Mission Endowment Fund

Giving as an act of worship takes us beyond duty to delights – Mark Allen Powell

We are blessed in many ways through our congregation.  We have a rich history of people supporting one another and the wider community.  One of our more recent blessings is the Mission Endowment Fund.  In 2009 St. Paul’s Liberty Lutheran Church established a Mission Endowment Fund to enable support for mission beyond the budgetary process.  

The initial funds that enabled the endowment came from a bequest from the estate of Arnold and Genevieve Dahl.  No portion of the distributions of the Fund can be used for the annual operating budget of the church (which includes salaries, operation of the building, ministries) and a maximum of 5% of the Fund can be distributed in order to maintain or increase the principal of the Fund. It is the gift that keeps giving.  

The Fund includes a scholarship account, the earnings of which are used to provide scholarships for senior(s) at Deerfield High School, and a general account, the earnings of which used to provide support for mission in four categories:  

  1. National and international missions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
  2. Mission within the South Central Synod of Wisconsin  
  3. Mission for non-church related human need within the community or state
  4. Non-budgetary missions of the congregation.

In addition, up to $2,000 will be distributed to two students per year for college purposes.

Here are some of the organizations who have benefited from this fund: Deerfield Community Center Food Pantry, Building Fund and Holiday Food Basket Program, Madison Area Jail Ministry, Lutheran Campus Ministry, Lutherdale Outdoor Ministries, Circle of Love Dentistry Program​​ELCA Disaster Relief, ELCA World Hunger​​​St. Paul’s Liberty Youth Mission TeamLocal Disaster Relief through our Synod, St. Vincent de Paul (Madison) and River Food Pantry (Madison).

You can take part in this wonderful ministry which is an extension of the mission of our church.  The Endowment committee is receiving grant applications through January 2, 2024.  Please let people know about these opportunities and invite them to fill out a simple application found on our website, www.stpll.org.  There are also applications in the narthex of the church. 

If you are interested in contributing to the Endowment fund above and beyond your regular giving or as part of your estate planning, please let us know.  There are tax benefits to giving to a not for profit annually and certainly benefits to giving in estate planning.  The people on our committee whom can answer any questions are: Mary Loomis, Dave Wilkinson, Todd Kinnaird, Deb Zickert or Rochelle VanderGalien.

Download the Mission Endowment Grant Application here:



Mission-Endowment-Grant-Application-2024