundation enables us to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Our fund will live on long after we’re gone,” said Carey and Kim.
The Koele boys will serve as successor advisors to the fund. “It’s about Christian and Evan sharing in this legacy and passing it on.”
Originally featured in the Community Foundation’s 2014 Annual Report. While this was written by CFHZ’s Communications Manager Nicole Paquette in 2015, we believe that stories of generosity are timeless and always relevant.
