Harlan Stoley remembers what happened to much of the land and the families that relied on the land in the Highmore area during the 1930s Dust Bowl. He wanted to care for his family and his land well into the future. With the help of Lutheran Planned Giving and Thrivent Financial, the Stoleys have accomplished that, plus providing assistance to six charitable organizations in the future.

Harlan and Dolores Stoley have ranched all their lives in the Highmore area. The Stoleys had six daughters, but Harlan says, “None of them happened to marry farmers.” So when they were ready to retire and sell their land Harlan and Dolores looked at alternatives that would keep their land in grassland and provide income for themselves and their families as well as do some good for the world around them.

“We’ve been in the ranching business almost all our lives,” Harlan said. “We didn’t want our land to be plowed up. We wanted to sell it to someone who would keep it in grass permanently.”

Harlan’s Thrivent representative had visited with the Stoleys about their wishes and contacted Lutheran Planned Giving of South Dakota. With the help of a good friend in real estate, Harlan and Dolores met with Thrivent and Lutheran Planned Giving to establish a plan. That plan called for LPGSD to acquire the land and place it in a trust. Ducks Unlimited then purchased the 1,418 acres from the trust. Part of the trust agreement called for the land to be used for conservation and native grassland, along with a portion to be rented to neighbors for limited grazing. The Stoleys kept 35 acres for their home and farm buildings.

Lutheran Planned Giving of South Dakota set up the trust through the ELCA Foundation that provides a steady income for Harlan and Delores in their retirement. Through their estate plan, the trust will provide income for their children and their family for sixteen years. The remainder of the principal will then be given to six charities: 25% to Global Missions, 25% to Lutheran World Relief, 20% to Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota, 15% to Habitat for Humanity (to be used on the Crow Creek Reservation, near Highmore), 10% to the Gideons and 5% to prison ministries.

“We’ve always been interested in charitable giving,” Harlan said, “and this looked like a way to sell the land, put the money in a trust and have a comfortable living for us and our family and still be able to do a lot of good for people.”