It’s January when our partner schools’ attention turns from SGOs to… endowments!Thanks to an ongoing yearly matching challenge from The Lutheran Foundation, our schools can raise pre-determined levels every year from July 1 to June 1 of each year.However, based on research from Phil Meizen from The LCMS Foundation, only ⅓ of our congregation members give to endowments. What does this mean? ⅔ of those in the pews don’t understand how an endowment fund can benefit the church and school.Simply saying, endowment funds allow for future needs funded by donations today. One can also paraphrase Genesis 41 and say that endowment funding during the good years can help our schools get through the lean years. In addition, endowment funds help needed projects become reality without having to fundraise! Below are just two examples of how our local Lutheran schools are using their endowments
Zion Lutheran, Decatur: New Digital Sign“It's a 16mm full color, electronic sign,” explains Mitch Hill, principal. “We purchased it with endowment funds. We also used funds for updated security cameras in the building.” St. Peter Lutheran, Fort Wayne: Renovation to the Preschool Entrance“With one of the largest preschools in Fort Wayne,” explains Tony Hunt, Director of Development for St.Peter’s,“we needed to improve the flow and safety of students in and out of the building as well as trafficcontrol during drop-off and pickup times.”
And the best part is, both schools met their need when they needed it, how they needed it, thanks to the generosity of donors in the past who saw the benefits of planning for the future.Future funding for our schools is getting brighter every year.
