Lutheran Foundation

In 1996, the Lutheran Foundation of Upstate New York, Inc., was established to support the programs and services of Lutheran and G.A. Family Services. Through our generous donors, the Foundation provides approximately $500,000 yearly to meet the needs in our community. Our success depends on our partnership with the community. Lutheran is most grateful to our generous financial donors. Your donations help us support thousands of people in our community every year. There are a few ways you can donate to Lutheran.

Make Donations Online

By clicking either of the buttons below, you can make a secure online donation to the Lutheran Foundation.

DONATE VIA PAYPAL

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Donate By Mail

You can send a gift through the mail. You can give in honor or in memory of a loved one, and can designate the gift to one of our specific programs. Please click here to download and print a mail-in contribution form.

Mail to:

Lutheran Foundation
715 Falconer Street
Jamestown, NY 14701

The Touching Lives Club

In 2007, the Touching Lives Club was created to honor our donors who give financial gifts in support of all our programs at Lutheran. Gifts can be designated to any of our programs or can be unrestricted.

Donors are recognized through membership in one of three giving clubs, representing gifts received from January 1 through December 31 of each year. The Mission Circle honors donors at the $125 to $499 level. The Vision Circle will honor donors at the $500 to $999 level, and donors giving $1,000 or more, will be members of the Leadership Circle.

At the same time, many have been very consistent givers to Lutheran and deserve recognition as well, regardless of the amount, so donors are honored for their consecutive giving at 3-5 years, 6-9 years, 10 years, or more; regardless of the gift amounts.

For a list of our most recent TLC benefactors, click here.

Cornerstone Council

Many have reached significant levels of giving since the Lutheran Foundation has been in existence since 1996. Those who have given $10,000 or more since that time will be honored as members of the elite Cornerstone Council, and their names are engraved on a plaque featured in our main lobby.

The Touching Lives Club and Cornerstone Council are the flagships of our fundraising efforts at Lutheran. All contributions, securities, and golf tournament sponsorships are acknowledged towards your membership in the Touching Lives Club. Any given year, the Lutheran Foundation gives around $500,000 towards its programs and services in support of all our residents. It is your gifts that provide the assistance to help our residents have a life well lived every day.

Gift Brick Program

Bricks are placed in our beautiful Sheldon Court. The serene brick walkway is located between Units A1 and B1 in the Lutheran Home and Rehabilitation Center. Our residents love spending time in the courtyard enjoying the greenery and the goldfish pond!

When the gift bricks were first introduced, nearly 500 bricks were purchased in memory of or in honor of loved ones. Since that time, we have offered the program every fall. Thanks to those who participated in this program, we continue to have a beautiful pathway for our staff, residents, and families to enjoy.

All of the proceeds from the gift brick program are used to benefit those we serve at Lutheran. The bricks are ordered in late April, and the maintenance staff places the bricks in the courtyard. In June, we hold a “Brick Tea” so everyone may enjoy refreshments and look for their special bricks.

The cost of each brick is $75.00. Bricks may be inscribed with your name or as a memorial or in honor of a loved one or friend. Each brick may be inscribed with up to three lines and a maximum of 14 characters and spaces per line. If you or your family would like to purchase a number of bricks, we can place them all in one area. You are also welcome to stop by and choose an exact location if you wish. Your gift will be acknowledged and a portion of the gift is tax-exempt.

Please consider becoming a part of Sheldon Court by honoring a loved one with a gift brick.

For our most recent Brick Brochure, click here.

Juliet Anderson Rosch Society

The Juliet Anderson Rosch Society was created in 2005 to recognize our generous donors who have established a planned gift to benefit those we serve at Lutheran. Planned gifts include bequests in wills and trusts, life insurance, and charitable gift annuities.

Planned Giving is a service that is offered to potential donors to assist in their estate planning needs focusing on donor intent rather than income or tax benefits.

The Lutheran Foundation’s planned giving program focuses on four types of planned gifts:

Charitable Gift Annuities
Bequests
Life Insurance

Types of Planned Giving

Charitable Gift Annuities

A Charitable Gift Annuity is a life-income contract between a donor(s) and the Lutheran Foundation. The donor(s) irrevocably transfers cash or negotiable securities to the Lutheran Foundation. In return, the Lutheran Foundation guarantees to pay the donor(s) fixed payments for life based on the age of the donor at the time of the gift. Under the terms of a charitable gift annuity agreement, your gift provides you with regular payments that never decrease in size or frequency, regardless of changes in the economy. Payments are backed by the assets of the Lutheran Foundation.

The ELCA Foundation (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) administers our charitable gift annuity program, and all annuity payments are backed by the assets of the ELCA Foundation.

The Lutheran Charitable Gift Annuity can be established with a gift of $10,000, which will go to Lutheran upon the death of the donor(s) and make a lasting contribution in accordance with the donors’ philanthropic goals.

The donor(s) receive an immediate charitable contribution deduction for a portion of the gift principal based on IRS tables.

The donor receives a portion of the annuity payments tax-free based on IRS tables.

The Charitable Gift Annuity may have one beneficiary (single life) for the payments or two beneficiaries for the payments (husband and wife). The payments continue until the death of both beneficiaries.

The annuity payment often exceeds other common forms of investment, e.g. Certificates of Deposit and the payment rate is based upon an industry standard for annuities, which is a factor of the chronological age of the donor at the time of the gift.

If you do not currently need more income but are concerned that you may possibly need additional income in the future, consider a Deferred Charitable Gift Annuity. This plan allows you to receive tax benefits today, but directs that payments not begin until a future time. Your interest rate will lock in at the time you elect to begin receiving payments, resulting in a higher payout rate because rates increase with age.

Bequests

Bequests are the most commonly used means of giving a major planned gift to perpetuate the donor’s charitable interests beyond his/her lifetime. A Bequest can be in any form – cash, securities, real estate, etc. The additional benefit to the donor is a sizable estate tax deduction upon the death of the donor.

Life Insurance

Life Insurance is an especially easy way for less affluent donors to give to their favorite charity, often exceeding their means otherwise.

Annual Charity Golf Tournament

Every August, the Lutheran Foundation holds its annual charity golf tournament at the beautiful Moon Brook Country Club in Jamestown, New York. Our generous business partners and many of our staff come out to play in support of the lives we touch each year.

Whether it be through event sponsorship, individual golfer registration, or raffle donations, we owe a tremendous THANK YOU to all who support this event each year.

To learn more about this year’s tournament, click here.