A grant of $100,000 from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans will allow Family Shield Ministries, Inc., of St. Louis, to take a number of steps toward raising an estimated $1 million to support its popular Family Shield radio ministry and present “Hope for Families” seminars, as well as its parenting programs and outreach services.
That is according to Kay L. Meyer, founder and president of the ministries program — a recognized service organization with the Synod — and host of the hourlong weekly radio show heard on AM 850 KFUO in St. Louis and on AM 1160 WYLL in Chicago.
Family Shield is one of 29 LCMS-related organizations named earlier this winter as recipients of $2 million in Thrivent’s Charitable Gifting Initiative grant program. All told, 75 Lutheran organizations were named to receive almost $4.9 million in the annual round of grants.
“The goal of this initiative is to partner with Lutheran organizations by providing seed money and training to improve their ability to generate funds to meet growth goals,” said Brad Hewitt, Thrivent Financial senior vice president of Fraternal Operations.
According to a Thrivent news release announcing the grants, organizations receiving the grants the year before “leveraged $4.5 million in grants into a projected $180 million in immediate or deferred monetary gifts.”
The latest grants ranged in size from $5,000 to $100,000 and went to congregations or coalitions of congregations, regional divisions of the three largest United States Lutheran church bodies, small church bodies, high schools, colleges, universities, seminaries, and independent organizations or institutions.
Among the Synod-related organizations, nine received $100,000 grants. Besides Family Shield, those included four LCMS districts, two congregations, a Lutheran high school, and a camp.
Family Shield’s news release announcing its grant quotes Hewitt, as follows:
“As people learn how to improve their resource management, we believe they will increasingly become motivated to support [the] Family Shield mission to educate and equip people, through the power of the Gospel, to know Christ, grow in His Word, and strengthen individuals and their families through charitable gifting options. The entire community will benefit from this initiative.”
Meyer said that she and the Family Shield Board of Directors are “extremely thankful” for the grant, which “will allow us to continue to expand the ministry and secure a strong financial foundation for the future.”
Posted Jan. 26, 2006
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