Getting Started

Building your legacy is simpler than you think.

We make endowments easy.

Lutheran Legacy Foundation makes setting up an endowment fund simple and straightforward. We’ll walk you through the process step-by-step, providing clarity and support at every turn.

1. Easy Application

Taking the first step is easy. Begin by completing our straightforward application form—it only takes a few minutes. Once submitted, we’ll connect personally to discuss your goals and answer any questions you have about creating an endowment fund with LLF.

2. Matching Grants

Boost your impact from day one. If your ministry or organization qualifies, LLF will match the funds you raise, providing your new endowment with an immediate boost. It’s our way of investing in your vision—and helping your generosity go even further.

Our Matching Program

3. Growth & Distribution

Watch your legacy flourish. Once your fund is established, LLF carefully invests your gift providing optional annual distributions of up to 5%. Each year, your endowment supports the ministries you love—faithfully, steadily, and long into the future.

Investment Model

Testimonials

What are others saying?

The Lutheran Legacy Foundation has done wonderful work for Grace. Our current generation in the congregation has benefited greatly from the sacrifice and good decisions made by generations past. Endowments started many years ago by our predecessors have been an ongoing blessing to our congregation. We also continue to add to our endowments as we are able, to be a blessing to the next generation. If you are looking for a way to support your church well into the future, be sure to talk with Lutheran Legacy Foundation.

Pastor Daniel Smith
, Pastor / Grace Lutheran Church
“St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Milford. IL is grateful for the Lutheran Legacy Foundation and their commitment to the future of Lutheran education. Because of their foresight, we, too, can look to the future and continue what our church forefathers started; a Lutheran Day School.
The donations to our fund speak to the commitment of others and our distributions go directly to tuition support. These distributions directly impact our students and provide motivation for the fund to continue. The LLF matching program has given us encouragement to continue reaching out to others. Thank you LLF!”

Denise
, St. Paul's Lutheran School, Milford, IL
Our relationship with Lutheran Legacy Foundation is one of guidance, support, and appreciation for all involved. The willingness to include our program and build an endowment to support the care of children in a small community is amazing. We are truly blessed.

Steve Boyars, Operations Manager
, Grace Lutheran Child Development Center
Our charitable giving is much easier using a Donor Advised Fund. Rather than write many checks we make one contribution to the fund, which simplifies our tax preparation. We like being able to determine which organizations to support. We can make recurring donations to some organizations and also help others in the event of a natural disaster or other crisis with just a phone call or email to the LLF office. The growth in the fund has allowed us to give more than our contribution to the fund.

James and Diane Jordan-Wagner
,
A donor-advised fund is a good fit for me. The simplicity of using a one-time deposit and then spreading that over many different charitable organizations is a solution for charitable donations. And it earns money on the market! Thank you, LLF.

Tom and Ruth Patchett
, Retired farmer and member of Grace Lutheran Church
“Partnering with LLF provides expert guidance and a trusted framework for growth. Our endowment has grown exponentially since we started it nearly 20 years ago. It’s a strategic investment that secures your mission, strengthens impact, and builds confidence for the future of your organization. Today, our funds at LLF help supply 80% of our annual scholarship budget, opening doors for more students and securing the future of our schools.”

Libby Gutberlet, CEO
, Lutheran Elementary School Association
The endowment managed by the Lutheran Legacy Foundation supplies funding for our Chelsea Schofield Memorial Campership Fund. This fund gives financial assistance to anyone who needs a little help paying for camp. Dozens of campers have received assistance from this fund over the years ensuring that money issues never keep a child away from CILCA. The endowment is a true blessing that supports the ongoing mission of Camp CILCA.

Pastor Joshua W Theilen
Director, Camp CILCA, Centralia, IL
“Creating an endowment has given our members a means for pursuing their ideas and passions as they live out their calls in Christ Jesus. Our interests and talents may be varied, but the endowment gives them a unifying purpose. I applaud LLF for its care, skill and professionalism in managing our funds. I am also extremely grateful for the LLF matching program, which has done so much to grow our funds and raise the profile of our endowment as a giving opportunity.”

Paul Dunker
Stewardship Chair, Atonement Lutheran Church, Columbus, Ohio