Skip to content
Lutheran Services in America Incorporated at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Public charity

Lutheran Services in America Incorporated

Lutheran services in america mission: cultivate caring communities that advance health and opportunity for all by building valuable connections, amplifying our voices and empowering our members in their mission to answer god's call to love and serve our neighbor.

$2.0M
Granted FY2025still arriving
11
Grants FY2025still arriving
7
States reached
$396k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2017 to 2025.

Human Services$13MHealth$211kHousing & Shelter$17k
02FY2025 · 11 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • $10k–50k2 grants · $41k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $968k
  • $250k+3 grants · $1.0M
$196,447
Median grant
7
States reached
$14M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
IMMANUEL LUTHERAN COMMUNITIES$396,450
LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF SOUTH DAKOTA$311,624
LUTHERAN COMMUNITY SERVICES NORTHWEST$296,883
AK CHILD AND FAMILY$232,392
LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF SOUTH DAKOTA$210,036
LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA$196,447
LYNGBLOMSTEN SERVICES INC$189,683
ENCIRCLE$82,500
MISSOURI SLOPE LUTHERAN$57,143
ST JOHNS LUTHERAN MINISTRIES$25,000
ST JOHNS LUTHERAN MINISTRIES$16,250
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY17–25, $6.0M) land where the poverty rate runs at 11%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 46% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 11%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $454k → 14%ST JOHN'S LUTHERAN MINISTRIES INC: $505k → 9%GEMMA SERVICES: $25k → 7%SAMARITAS: $15k → 21%LUTHERAN SENIOR SERVICES: $17k → 11%GRACEWORKS LUTHERAN SERVICES: $17k → 14%GENACROSS: $10k → 18%LUTHERAN COMMUNITY SERVICES NORTHWEST: $297k → 9%ENCIRCLE: $83k → 8%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $354k → 14%ST JOHN'S LUTHERAN MINISTRIES INC: $394k → 9%LUTHERAN COMMUNITY SERVICES NORTHWEST: $165k → 9%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $334k → 14%ST JOHNS LUTHERAN MINISTRIES: $350k → 9%LUTHERAN COMMUNITY SERVICES NORTHWEST: $165k → 9%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $298k → 14%ST JOHNS LUTHERAN MINISTRIES: $272k → 9%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $270k → 14%ST JOHN'S LUTHERAN MINISTRIES INC: $245k → 9%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $245k → 14%ST JOHN'S UNITED: $235k → 9%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $245k → 14%ST JOHN'S LUTHERAN MINISTRIES INC: $211k → 9%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $196k → 14%ST JOHN'S UNITED: $155k → 9%LYNGBLOMSTEN SERVICES INC: $190k → 14%ST JOHN'S LUTHERAN MINISTRIES INC: $105k → 9%LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $115k → 14%ST JOHNS LUTHERAN MINISTRIES: $25k → 9%ST JOHNS LUTHERAN MINISTRIES: $16k → 9%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

AK
WA
MT
ND
MN
MI
NY
SD
OH
PA
MO
VA
DC
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$12M · 9 repeat orgs$609k to everyone else

9 repeat relationships: 7 still active in FY2025, 2 since wound down; 2 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

9
9

Total granted

$12M
$337k

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+4%
+5%

Still filing today

89%
78%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 86% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $272k went to new ones.

50%100%’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’17’18’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
Human ServicesHealthOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • LS
    LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA
    9× · 2017–2025 · $2.5M · revenue +85%
  • MS
    Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center Inc
    4× · 2022–2025 · $652k · revenue +33%
  • IL
    IMMANUEL LIVING AT BUFFALO HILL
    2× · 2024–2025 · $641k · revenue +4%

Funded once

  • SP
    SUNSET PARK HEALTH COUNCIL INC
    one grant, 2023 · $91k · revenue +7%
  • LC
    LUTHERAN CONNECTION INC
    one grant, 2019 · $69k
  • TL
    THE LUTHERAN CARE NETWORK INC
    one grant, 2023 · $55k · revenue +2%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
St Luke Lutheran Community

Provide long-term nursing care for the aging and faith-based services to enrich the lives of older adults.

—
2
Luther Care Services

To provide nursing home care, residential care, and affordable housing for the elderly

Human Services
3
Lutheran Retirement Center At Lutheridge Inc

Empowered by christ, we walk together with all we serve.

Housing & Shelter
4
The Lutheran Home Inc

The lutheran home, inc. is dedicated to serving older adults and enriching the lives of those we touch by providing compassionate and loving care.

