Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is starting two new competitive-grant programs — the Charitable Giving Initiative and the Youth Leadership Initiative — and is calling for Lutheran institutions to apply for a total of $6.8 million in grants ranging from $5,000 to $100,000.
The Charitable Giving Initiative aims “to help educate Lutherans about charitable-giving opportunities and generate gifts benefiting Lutheran institutions,” said Bonnie Ebbesen, program manager with Thrivent Financial.
She said the purpose of the Youth-Leadership Initiative is “to provide experiential learning opportunities that develop service-minded leadership qualities in youth age 14-24.”
In early May, Thrivent mailed information about both initiatives to a number of organizations and institutions qualified to apply for them.
Eligible organizations may request a CD with information about the programs, including application forms, by e-mailing Thrivent at either charitablegiving@thrivent.com or youthleadership@thrivent.com.
The deadline for applications for both initiatives is Oct. 15.
Lutheran groups eligible to apply for the Charitable Giving Initiative grants include:
- congregations with at least 1,000 baptized members;
- coalitions of two or more smaller congregations;
- regional judicatories of the country’s three largest Lutheran bodies, including LCMS districts, or smaller church bodies with fewer than 100,000 baptized members;
- high schools, colleges, universities and seminaries; and
- either individual larger independent affiliate organizations such as camps and social ministry organizations, or groups of smaller organizations.
Lutheran organizations eligible to apply for the Youth Leadership Initiative grants are:
- high schools;
- colleges and universities;
- seminaries;
- camps;
- campus ministries; and
- regional judicatories of the three largest Lutheran church bodies, including LCMS districts, or smaller church bodies with fewer than 100,000 baptized members.
Posted June 25, 2004
