Endowment Fund

Lord of Love’s Endowment Fund is a natural extension of our commitment to Christian stewardship. Initiated in January 1988, its purpose is to receive gifts and bequests and invest them to produce income. Annually, a portion of the fund is channeled into mission programs that reach beyond what our annual budget is able to accomplish. Since 2011, Endowment Fund grants totaling over $45,000 have been awarded to various applying organizations.

The investments are now being managed through the ELCA Endowment Fund Pooled Trust. An Endowment Committee of congregation members annually distributes grant funds amounting to three to five percent of the total fund assets as of September 30.

To learn more, see our Endowment Fund Brochure.

Donate To This Fund

Your donation also allows the fund to grow. As the principal grows, our mission’s reach expands. Please consider making a special gift to the Endowment Fund in memory of a loved one, in honor of a special person, in thanksgiving for a special event or occasion, or as part of your estate planning. Gifts to this fund can be mailed directly to the church.  You can also donate electronically through the Vanco Mobile smartphone application or via our online giving page.

Grant Applications

Know of a worthy project that needs additional funding? Apply for a Grant!
Annually, Lord of Love accepts grant applications for local, regional, national, and international mission projects from September through October 31. Refer to our Endowment Grant Request page for the application process and related details. Lord of Love members are encouraged to reach out to various organizations to help them create an endowment grant request for an ongoing or special project.

2024 Grants
There were 11 grant applications for 2024. The Endowment Committee spent $6700, about 5% of the approximate $134,000 in assets, for grants to 9 organizations. Two requests were denied. These grants were awarded:

$1,200 – Tanzania Machame Nursing Student Tuition—2^nd-year student Heavenlight FIdelis Akaro
$1,000 – Lutheran Family Services, Behavioral Health Programs
$750 – Table Grace Ministries–for costs of feeding those who cannot pay
$750 – Siena/Francis Housefor costs of warming centers
$750 – Kim Foundation, Suicide Prevention
$750 – Serving Hands of Hope, costs of feeding school children in South Sudan
$500 – Nebraska Lutheran Campus Ministry for student program funds and peer ministry training
$500 – Voices for Children in Nebraska for advocacy for children’s health, welfare, and justice
$500 – Impaired Clergy, behavioral health programs for pastors in Nebraska
$ 6,700      TOTAL

2023 Grants
In 2023, the Endowment Committee distributed $5900 in grants to 11 organizations. This grant total was about 5% of the approximately $119,000 in total assets of the fund. There were originally 14 grant applications. One request was withdrawn, and two were denied. Here are the awarded grants:
$1,000 – Tanzania Machame Hospital Nursing Student
$500 – Nebraska Lutheran Campus Ministry for student program funds and peer ministry training
$500 – Lutheran Family Services Refugee Settlement Cleaning Kits
$500 – Project Hope for purchasing food
$500 – Access Period–for period products for women in need
$500 – YouTurn for staff for violence mediation and prevention in North Omaha
$500 – Table Grace Ministries–for costs of feeding those who cannot pay
$500 – Healing Gift Free Clinic–for costs of diabetic supplies for 2 months
$500 – Voices for Children in Nebraska for advocacy for children’s health, welfare, and justice
$500 – YES-Youth Emergency Services-for youth homelessness/emergency shelter
$400 – NAMI-National Alliance on Mental Illness-for mental illness programs

Past Projects
Our past endowment fund grants have made a big difference from Omaha to Tanzania.

Nebraska Lutheran Campus Ministries
This program connects college students with churches in the Omaha area.  Three solid ministry cell groups exist: God & Grads, a weekly ministry engaging twelve graduate students; NeMO, engaging 35 undergraduate students from various colleges in the area; T-GAP, a weekly ministry aimed at College of St. Mary students. These three ministries are currently engaging more students than at any time in NLCM 35-year history.

Followers of Christ Prison Ministry, Nebraska
Seed money from the Lord of Love Missions Possible team helped launch a program where inmates package meals for distribution to the hungry in rural Nebraska.  This grant helped support expansion and continuation of this mission and ministry.

Scholarships at Machame Hospital, Tanzania
Supports scholarships for Nursing or Clinical Officer students. $750 supports one student for one semester.
Ramadhani Ally Karia is the nursing student Lord of Love sponsored for a semester and a half through the endowment fund. Rhamadhani beginning his first year in 2016.  September 1, 2018 was Graduation Day in Machame. Rhamadhani was one of  45 nurses and 74 clinical officers who graduated.of the Nursing Certificate course. Rhamadhani will go on to touch thousands of patients and families during his career.  Through our scholarship support we are touching thousands of lives in Africa as well.
Ramadhani’s letter of thanks tells more about him, his family, and his dream to become a nurse.

Computers for Machame Hospital, Tanzania
Purchased replacement computers for the hospital finance department.  Each computer cost about about $600.