What Impact Has Siebert Lutheran Foundation Made Through Its Grants?

Siebert Lutheran Foundation reports that it awarded $4.5 million in grants and raised over $600,000 through Siebert Serves in 2025, according to its Community Impact Report. The foundation frames its grantmaking around three priorities — Growing, Educating, and Serving — and points readers to grantee impact stories for concrete examples. If you want to understand the foundation's results before applying for a grant or donating, the Community Impact Report and the impact stories section are the two places to start.

The headline numbers

The foundation's own summary of its 2025 Community Impact Report gives two figures:

These are the only quantified impact figures provided in the available site material. The foundation also notes it crossed the $1M mark in collaborative philanthropy, described as "snapshots of collaborative philanthropy in action."

How the impact is organized

Siebert groups its work under three stated priorities, each with its own framing:

• Growing — described as growing the Body of Christ; the foundation links this to the principles underlying its work and how those principles guide funding decisions.
• Educating — described as educating while sharing the Gospel; the foundation directs readers to its three funding priorities, the initiatives it supports within each, and desired short-, intermediate-, and long-term outcomes.
• Serving — described as serving as the hands and feet of Christ; this is where grantee impact stories are collected.

This structure matters if you are evaluating fit: the foundation says it has three funding priorities, and each priority carries its own set of initiatives and expected outcomes rather than a single open call.

What the impact stories cover

The site highlights several named story themes rather than a single case study:

• Empowering Students and Communities — tied to the question of how Siebert's investment strategy drives long-term impact.
• Shaping a City: The Lutheran Legacy Milwaukeeans Carry Forward — a Milwaukee-focused legacy narrative.
• Beyond the Pantry: Building Connection, Dignity, and Stability — a series of interactive, hands-on online workshops for food pantries.
• 2026 Inspired to Thrive Conference Sessions — listed as a heading on the site.

These titles indicate the range of grantee work: education and student support, urban Lutheran legacy in Greater Milwaukee, and food-pantry capacity building. The foundation describes its grantee partners as "making a huge impact in the Lutheran community and well beyond."

Why the foundation can report this way

Two structural features shape how the impact is measured and reported:

1. A defined due diligence process. The foundation describes "professional program officers with a defined and analytical due diligence process," plus "follow-up reporting and outcomes evaluation to assess impact." That means grantee results are tracked against stated outcomes, not just counted as disbursements.
2. Regional depth. It cites "deep knowledge of the Lutheran community and its leaders in Wisconsin, especially Greater Milwaukee" — which is why Milwaukee-specific stories appear prominently.

How to browse the impact material yourself

1. Go to the foundation's site and open the Community Impact Report (labeled "NEW!") to see the $4.5M grants figure and the $600,000+ Siebert Serves figure in context.
2. Use the Impact Stories section ("Learn more about our grantee partners") for individual partner narratives.
3. If your interest is collaboration rather than grants, read the Siebert Serves material, which explains how donors and foundations can give through Siebert.
4. If your interest is applying, start with Apply for a Grant for instructions and online forms, then check Is your project a good fit? against the three funding priorities before submitting.

What this means for your decision

• If you are a donor considering Siebert Serves: the reported $600,000+ raised in 2025 and the $1M collaborative milestone show the mechanism is active, and the foundation offers unrestricted current or planned gifts and named endowed fund options.
• If you are a nonprofit assessing fit: the impact stories show the types of work funded — student and community empowerment, Milwaukee Lutheran legacy, food-pantry support — but the site does not publish per-grant amounts or a full grantee list in the material available. Check the funding priorities page for the outcomes your project would need to target.
• If you are researching the foundation generally: the $4.5M in 2025 grants is the clearest single measure of scale, and the Community Impact Report is the primary source for detail beyond it.