Health
5
Lutheran Care Center

To provide services and facilities for people whose capabilities and needs vary widely. lcc strives to make the lives of people more independent, healthful, meaningful and secure through development of innovative programs delivered with…

Health
6
The Lutheran Home Association

To share christ's love as we serve the spiritual, physical, intellectual and emotional needs of people entrusted to our care and others whose lives we touch.

—
7
Lutheran Home At Trinity Oaks Inc

Empowered by christ, we walk together with all we serve.

—
8
Lutheran Retirement Center Association

To address and meet the needs of aged persons, including housing, healthcare, and financial security.

—
9
Luthercare

"luthercare reflects christ's love through service to others." our mission is to enhance the quality of life through creative senior living opportunities, family life through quality child care and early learning centers, appropriate…

Human Services
10
Lutheran Services for the Aging Inc

Empowered by christ, we walk together with all we serve.

Human Services
11
The Lutheran Home Association Foundation

To share christ's love as we serve the spiritual, physical, intellectual and emotional needs of people entrusted to our care and others whose lives we touch.

—
12
Lutheran Sunset Ministries

Our mission is to provide person-centered services based on christian values.

Housing & Shelter
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota; the most unlike its peers is Sunset Park Health Council Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

17 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 17 of the 20 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

0
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
1
Early backer (in before they grew)
17/17
Grantees still filing
10/17
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

St John's Lutheran Ministries Inc: $2,513,279 · Human ServicesSt John's Lutheran Ministries IncLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $2,512,071 · Human ServicesLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTALutheran Community Services Northwest: $626,883 · Human ServicesLutheran Community Services Northwest+7 more: $355,782 · Human Services+7 moreLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF SOUTH DAKOTA: $2,061,292 · OtherLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF SOUTH DAKOTALUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ND: $1,964,667 · OtherLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF NDIMMANUEL LIVING AT BUFFALO HILL: $641,492 · OtherIMMANUEL LIVING AT BUFFALO HILLIMMANUEL LUTHERAN COMMUNITIES: $350,060 · OtherIMMANUEL LUTHERAN COMMUNITIES+3 more: $161,859 · OtherALASKA CHILDREN'S SERVICES INC: $1,139,800 · HealthALASKA CHILDREN'…Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center Inc: $652,245 · HealthMissouri Slope L…SUNSET PARK HEALTH COUNCIL INC: $91,250 · Health
Human Services$6,008,015Other$5,179,370Health$1,883,295

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetSt John's Lutheran Ministries Inc: $2,513,279 over 7y, 2.3% of budgetLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICE OF MINNESOTA: $2,512,071 over 9y, 0.3% of budgetLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF SOUTH DAKOTA: $2,061,292 over 5y, 2.9% of budgetLUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ND: $1,964,667 over 5y, 3.1% of budgetALASKA CHILDREN'S SERVICES INC: $1,139,800 over 5y, 3.7% of budgetMissouri Slope Lutheran Care Center Inc: $652,245 over 4y, 0.8% of budgetIMMANUEL LIVING AT BUFFALO HILL: $641,492 over 2y, 1.2% of budgetLutheran Community Services Northwest: $626,883 over 3y, 0.4% of budgetSUNSET PARK HEALTH COUNCIL INC: $91,250 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLUTHERAN FAMILY SERVICES OF VIRGINIA INC DBA ENCIRCLE: $82,500 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetTHE LUTHERAN CARE NETWORK INC: $55,000 over 1y, 2.9% of budgetGemma Services: $25,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetGRACEWORKS LUTHERAN SERVICES: $17,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLUTHERAN SENIOR SERVICES: $16,600 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSAMARITAS: $14,999 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetLUTHERAN HOMES SOCIETY INC: $10,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Thrivent Financial fo…Lutheran Immigration …Thrivent Charitable I…Vanguard Charitable E…Fidelity Investments …Donor Advised Charita…Amazonsmile Foundation
Thrivent Financial for LutheransMN13.6× affinity5 shared granteesties to 6 of 6Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Thrivent Financial for Lutherans · Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service Inc Dba Global Refuge · Thrivent Charitable Impact & Investing · Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program · Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund · Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc · Amazonsmile Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Lutheran Services in America Incorporated funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Lutheran Services in America Incorporated. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 00%0%1%3%5%funder's share of their income ↑0%8%15%22%30%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    0get no government money at all
    3report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–30%
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Lutheran Services in America Incorporated?

    Find your warmest path to Lutheran Services in America Incorporated through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 20 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990 e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Lutheran Services in America’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home