Endowment

Committee

Growing in faith. Growing in giving.

We start as children, dropping a few coins into a Sunday school donation basket and watching as our parents place their giving envelope in the plate. As we grow up (and older) in the church, our giving evolves as well, reflecting new depths of meaning, understanding and experience.

Major and planned gifts are a reflection of growth in giving. Yes, they are truly gifts for the future. But they also are enduring testimonies of lives joyfully lived in faith – year after year.  We hope we can help you create your legacy for our congregation.

Current Committee Members:

  • Dan Halvroson
  • Sandy Lakey
  • Bob Michelet
  • Dave Porcelli
  • Mark Stauffer, Chair

Apply for a Grant

To ensure your request will be best expedited, please take a moment to review our Current Funds page to determine which fund your request is best suited for. Once you have determined this the process for requesting support and assistance via a grant from the Mission Endowment Fund is as follows:

  1. Click on the link below to get the Grant Application form.
  2. Complete the grant application form. Please feel free to add additional information of attachments to support the request.
  3. Submit the request to the Endowment Committee for review.
  4. Following the committee review you may be asked for additional information.
  5. The Committee will provide an decision for your request in a timely manner.
Grant Application Form

The Mission Endowment Fund

The Mission Endowment Fund of Bethlehem Lutheran Church exists to further the work of God by supporting and expanding the mission and ministry of Bethlehem Lutheran Church. The fund exists to receive gifts from members, invest and manage those gifts,and disperse a portion of those gifts in support of the fund’s purpose.

The purpose of the fund is to complement and supplement the mission of Bethlehem Lutheran Church through grants that enhance the ongoing ministry of the congregation or develop new ministry and vision. While the congregation is expected to meet the church’s operating budget with regular giving, the endowment fund offers another channel through which members can support ongoing ministries as well as encourage the development of new ministries.

The fund shall exist so long as Bethlehem Lutheran Church continues to exist.

Why the Fund Was Created

The Mission Endowment Fund of Bethlehem Lutheran Church exists to further the work of God by supporting and expanding the mission and ministry of Bethlehem Lutheran Church. The fund exists to receive gifts from members, invest and manage those gifts, and disperse a portion of those gifts in support of the fund’s purpose.

The Purpose for the Fund​

The objective purpose of our Mission Endowment Fund is to complement and enhance the mission of Bethlehem Lutheran Church through grants that enhance the ongoing ministry of the congregation or develop new ministry and vision. Gifts may be made to the general fund, or to a fund with a specific purpose; and may be made during a member’s lifetime or through a will. Grants from the fund support a variety of programs, including:

  • scholarships
  • human needs
  • global outreach
  • mission development
  • music

Current Funds

General Endowment Fund

An undesignated category in which the earnings are available for distribution at the discretion of the endowment committee consistent with the mission and objectives set forth in the bylaws.

Scholarship Fund

Scholarships for college and seminary students, and/or for continuing education for members of the congregation.

Mission Fund

Gifts to be distributed in support of mission work defined by geography. It may be by community, state, nation or world. It may be by nature of service (e.g., care of missionaries, education in other cultures, social/ economic projects, etc.).

Special Ministries Fund

Gifts intended to create or support programs that are complementary to, but separate from, the ongoing programs of the church supported through the annual budget.

​Special ministries may be defined by a specific program or by category of programs (e.g., youth, hunger, music, Christian education, etc.).

Give a Gift

“Legacies are footprints we leave behind after we die.  They prove that we were here: we lived, we mattered, we made a difference.”
– Rachel Freed

With gratitude for the working of the Holy Spirit, we give thanks for the members who have already made a gift to the Mission Endowment Fund or taken steps to include Bethlehem in their financial and estate planning.

Dennis & Margo AstrothBob Michelet
Dick DuBoisCarolin Meinhardt
Bill & Patty HarmanCarole & George Orness
Gary & Karin KloehnMary Shaima
Lori Lincoln

Decisions about gifts to the Mission Endowment Fund – either during one’s life or as a legacy bequest – should me made with prayerful consideration of the donors’ intent as well as the available options.

Members of the Mission Endowment Fund Committee – as well as a professional gift planner from the ELCA – are available to assist or answer questions.

Contact the church office if you have a question or wish to discuss your options.

Planning Your Gift

Will and Trust Planner

This workbook provides a great tool for beginning your estate planning process: ELCA Will and Trust Workbook (PDF)