2012 Annual Report
Grace Lutheran Church Foundation
January 2013

In this year of budget issues and the likely reduction of our pastor's calls, I know there are members of the congregation who are hoping that the Foundation can rescue us from these difficult times. And they may be wondering why we have spent money buying new chairs for the Fireside Room and the Ronnenkamp Hall, when the church can't pay our staff next year. The Foundation was established at the congregational meeting 18 years ago, incorporated, registered with the state, and governed by Bylaws, with legal and ethical requirements. One of the first things our Bylaws state is that the purpose of the Foundation is "to allow givers to designate one or more purposes for their gifts and to assure givers that their instructions concerning the use and purpose of their gifts will be followed." This is our greatest asset and is also one reason why we can't just step in with a solution.

When Carl and Alice Ronnenkamp left the church $270,000 from their estate in 1992, the Foundation knew that they wanted us to do two things with the money. First, they wanted the funds to be endowed; the principal was to be left intact and only earnings could be spent. Second, they wanted the funds to be used to expand the mission of the church and not be used for general budget items. This second wish is a little less clear than the first one, but over the years the Foundation Board has tried to follow this instruction, spending the Ronnenkamp Fund income on things that were not part of the yearly budget process. Most of the money in the Foundation is in the endowed Ronnenkamp Fund, and is either the original $270,000, a cost of living increase added yearly by the Foundation Board to the endowed principal, or other gifts added to the Ronnenkamp Fund when benefactors wished their gifts to be endowed. This endowed Fund now has a value of approximately $425,000, but only money above the endowed value can be spent and then only on things that are within the wishes of the donors.

In addition to the Ronnenkamp Fund, there are a number of other dedicated funds: Kuehn Fund (for choir music), Library Fund, CAST-Nurse Fund, CAST-Organ Fund, CAST- Adult Care Fund, Brian Smith Medical Fund, Musical Instrument Fund, and the Technology Fund. Some of these are endowed and some are not endowed, but they can only be spent for the designated purposes.

We also manage the memorial funds the church receives. When you send the church $20.00 in memory of someone who has died, the Foundation keeps track of that gift, combines it with other memorial gifts, and asks the family of the deceased what we might do in memory of their loved one. In general, this money is spent with the guidance of the family.

In addition, the Foundation has a small General Fund that is not endowed, approximately $6,000 currently. While the Foundation has approximately $550,000 in assets, most of it is not available to be spent. Much of what is available has designated purposes we are bound by law to observe.

The Foundation will always attempt to assist the congregation when the requests meet the wishes of donors, living and deceased, and when those requests satisfy the legal obligations of a 501(c) (3) organization and the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws of the Foundation.

2012 Board Members: Carolyn Warloe, Hal Dick, Tom Kiersky, Anne Orwick, Neil Christensen, Shelly Lundahl, Kris Saathoff, and Molly Hallgrimson, Wendell Hendershott