Good Shepherd Foundation

What will your legacy be?

We leave our legacy in so many ways — kindness we've shown to others, a family rich in love and tradition, devotion to your church, a beautiful flower garden tended with love, ministries to those in need, a gift to the church.

Thoughtful and faithful consideration of gifts to the church is good stewardship and a way to leave a living legacy that continues to spread Jesus' love long after we are gone.

What is the Good Shepherd Foundation?

A legacy of Jesus' love

The mission of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Foundation is to expand and continue the legacy of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and to transform lives by reflecting Jesus' love.

The Foundation is an important part of GSLC ministry, providing funding for programs that are not a part of the operating budget of the congregation. Some of the programs that have been funded through the foundation include

Scholarships to attend ELCA colleges and seminaries
Senior bus program that provides the elderly with transportation to GSLC services
Scholarships for Day Camps, Pine Lake Camp and Sugar River Camp
Interns who support Day Camps and various neighborhood activities
Support GS, Allied Drive and Verona food pantries and the clothes closet
Hearing loops for our sanctuary and Peterson Hall
Livestreaming Hardware and a Digital Signage System for both campuses

In growing and expanding the Foundation, the vision is to fund more ministries which may include ministries to children and youth, seniors, the GSLC neighborhoods, future church leaders and others.

Grant Request Form

Undergraduate Scholarship Form

Seminary Scholarship Form

Express your devotion through a donation

O U T R I G H T G I F T S

Tribute Gifts – Honor significant events such as baptisms, birthdays or anniversaries with a donation.
Memorials – Remember a loved family member, friend or acquaintance with a donation.

D E F F E R R E D G I F T S

Wills – You can use your will to make a contribution to the Foundation.
Trusts –Trusts provide a fixed amount or percentage rate of income. You can designate how funds are used and by whom. A trust can be set up now or established in a will.
Life Insurance –You can designate the Foundation as your policy beneficiary. If you no longer need the policy, taking this step allows future premiums to be tax deductible.
Annuities – Charitable gift annuities offer an income to the donor based on the ages of those who will receive payments. A portion may be non-taxable. At the end of a donor's life, the Good Shepherd Foundation receives the remainder of the gift annuity.
Lifetime Gifts – Transferring cash, stocks, bonds, real estate or other securities to the Foundation.

All Gifts are Charitable Tax Donations

To accomplish planned giving goals, always seek professional assistance from an adviser such as an attorney, accountant, financial planner or trust

If you are interested in finding out more about giving to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Foundation or would like a sample letter of intent sent to me that you can use to indicate that a gift to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Foundation has been designated in a will or bequest or if you have already remembered Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Foundation in your estate plan.

The legal description to use in your estate plan is: "Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Foundation Ltd." 5701 Raymond Road, Madison, WI 53711

Frequent Questions

What is the purpose of the Foundation?

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Foundation’s focus is different than keeping our lights on and doors open. It exists to identify new ways to carry out Christ’s ministry. Many Good Shepherd members are asked to support lots of wonderful charities and organizations. The reason many choose the Good Shepherd Foundation through donations or planned estate giving is because they believe in the mission and creating a legacy. The Articles of Incorporation state the purpose of the Foundation shall be to faithfully encourage, manage, and distribute bequest, gift, and endowment resources entrusted to it. The Foundation is charged with using and devoting the income and principal of its funds to the benefit and maintenance of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and of any and all institutions and lines of work and activity of whatsoever character now or in the future conducted by Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (or any of its organizations or committees) which the Board of Directors determines will advance the Ministry of Jesus Christ. Gifts to the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Foundation Ltd. are considered endowment gifts. The funds are invested long term and growth and income are used for grants. Thus, the gift serves the church for many years in the future, long after the donor has passed on to his/her heavenly home. Currently 4.5% of the total fund balances are available annually for grants.

How is giving to the Foundation different from giving directly to Good Shepherd?

Gifts given directly to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church are used to pay for operating expenses and specific needs. If the donor would like to help the church with current needs he/she should make his/her donation directly to the church, and if he/she would like the donations invested and only the growth and income to be used for grants, he/she should make their donation to the Foundation.

How are donations to the Foundation managed?

How have Foundation grants been used in the past?

In the last few years, grants have been made in the following areas*:

Scholarships for church members attending ELCA colleges and
Summer interns who manage day camps and various ministry activities throughout the
Hearing loops in the sanctuary and Peterson
Financial assistance for youth attending day camps and overnight
Digital signage and a high definition camera to improve communication with our membership.
Support for the clothes
The Good Shepherd, Allied Drive, and Verona Badger Prairie food
Mellowhood Foundation to improve programs for youth in the Madison Campus neighborhood
Security system at the Madison and Verona
Bus service for the disabled and elderly to attend worship service at the Madison Campus.
Support for youth attending the National Youth
Support for Feed My Starving
Updates for the Holy Cow vehicle and food
An app for improving
Headsets for the sound systems in Madison and Verona
Field trips for students at Orchard Ridge Elementary
Projector and related equipment for presentations in Peterson
PrayGround equipment for Verona

*Please see the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Annual Report Brochure for more details.

Can I ask that my donation be used for a specific purpose?

Yes, you are welcome to request that your donation be added to the current food pantry fund, bus transportation fund, or the campership fund. The general fund is our largest fund which supports our scholarships and other items listed in question 3. If you would like to set up a new designated fund, the gift would have to be a minimum of $100,000 due to the extra cost to have a separate fund. We would work with the donor on a memorandum of understanding regarding use of the funds. Our gift acceptance policy does state that the Foundation Board of Directors reserves the right to change the designated purpose or purposes of any restricted gift if the restriction does not seem to fulfill the donor’s intentions or becomes impractical, unnecessary, or undesirable.

The Foundation is an important part of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (GSLC) ministry, providing funding for programs not part of the operating budget of the congregation. The following factors, among others, are to be used as a means of evaluating grant requests for available funds which do not have designated purposes (i.e. food pantry, bus service, camperships):

The extent to which the project furthers the mission of GSLC and especially the extent to which it brings something new and innovative to the life of
The extent to which: a) GSLC members are involved in the activity; and b) the activity benefits GSLC.
The cost effectiveness of the use of Foundation funds, including the use of Foundation funds in conjunction with other funding sources, and supporting projects or organizations that have especially limited access to other sources of
Special property or operational projects that are not funded or where circumstances support incremental funding beyond the

What are different options for making a donation to the foundation

One of the common ways to make a donation is by naming the Foundation as a beneficiary of your estate. Another common way is to donate stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or other long-term appreciated assets. Outright cash gifts or gifts from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) work very well. Sometimes the Foundation is listed as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy. Charitable gift annuities allow you to receive income for life and it also benefits the Foundation depending on how long you live.

Can I itemize my donation on my tax return

If a major gift were given to the foundation how would it be used?

Whom can I talk to about making a gift to the foundation?

How are foundation board members elected and how long do they serve?

The Nominating Committee of the Foundation recommends to the Foundation Board candidates to serve, and if elected by the Board, they are approved by the congregation at their annual meeting. Each year three people are elected to a term of three years, and they are eligible to serve two terms. In addition to these nine board members, the church board appoints one of its directors to serve, and the Lead Pastor is an ex-officio member, for a total of eleven directors of the Foundation.