Elim Endowment for Mission Grant Program

The Elim Endowment for Mission provides a long-term fund attracting both current and pre-planned future gifts, as people are inspired to leave a legacy for ministry.  Apportionments from the “total return” of the fund can be distributed to support mission work at home and around the world. 

Distributions from the endowment fund come from an amount set annually by the Elim Leadership Team.  The fund grows through additional gifting that is actively solicited by a five-member elected Endowment Committee.  Prudent distribution strategies then protect the endowment fund principal, while a steady stream of returns is provided from which mission and ministry can be strengthened for years to come. 

The Endowment Committee also administers an application process through which grant requests for mission projects can be received and considered.  Grants are awarded upon the basis of criteria set each year by the Endowment Committee and Leadership Team.  New applications for grants may be submitted beginning on June 1 of each year and can be considered as funds remain available until the following first day of March.  
  • June 1:  The first day that new grant applications can be considered for the coming year. 
  • June 1 – March 1:  Applications are considered in the order received.  As money remains available, they are evaluated by the Endowment Committee.  Those receiving favorable recommendations are submitted to the Leadership Team for final approval.
  • March 1:  Grant criteria revisions for the coming year are prepared in time for publication in the Annual Report.

The endowment fund creates a financial resource above and beyond regular giving that will allow our church to support:
  • Outreach into the community:  a source for seed money for projects that reach out to help others and spread God’s message of love.  PEP, COTS, and Petaluma Bounty all received early support from Elim members and later grew to become self-supporting non-profits.
  • Educational projects within our church that require sponsorship or initial purchases in order to get started.  Ministering to the home bound, sponsoring a celebration of the arts Sunday, or supplies for a “God’s Work, Our Hands” event are just a few of the many possibilities.
  • Outreach of faith:  projects to spread the Lutheran faith or to care for the faithful.  Examples: support of a Christian School in Tanzania or “Knitting for Naomi”, a project started by one church member to support the education of one young woman in a country where women routinely did not have access to school.
  • Enhancements to Worship:  the ability to attract people to our worship services is important to our vitality (purchase of rhythm instruments for use in our music worship activities, or perhaps the purchase of some special sheet music).
  • Facility modifications:  there may be a necessity to invest in changes to our physical plant that would accommodate new styles of worship or to preserve historically significant features of our church (restoration of the century old crosses that had to be removed from the roof of our sanctuary).
  • Response to disaster or other significant need:  there could be an event or situation that creates an undeniable need for intervention.​

APPLICATION PROCESS

Please note the following criteria for the 2024-25 year.  Projects should:
  • Be consistent with the values and mission of Elim Lutheran Church and of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA);
  • Be outside the scope of projects normally funded by regular giving or included in the annual church budget;
  • Have the potential for long-term benefit to the community;
  • Have a high level of benefit to cost; and
  • Have not received funding in prior years.

Applicants should:
  • Fill out the application completely;
  • Be willing to appear in person before the Endowment Committee to answer questions;
  • Ideally, but not necessarily, be affiliated with Elim;
  • Be able to attract multiple sources of funding if needed to launch or complete the project successfully; and
  • Be able to manage funds responsibly and participate in an evaluation process at the end of the fiscal year.

Applications will be accepted from June 1, 2024 – March 1, 2025, on a rolling basis and will be considered as long as funds are available. The form will be posted on this website in late May. 

You can complete the form below and submit it online or download the Word or PDF version to the right. 
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Applications can be delivered to the church office (504 Baker Street, Petaluma, CA 94952), or emailed to [email protected]. Forms submitted online will go directly to [email protected]​

​Endowment Grant application
The Elim Endowment Grant application process is open through March 1, 2025. ​