ENDOWMENT FUNDS
How Do We Ensure the Future Ministry of St. Michael Lutheran Church?
As stewards of God’s blessings and knowing how important it is to help carry on the Lord’s work to the next generation, WE are the answer! A commitment to the St. Michael Lutheran Church Endowment Fund can be the best way to leave a lasting legacy.
The Endowment Fund provides a means for you to support and carry on the mission and ministries of St. Michael Lutheran Church & School that you truly value with the added assurance that your gift will be used according to your wishes. You can support the Endowment Fund today through direct financial gifts, securities or property. As an alternative, you can also make a future gift by designating the Endowment Fund as a beneficiary in your Will or Estate plan. Your gift may also provide you with a tax benefit.
How Do We Ensure the Future Ministry of St. Michael Lutheran Church?
As stewards of God’s blessings and knowing how important it is to help carry on the Lord’s work to the next generation, WE are the answer! A commitment to the St. Michael Lutheran Church Endowment Fund can be the best way to leave a lasting legacy.
The Endowment Fund provides a means for you to support and carry on the mission and ministries of St. Michael Lutheran Church & School that you truly value with the added assurance that your gift will be used according to your wishes. You can support the Endowment Fund today through direct financial gifts, securities or property. As an alternative, you can also make a future gift by designating the Endowment Fund as a beneficiary in your Will or Estate plan. Your gift may also provide you with a tax benefit.
The Endowment Fund is managed by a standing committee of the congregation and was established to enable us to share a portion of our earthly treasures over and above our normal contributions to further our mission of “making Mighty Messengers for Christ”. St. Michael Lutheran Church & School has been blessed by God’s grace in an overwhelming way during its first 50 years. As we look forward to the next 50 years and beyond, we pray that the Endowment Fund will enable us to leave a portion of our “legacy” to accelerate our present growth and ministry, so that we might support and encourage those who follow in our footsteps.
If your heart is compelled to support the future of St. Michael Lutheran Church & School’s mission of reaching out, caring for, and building people towards maturity in Christ, contact our Endowment Fund Committee or church office Business and Finance Manager. We are ready to discuss this with you!
ABOUT THE ENDOWMENT FUND COMITTEE
Under St. Michael Lutheran Church Bylaws, members of the Endowment Fund Committee are charged with the responsibility of managing and investing both restricted and unrestricted financial gifts given to the Fund to assure the security and long-term growth of the Fund. Gifts given to the Endowment are managed with the help of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) Foundation. The LCMS Foundation, based in St. Louis, MO, has been serving LCMS members, congregations, and ministries since 1958, providing Christian expertise in charitable giving and investing.
The Foundation’s primary activities include Christian estate and gift planning and Endowment Fund investment management using a diversified investment model offered only to LCMS congregations and ministries. The Foundation also assists with the annual distribution of funds as directed by the Endowment Fund Committee to help support and extend the mission and ministry programs of St. Michael Lutheran Church & School over the long term.
The St. Michael Endowment Fund Committee is made up of five officers elected by a majority of voting members of the congregation. Individuals elected as officers must also be voting members in good standing.
Current Committee Members:
Todd Foster (Chairman)
Julie Vickery
Brad Hunter
Rick Jacobs
David Johnson
GIVING OPTIONS
If you and your family have been blessed this year, consider giving a special gift to the Lord’s work through the ministries of St. Michael Lutheran Church and School. If you are retired and are withdrawing from an IRA, consider a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) to lower your taxes and support our ministries.
We all want to provide for our loved ones, but also think about the blessings received through faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Remember also the blessings you have received through the ministries at St. Michael Lutheran Church and School. Legacy gifts may be given to the St. Michael Endowment Fund in one of the areas described below. The endowment allocates up to 4% of the balance of named funds annually for the intended purposes of each fund.
Established in 2002, this fund consists of gifts given to the Endowment that are unrestricted by the giver. Annual distributions from this fund are directed at the discretion of the Endowment Fund Committee to help support mission and ministry programs of the church and school above and beyond the General Fund budget. Distribution opportunities are identified through a Grant Proposal process, which begins each year on January 1st. A Grant Proposal Application may be completed by any member or ministry leader in the church or school and submitted to the Committee by February 15. The Committee evaluates all Grant Proposals to determine those that will be funded based on the priorities and goals of the Church.
To make a donation to this fund, please visit our DONATE page, and select "Endowment Fund" from the menu.
This fund was established in 2010 through a generous gift given by Rick Wheeler in memory of his wife, Geri. Both Rick and Geri were longtime, faithful members of St. Michael, and strong supporters of our Lutheran school as an outreach ministry to the community. In accordance with Rick’s wishes, the yearly distribution from this designated fund provides tuition assistance for students whose parents are not able to afford to fully pay for their child to attend St. Michael Lutheran School. Since its creation, this fund has generated approximately $30,000 in tuition assistance for numerous students who otherwise would not have been able to afford attendance at our school.
To make a donation to this fund, please contact Jay Koski at jkoski@mightymessengers.org or 269-327-7832.
This fund was established in 2019 through a $110,000 gift given by an anonymous donor family. The donor family believes strongly in Christian-sponsored education and views St. Michael Lutheran School as an excellent organization at providing Christ-centered education to the youth in the Kalamazoo and Portage area. As with any good organization, the staff are the key to success. St. Michael Lutheran School has great leadership via its principal and superior teaching staff. Salaries are the major expense for a school, but also the most important for attracting and retaining highly qualified staff. With that in mind, the donor family requested that annual distributions from this fund be used to help pay for school staff salaries.
To make a donation to this fund, please contact Jay Koski at jkoski@mightymessengers.org or 269-327-7832.
This fund was established in 2021 through a generous gift from the estate of Maxine M
June, a long-time member of St. Michael Lutheran Church. Maxine and her husband
Jerry (before his passing) always had a passion for growing plants and flowers in their
large gardens and greenhouse. Together, they made the decision to begin a ministry of
providing weekly flower arrangements for our altar in the sanctuary, which Maxine has
faithfully continued for over 50 years. Through estate planning and working with the
Endowment Committee, Maxine established this designated fund to provide financial
support for the weekly placement of flowers on our altar long she is called home to
heaven. The fund will also support maintenance of “Jerry’s Garden”, a landscaped area
in the turn-around island by the church office that Maxine created in memory of her
husband.
To make a donation to this fund, please contact Jay Koski at jkoski@mightymessengers.org or 269-327-7832.
Established in 2021, the School Scholarship Fund provides tuition assistance for students whose parents are not able to afford to fully pay for their child to attend St. Michael Lutheran School.
To make a donation to this fund, please contact Jay Koski at jkoski@mightymessengers.org or 269-327-7832.
PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE
Do you have a need to prepare or review a will and estate plan? St. Michael has partnered with the LCMS Foundation and the Michigan Church Extension Fund to help St. Michael members develop or review their will and estate plans. This is accomplished with the help of a Certified Gift Planning Counsel who is trained to help you think through your will and estate planning options at no cost to you.
Julie Burgess, the current Gift Planning Counselor, is ready to meet with you at your convenience. Julie Burgess is trained to assist LCMS members in the creation of estate plans that provide for family members, but also for the church organizations they love. She received her Certified Gift Planning Associate (CGPA) Certificate in 2020. If you’d like to learn more about this free service, please visit the LCMS Foundation or contact Julie Burgess directly at Julie.burgess@lfnd.org or 713-822-5284.