With funds left to the church by the late Donna Rae Danielson of Nevada, the Memorial Lutheran Church Council has put in place a Memorial Lutheran Endowment Fund, and through this endowment fund, the Memorial Lutheran Endowment Board will award the first grants to the community later this year. The total amount to be given in grants this first year is $57,200.
Church leaders emphasize that Memorial Lutheran Church has established this endowment fund to help with worthwhile projects throughout Nevada.
Senior Pastor Myron Herzberg commented on the church council's decision to share these funds with the community at-large. "I find it extraordinary that, from the very beginning, the church council did not think about using (the money) just for projects here at Memorial Lutheran. They wanted to think about how to use it for the wider community."
In fact, members of the endowment board have written in their protocol on fund distribution that "these funds can never be used for any budgeted expense in the congregation."
The $57,200 that will be given out in this first year may be more than what will be given out in future years, depending on the growth of the endowment fund from year-to-year, but Herzberg said that, unlike some endowment funds, the Memorial Lutheran Endowment Fund has been set up as a perpetual fund, in that the principal will never be exhausted.
Herzberg said he anticipates that other "legacy gifts" received from church members and friends will now go into the Memorial Lutheran Endowment Fund, and that people will see this as a worthy avenue for leaving gifts to the church, because the gifts will help the church to contribute to needs in the community and church, and also globally.
|
|
As written in the "invitation to apply for grants," the endowment board of the church states: "We are interested in supporting creative and innovative projects that serve the community and world. Following the example of Jesus of Nazareth, we have a bias for projects that serve the overlooked and the neglected. We also value:
* small projects (because they are often the seeds of change);
* projects that are built on collaboration with others;
* projects that draw diverse people together (building new relationships);
* and projects that evoke simplicity and self-giving generosity."
The endowment board also specifies that, of the grant funds awarded, a minimum of 10 percent must go toward programs and ministry within the Memorial Lutheran Church, a minimum of 10 percent must go toward special projects within the local area where the community resides and a minimum of 10 percent must go to special church-wide or global ministries.
"We're very excited to have members of the community apply for these grants," said Herzberg. "We're eager to receive proposals, and hope that people will take advantage of these opportunities."
Several years
in the making
Danielson died on Christmas Day 2006, and between that time and the present, there was legal work that needed to be done before decisions could be made regarding the gifts she had left to others. Danielson also left sizeable gifts to Iowa State University (where she was a longtime professor), the Nevada Public Library (she had been a member of the library board) and the Vesterheim Museum in Decorah.
In addition to the legal work needing to be done, the Memorial Lutheran Church Council had to take time to determine how to use the funds that Danielson left to the church.
Phyllis Fevold, a member of the endowment board, said she admires the amount of faith that Danielson had in providing a gift without direction. "She really trusted that there would be decisions made about the best use of her gift, and that's a show of true generosity."
Another member of the endowment board, Ardith Forsyth, said the time taken to come to the decisions about an endowment fund were typical of the person who made the endowment fund possible. "Donna always had a vision to the next project, but she wouldn't have wanted us to come to this (decision) in a hurry. She was very methodical."
About applying for grants
The Memorial Lutheran Endowment Fund Board will begin accepting grant applications at this time. The deadline for submitting a grant application is Aug. 28 at noon.
Application forms are available by e-mailing the church's administrative assistant, Jodi Schuman, at memluth@midiowa.net.
The endowment board will interview applicants starting in September, and hopes to make a decision about grant awards in October. All grant recipients will be asked to be present at the Sunday church service on All Saints' Day, Sunday, Nov. 1, for a presentation of the grants.
