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Good Samaritan Fund
The Good Samaritan Fund was created from
[a] the
assistance funds of predecessor churches in existence on
December 31, 1987,
[b] the
investment income and net gain on the sale or maturity of
investments of this fund;
[c] gifts and
bequests from individuals;
[d] contributions
from congregations, synods, and organizations and
[e]
appropriations from the budget of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America.
All assistance payments and emergency grants shall be made only to the
extent that monies are available from this fund.
The Good Samaritan Fund is administered by the Synodical Relations
unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is
empowered by the Church Council. The Good Samaritan Committee
reviews requests for assistance and authorizes payments to be made in
accordance with these rules. The granting of assistance in any
form is entirely and solely at the discretion of the committee and
reserves the right to modify these rules governing the ELCA Good
Samaritan Program at any time.
Purpose
The purpose of the Good Samaritan Fund is to provide, in cooperation
with a rostered person's synod, financial assistance to persons who are
confronted with short-term emergency situations.
Eligibility
Persons on the roster of this church who are members of the ELCA
Pensions and Other Benefits program are eligible to apply for assistance
from the program. This includes retired and disabled members
[including those of the predecessor churches]. Also eligible are
spouses, surviving spouses, divorced spouses, and their dependent,
orphaned, or incapacitated children who have maintained membership in
the ELCA Pension and Other Benefits program. Rostered persons
under call to the ELCA churchwide organization or serving as staff in a
synod of this church are not eligible for Good Samaritan Fund
assistance. In order to qualify for assistance, the member,
spouse, or child must demonstrate a serious financial need.
Guidelines used by the Committee in
determining levels of assistance
1. The Good Samaritan Fund provides assistance for short-term,
emergency situations. Monthly stipends to assist with living
expenses are not available from the program.
2. The approval and concurrence of the
bishop of the synod must be obtained before the committee will consider
an application. In
all cases, the committee will confer with the synodical bishop before the grant is
approved. Normally, there is a partnership between the
synod and the Good Samaritan Fund in providing financial assistance
3. Priority is given to maintaining Board of Pensions health coverage
for rostered persons on leave from call and their families where the
applicant is rostered. If the applicant is a spouse, former spouse, or
child of a rostered person, approval of and financial cooperation with
the synod on whose roster the rostered individual is or last was will be
sought. The program will not make payments to the Board of
Pensions to reactivate an account already closed because of non-payment.
4. No assistance with non-medical debt retirement or past due or current
income tax encumbrance will be provided through the Good Samaritan Fund.
5. The Good Samaritan Program is intended for those individuals for whom
no other resources are available. For that reason, the application
includes a complete financial statement. The committee will
consider other available assets in making its determination regarding
assistance levels.
Administration
All applications shall be made in such a manner prescribed by the Synodical Relations
unit and shall include a written
application and a financial statement detailing assets, liabilities,
income, and estimated monthly expenses. An application for
assistance is to be considered only if assistance is recommended by the
bishop of the synod in which the applicant is rostered.
Assistance will normally be in the form of a lump-sum grant or a payment
directly to the ELCA Board of Pensions. Completed applications
will be reviewed by the staff of the Synodical Relations unit,
who shall have the authority to approve grants of $1,000 or less.
Requests for greater amounts of assistance will be forwarded by mail or
fax to the members of the Good Samaritan Committee for consideration.
If a grant is awarded and the individual's financial situation improves
[for example, someone on leave from call receives a call during the
period in which the program has paid the Board of Pensions], it is
anticipated that a refund to the program will be made of the unneeded
portions of the grant. If, at the end of a given period of
assistance, the need continues, a new application should be completed
and submitted to the committee. However, no guarantees as to the
continuation of assistance are made nor implied.
Downloading the Form
The guidelines and application are available for download as .pdf files.
You will need to
get Adobe Acrobat Reader for free in order to use the files if you
do not have it already installed on your computer.
>
download
the guidelines
>
download
the application
Please call 1.800.638.3522 ext. 2553 or 2890 if you need assistance.
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