Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries
Endowment Fund 2022 Grant Application
Vision & Purpose of ELM Endowment
The ELM Endowment Fund is a perpetual fund designed to support the current needs of LGBTQIA+ ministers as well as to serve as a wellspring of hope and support for new ministries led by LGBTQIA+ rostered ministers. The Endowment Fund will allow Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries to sustain its support and care for LGBTQIA+ rostered ministers as well as develop new initiatives and widen its reach. ELM’s Endowment Fund will also serve as a partner to the ideas, visions, and dreams of LGBTQIA+ ministers who are experimenting in faith and transforming the church.
The ELM Endowment Fund wholeheartedly supports the mission of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries in its efforts to empower and sustain LGBTQIA+ leadership in the church. Endowment disbursements support Proclaim members, congregations, and ministries that lift up the LGBTQIA+ community as well as ELM’s internal programming and budget needs. The ministry of the ELM Endowment is led by a committee that makes recommendations to the ELM Board of Directors.
Gifts to Endowment Fund
ELM graciously accepts gifts designated to the ELM Endowment in the form of bequests and other planned gifts so long as such gifts are consistent with ELM’s values, mission, and ministry as outlined in ELM’s governing documents.
To have a conversation with a member of the ELM Endowment Committee about a gift to ELM’s Endowment, please email us.
To make a one-time gift to the ELM Endowment, click this link and indicate “ELM Endowment” in the “Additional Comments” section of the donation form.
ELM Mission Statement
Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries organizes queer seminarians and rostered ministers, confronts barriers and systemic oppression, and activates queer ideas and movements within the Lutheran Church
Emphasis for 2022 Grant Applications
The ELM Board of Directors approved new vision, mission, and values statements in March of 2021 that have helped to express ELM’s commitment to queer leadership in the church in our current context. The Endowment Committee are looking to consider grant applications that align specifically with two of the values articulated by the ELM Board of Directors:
Daring: We endeavor to speak truthfully to ourselves, to our wider community, and to systems of power — especially when it’s hard. We pursue joy and delight in our pursuit of justice.
Confessing: We confess white supremacy and also complicity with systemic injustice in our decision making, historical positions, organizational structure, and programs. We expect to be called to account. We repent and are in an active state of repentance. We commit to an anti-racist lens in all we do. We ask “who is not here?” We engage in reparative actions to restore mutuality and right relationship. We intend to model the freedom we know in Christ and to organize together with respect to the fundamental dignity of all people and our sacred relationships.
Application Process, Deadline and Timing of Grant Disbursements
In 2022, the ELM Endowment Committee has $1,500 available for grant applicants. Grants could range from $150 to the full amount of $1,500. Project budgets are particularly helpful as the committee considers partial grants while our endowment is still small.
Grants may be awarded for a variety of things under the umbrella of your ministry. For example, the Endowment Committee welcomes applications that allow a ministry to purchase important software, to register for and travel to a training or continuing education opportunity that advances ministry goals, to purchase or rent audio/visual equipment to enhance online worship experiences, etc.
If you are applying as an individual (rather than a congregation or ministry), a fiscal sponsor is needed. The ELM Endowment Committee has produced a resource with information to help explain the role of a fiscal sponsor and how you might obtain one (click here for ELM Endowment Fiscal Sponsor Information). If you cannot find a fiscal sponsor, the Endowment Committee will make sure a fiscal sponsor is made available to you. The details of such arrangements must be worked out separately for each possible grant, so if you would like assistance finding a fiscal sponsor we ask that applicants email the ELM Endowment Committee to let us know about their individual situation.
Applications may be made by filling in the information below and then emailing your application along with the other required supporting documents to elmendowment@elm.org with the subject line “ELM Endowment Grant Application for [Your Congregation/Organization/Project Name]” by Wednesday, August 31st, 2022.
Supporting Documents May Include:
- Program/project budget for which funds are being requested including both income and expenses (required) — click here for a template.
- Congregation/organization budget for the current year (optional for individual applicants whose program/project is not connected to a larger congregation or organization)
- Flyers, bulletins, brochures, media, etc. that help to highlight the value of the ministry or to generally support the application (optional)
Criteria for grant applications include alignment of the program/project’s goals with the mission of ELM and its values of “Daring” and “Confessing.”
The ELM Endowment Committee will discuss applications at their September and October meetings and will submit its recommendations to the ELM Board of Directors for their December 2022 meeting. The ELM Board Of Directors will approve recommendations at their December meeting. Funds will be disbursed by January 31, 2023.
Grantees are not required to submit program/project reports as a condition of receiving funding. However, updates and celebrations are gladly shared and ELM may request permission to share information about grantees’ ministries for publicity and outreach to support the Endowment.
All applicants, whether granted funds or not, will be asked to provide feedback on the application process. Feedback forms will be sent to applicants in February 2023 using the contact information shared in your application.
The Endowment Committee welcomes any questions about the application and/or required budget/financial documents. We will be happy to review a draft of your application and supporting documents a week or more ahead of the deadline to advise you if the committee is likely to have all of the information it will need to make its decision. Inquiries should be made to elmendowment@elm.org
Thank you for applying!
Endowment Resources
Fiscal Sponsorship Information: ELM Endowment Fiscal Sponsor Information
To access the Application Form, click the link below then immediately go to FILE->DOWNLOAD then once you have downloaded the file you can enter your information in the file you have downloaded and then email it back to the Endowment Committee: ELM Endowment Application Form