# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2007_S74 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 74 SYNOD REPORTS R4-01 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Foundation During the next triennium, the LCMS Foundation (the Founda- tion) will celebrate its golden anniversary. Founded in December 1958, the Foundation has pursued its mission for nearly fifty years. At the heart of this mission is a core value of Christ-centered financial stewardship, which properly views giving as a Spirit- inspired act of sanctification motivated by the love of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14). The Foundation exists to offer comprehensive charitable expertise and services to help individual Christians plan and direct their passions for giving to family and all ministries of the church today, tomorrow, and forever. Mission and Vision. The Foundation mission statement is Link- ing Christians with Giving Opportunities®. During the last trien- nium, the Foundation adopted a vision statement to accompany its mission statement: Every Christian with a Lifetime Plan for Giving Today, Tomorrow, and Forever. In this vision, each person who has come by faith to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ sees his or her life as a God-given resource “‘to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10b) and approaches per- sonal financial stewardship joyfully, prayerfully, and conscientiously. The terms “today, tomorrow, and forever” each have distinct mean- ing within the context of the Foundation’s vision. Gifts Today are direct gifts used immediately to support ministry efforts. During the last triennium many individuals throughout our church body expressed their love for Christ by working through the Foundation to provide immediate support for the ministries they love. In fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006, the Foundation received and distributed 533,058 individual gifts for immediate support of ministry totaling $125,569,205. These gift totals included over $20 million in direct contributions for tsunami and hurricane disaster relief. Gifts Tomorrow are deferred, or planned, gifts—including an- Nuities, trusts, bequests and other estate plans—that support min- istry efforts at some point in the future. Many deferred gift instruments administered by the Foundation provide a stream of payments to individual donors during their lifetimes and the lives of their loved ones, with the remainder value of the assets distrib- uted to ministries named by the donors when the instruments ma- ture. During the last three years, the Foundation distributed 13,433 matured planned gifts totaling $57,416,287 and helped prepare 4,235 new planned gifts with an estimated future value of $172,222,355, which will be distributed as the charitable instru- ments mature. Gifts Forever are endowed gifts that produce ongoing support for ministry efforts. The Foundation administers over 550 endow- ments designed to support ministry in perpetuity. Current asset bal- ance of the managed endowments is over $78,500,000. During the last triennium, over $8,000,000 was distributed from the endow- ments to ministries of the church. The income-producing assets under management through the Foundation had very positive in- vestment returns during the last three years. At the end of fiscal year 2006, total assets at the Foundation were $741 million. Over 600 separate ministries of the church benefited from gifts received and distributed through the LCMS Foundation during the triennium. Membership and Partnerships. While the Foundation exists to serve all congregations and entities of the church, forty-five vot- ing Members elect trustees and vote on other official actions. The Foundation Members include 18 LCMS districts, 7 colleges and 2 seminaries, 12 other Synod-affiliated entities, and 6 members-at- large. The Board of Trustees includes 11 members, of which 7 are elected by the Members, 2 are elected by the Synod in Convention, one is appointed by the President of the Synod, and one is ap- pointed by the Board for District and Congregational Services. The 2007 Convention Workbook Treasurer of the Synod is an ex-officio member of the Board. In addition to its Members, the Foundation has working relationships with all of the other LCMS districts and universities and many other Synod-affiliated entities. Leadership and Organization. Since April 2004, the Reverend Thomas Ries has served as President of the Foundation. Five se- nior vice-presidents give leadership to the organizational functions of Finance and Administration, Trust Administration and Customer Support, Marketing and Communications, Gift Planning, and Min- istry Resource Development. 99 employees serve the Foundation, 22 deployed as gift counselors and principal gift officers. The Foundation has full-time gift planning partnerships with one auxiliary and 12 districts of the Synod. These entities are the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League and the following districts: California-Nevada-Hawaii, Eastern, Florida-Georgia, Iowa West, Minnesota South, Nebraska, New England, North Wisconsin, Ohio, Rocky Mountain, South Wisconsin, and Southeastern. In addition, the Foundation has associate gift planning partnerships with a num- ber of other districts and Synod entities, and serves individuals, congregations, and organizations with gift planning and investment services in all 35 LCMS districts. In 2001, the Synod’s Board of Directors assigned to the Foun- dation the responsibility for development efforts that benefit the ministries represented by the program boards of the Synod. De- pending on the needs of each program board, the scope of these ef- forts has ranged from full development services on the one hand to a more limited scope of services on the other. The term ‘“‘full de- velopment services” is broadly described on three levels: Level |: face-to-face contact with donors; Level 2: non-face-to-face contact with donors; and Level: 3 non-donor contact activities such as gift processing, data management, and reporting. Overall, the Foundation has brought a high degree of consis- tency and professionalism to every aspect of the development process and will continue to adapt to the development needs of the program boards in the future. At the beginning of the past trien- nium, the Foundation provided full development services for KFUO Radio and the boards for Mission Services, University Ed- ucation, and World Relief and Human Care. During the last triennium the Board for University Education left its partnership for full development services and the Board for Pastoral Education entered a partnership for full development ser- vices. Beginning July 1, 2007, the Foundation will provide only level 2 and 3 services for the Board for Mission Services. Since 2004, the Foundation has provided key leadership for Fan Into Flame, the synodwide campaign of LCMS World Mission to raise $100 million to support the Ablaze! movement. While most of the objectives of Ablaze! need no funding, Fan Into Flame is being conducted to gather support for those Ablaze! initiatives that do re- quire funding within congregations, districts, national and cross- cultural, and international settings. The Foundation will work within each of the 35 LCMS districts through 2010 to assist with Fan Into Flame. Goals. During the triennium the Foundation operated under seven strategic goals, which will continue to guide the Foundation through the next triennium: Goal1: Elevate the visibility of the Foundation’s mission both within and outside of the organization. Goal 2: Become better acquainted with the needs of the min- istries served by the Foundation, and strengthen rela- tionships with them. Goal 3: Increase the participation of LCMS ministries in the de- velopment process. Goal 4: — Serve individuals through coordinated systems of con- tact and care that address donor needs and are adaptable to donor life situations.