On June 7, 2015, Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and First Lutheran Church adopted the proposal to consolidate by an overwhelming margin. After much work and preparation, Spirit Lutheran was born on November 1, 2015. First Lutheran Foundation became Spirit Lutheran Foundation on October 13, 2016.

Purpose

The general purpose and plan of operation of the corporation is to receive gifts; to expend the income and principal therefrom for educational, charitable, and religious purposes within the activities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; and, for such other purposes as may be undertaken, approved, or supported by the corporation’s Board of Directors.

Mission

Serving God's people through our gifts.

Vision

As recipients of God’s blessings, we are called to share the gospel of Jesus in caring for the needs of others. As stewards of donors’ generous gifts, we invest and utilize the gifts to be a blessing to our church, our community, our nation, and the entire world.

General and Administrative

The operation of the Foundation is to receive gifts and manage the various Fund balances.  It is imperative that the corpus of the Funds be maintained and only earnings be available for distribution. For the Funds that do not require us to maintain the corpus, the Foundation Board of Directors, after review and approval may expend portions of the corpus as appropriate. The Foundation is not responsible for the operating expenses of Spirit Lutheran Church.

In the mid 1980s, Senior Pastor James Homme asked parishioners to consider and deliberate the merits of a Foundation at First Lutheran.

It was determined the Foundation would offer three significant advantages:

1. Serve as an investment and estate planning vehicle for saints who would prefer to further God’s work than to pay additional taxes.
2. Provide a mechanism for facilitating and wisely investing funds not intended to be spent immediately.
3. Provide an ability to better utilize the gifts in accordance with the wishes of the giver.

The Foundation’s purpose is to preserve funds of the Foundation, retain the corpus, and use the investment earnings for the designated purpose.

Initial fund-raising efforts for the Foundation had moderate success. These funds provided the seed money for The Meadows, a 36-unit independent living facility for older adults, which was subsequently sold in 2019, and fully funds a visitation pastor along with supporting other initiatives to serve seniors.

After the merger of First Lutheran Church and Our Savior's Lutheran Church in 2015, the Foundation reflected the union by renaming First Lutheran Foundation to Spirit Lutheran Foundation.

The investment earnings provide funding for:

1. Missions

• Chippewa Valley Community Grants
• National Disaster Relief
• International Missions
• Spirit Lutheran Global Missions

2. Scholarships

• Seminary Scholarships
• Post-Secondary Scholarships
• Lay School Ministry Scholarships
• Family and Youth Bible Camperships

3. Congregational Support

• Cab rides to church events and medical-related appointments
• Visitation Ministry
• Various internal needs of Spirit LutheranChurch
• Activities that promote community fellowship among Spirit Lutheran members
• Community Meals
• Camperships
• Youth Activities
• Collaboration with Spirit Lutheran's Mission Committee

The 9-person Board of Directors operates with the following five committees:

1. Executive/Investment Committee
2. Congregational Support
3. Scholarships and Education
4. Chippewa Valley Community Grants
5. Mission and Disaster Relief

The Foundation should never be perceived as under the management of a few select individuals. The Board of Directors welcomes collaboration with church leaders and members.

President

Dan Market

Vice President

Steve Kirt

Secretary

Becky Riewestahl

Treasurer

Lee Seidel

Members

Esther Hager

Loren Holte

Debbie Market

Jim Seipel

Naomi Woods

Pastor

Rev. Dr. JonPaul Dragseth