The LCMS Foundation was created in 1958 by The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod to assist LCMS members in the creation of charitable estate plans, to accept non cash gifts on behalf of LCMS organizations, and to help LCMS ministries invest the assets they possess, whether received as estate gifts or through other sources. We celebrate the generosity of God’s people in supporting the work of His church and ask the Lord’s continued blessing on our humble efforts that, through His blessing and guidance, the successful performance of our tasks will help bring glory to His name.
Gift Planning
During fiscal years 2020–2022, the LCMS Foundation distributed more than 9,300 gifts totaling $105.9 million (including a record $45.8 million in 2022) to several thousand LCMS organizations. These ministries include our congregations, schools, seminaries, districts, and ministries providing missionary support, rural and urban outreach, housing assistance, and much more.
The gifts the Foundation distributes are a result of the joyful response to God’s love found in the hearts of individuals in our LCMS community. These are primarily planned gifts such as endowments, donor-advised funds, charitable trusts, and so on administered by the Foundation and distributed to a particular ministry after the donor is called to his or her heavenly home. To carry out this work, 20 gift planning counselors are located across the United States. They assist individuals and families in creating comprehensive estate plans to support families and ministries with the very best gifts.
Investment Services Ministries who receive significant gifts from donors or already possess sizeable assets can benefit by working with the Foundation to invest those gifts for future growth. The Foundation presently manages more than $1 billion in investment and trust assets for nearly 600 LCMS organizations. We provide sophisticated,
diversified investment portfolios at a low cost aimed to help LCMS ministries accomplish their long-term goals. By managing assets collectively for the church, the Foundation offers access to LCMS congregations and ministry organizations to a sophisticated, diversified investment model at a low cost. A variety of investment options are available to help meet ministry needs for investment timeline and risk tolerance.
Leadership and Organization
ally with members in establishing their charitable Christian estate plans. Transfer the Blessings builds upon the relationship the member has with the congregation and produces an approach to giving that provides resources to the church beyond weekly offerings. In 2022, God truly blessed the Foundation’s work; we helped new donors create gifts to ministry (both future “planned gifts” as well as immediate gifts) totaling more than $213 million. This was a record amount for the Foundation and nearly 50 percent higher than our average over the past 10 years.
Mr. David Fiedler has served as President of the LCMS Foundation since 2013. Currently, 64 full-time employees serve the Foundation in various capacities.
Governance Direct oversight of the Foundation is provided by its board of trustees, which meets quarterly to review and monitor the performance and activity of the organization and to provide strategic direction. The Foundation board is made up of 13 trustees, 8 of whom are elected by the LCMS member organizations described below. Two other trustees are elected by the Synod in convention. The remaining two trustees are the Synod President or his representative and the chairman of the Board for National Mission or his representative. The Chief Financial Officer of the Synod is an ex-officio nonvoting member of the board. The LCMS Foundation is also responsible to 55 member organizations, which represent directly or indirectly all of the ministries of the church served by the Foundation. These member organizations include the 35 LCMS districts, the member institutions of the Concordia University System, our seminaries, auxiliaries, and so on. Once a year, delegates from this group meet to elect trustees and to vote on other official actions at the Foundation’s annual meeting.
Strategic Plan As the Foundation looks to the future, we seek to grow our impact on the LCMS and its ability to share the Gospel. We continually review the needs of the church and our Lutheran donors to determine how we can better serve the people and organizations of the LCMS. We gather input from our board, our leadership team, our staff, and outside experts to identify areas where we can improve our work in this support of ministry. Thus, we have identified six key areas of focus over the next three years: • Improve message clarity and understanding.
- Increase awareness of and preference for the Foundation’s abilities to support ministries.
- Increase retention and realization of revocable gifts.
- Expand the ability for organizations and individuals to participate through products and services.
- Lead collaboration across Synod entities.
- Maintain infrastructure vigilance to ensure a balance of purposeful growth and high standards of service.
As we enter the next triennium, the servants at the LCMS Foundation rejoice with the church in the enormous blessings the Lord has bestowed upon the LCMS and its ministries through these efforts. We look forward confidently by God’s grace to carrying on our service to the individuals and organizations of the LCMS in the future as well.