Lutheran Schools & Organizations - Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis

Funding Goals

To support a system of St. Louis area Lutheran schools dedicated to excellence in Christian education.
To support Lutheran organizations who partner with local Lutheran congregations to strengthen the impact of congregation community engagement and the congregations themselves.

Overview

Lutheran churches, schools, and organizations have a long history of responding to community needs. Lutheran churches and schools have always had a symbiotic relationship, with Lutheran schools serving as one of the best tools congregations have to tell the story of Jesus Christ to the next generation. Similarly, since the mid-1800’s, a number of Lutheran organizations including Lutheran Hospital, the predecessor to Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis, have also engaged in meeting the needs of the greater St. Louis community. Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis honors this legacy of service by directing funding towards ensuring that families of our community have an opportunity to send their children to a Lutheran school of their choice as well as strengthening mutually beneficial partnerships between Lutheran organizations and congregations.

Outcomes

Outcomes describe, in broad terms, the measurable change within each Funding Focus Area that Lutheran Foundation would like to see in the lives of those served by grantees. Outcomes allow the Foundation to aggregate indicators across multiple grantees to determine our community impact.

Lutheran schools and organizations seeking funding from the Foundation must demonstrate how their project will address one or more of the following outcomes:

Lutheran Schools

OUTCOME #1

Those served by Lutheran schools experience improved academic outcomes.

OUTCOME #2

Children in the St. Louis community have access to a quality Lutheran education.

OUTCOME #3

Lutheran schools are better able to meet their mission.

Lutheran organizations

OUTCOME #1

Lutheran organizations are better able to meet their mission through mutually beneficial partnerships with Lutheran congregations.

OUTCOME #2

Lutheran congregations are better able to meet community needs.

OUTCOME #3

Those served by Lutheran organization-congregation partnerships experience improved outcomes.

Interested applicants must be:

any accredited K-12 school that is a member of the Lutheran Elementary School Association (LESA), or
a St. Louis-based Lutheran Recognized Service Organization (RSO) or Social Ministry Organization (SMO) partnering with St. Louis-based Lutheran congregations

The geographic area supported by Lutheran Foundation includes the following counties in the St. Louis metropolitan area:

Missouri counties: Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and Warren
Illinois counties of Clinton, Jersey, Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair

Regular Grants
Any St. Louis area Lutheran school or organization may apply for a grant to:

Ensure that children of St. Louis have the opportunity to attend a quality Lutheran school of their choice;
Support excellence in Lutheran schools; or
Support Lutheran organizations as they reach out to, connect with and partner with Lutheran congregations.

Lutheran schools and organizations are typically funded by annual grants. Grants may be renewed for up to three years, with a 20-25% decrease each year; however, grantees must apply annually.

Lutheran Education Mini Grants (one time per year)
Any accredited K-12 school that is a member of LESA can apply for a Lutheran Education Mini Grant. These grants are available for up to $10,000. A school can only apply one time per year (March 1st).

*NOTE: Lutheran Foundation is highly relational and seeks to develop relationships with our grantees to build mutual understanding and partnership. Schools or organizations that anticipate applying for funding are highly encouraged to request a consultation with Foundation staff.

The following are examples of what the Foundation will consider for funding (not an exhaustive list):

Lutheran Schools

Regional efforts that affect a number of schools (rather than individual schools) in addressing one or more indicators of a Lutheran school of excellence.
Collaborations with other funders in supporting Lutheran schools of excellence, especially when our dollars can be leveraged to bring a multiplying effect.
An individual school's efforts to create a strategic plan that addresses areas identified after working with the LCMS Missouri District or participating in LCMS’ Lutheran School Consulting Services (LSCS) process.
Limited level of scholarship assistance, especially when dollars can be leveraged with other funders to bring a multiplying effect. Lutheran Foundation does not plan to augment/add to existing scholarship endowments.
Marketing and enrollment initiatives including staffing.
Academic quality improvement activities.

Lutheran Organizations

Staffing to engage congregations as mutually beneficial partners (e.g., Congregation Liaison)
Training and support for congregations and their members (e.g., congregational wellness, discipleship training, etc.).
Engaging subject matter experts to equip congregations for community engagement (e.g., caregiver support, grief support, foster care advocacy, counseling, etc.).

For Regular Grants, Lutheran Foundation has two grant cycles per year. The due dates for those are June 1^st and December 1^st (if that date falls on a weekend, the due date will be the following business day). Click here to view our application timeline.

For the Lutheran Education Mini Grants, Lutheran Foundation has one grant cycle per year. The timeline is as follows:

March 1: Grant Deadline
End of May: Lutheran Foundation Board meets to review grant requests and notifications of grant awards sent
July 1: Checks disbursed