Lrg Impact

LRG Impact is a young but well-capitalized private Christian foundation headquartered in Spring Arbor, Michigan. Founded formally in June 2022 following the sale of Clawson Manor — a senior living facility the founding church board had operated since 1966 — the foundation converted approximately $20.9 million in real estate proceeds into a permanent endowment. It does not operate as a traditional open-cycle grantmaker with posted RFPs and rolling deadlines. It is a relationship-first, partnership-driven funder.

The foundation's stated mission is to "catalyze Kingdom growth as a witness to the power of Christ" through three strategic pillars: empowering spirit-led leaders, forming strategic partnerships, and pursuing transformational breakthroughs. These pillars map directly to three funded program models — leadership development (multiplying and coaching leaders), kingdom expansion (equipping local churches through a proprietary Kingdom Collaboration Process), and Community Church Planting (CCP) (supporting organizations committed to healthy leader development and disciple multiplication, with methodology originally developed in South Africa).

Current named strategic partners — Church Development Network, Evangelical Missionary Church, Free Methodist World Missions, Impact Latin America, and Impact Middle East — reveal a clear theological ecosystem. Organizations rooted in Free Methodist, evangelical, or missions-aligned traditions will find the strongest cultural resonance. Spring Arbor University, a Free Methodist institution in the same township, is a useful indicator of the theological neighborhood LRG Impact inhabits.

First-time applicants should expect no formal portal or deadline structure. The website offers only a contact form. Relationship initiation via a brief, well-framed message explaining alignment with one of LRG's three pillars is the appropriate entry point. Executive Director Bradley Button (compensated $95,001 in FY2023) is the primary staff contact. Given a small, volunteer board of seven, funding decisions reach the board directly, making an early conversation with Button the indispensable first step before any proposal document is prepared.

LRG Impact's financial trajectory reflects a foundation still in early deployment. In FY2021, the organization reported essentially no financial activity (total assets of $1, total revenue of $1 — a placeholder filing). FY2022 saw the endowment established: $20,878,823 in contributions (the Clawson Manor sale proceeds), but grantmaking was minimal at $25,000 in grants paid (total giving $178,967, with the difference reflecting program-related and administrative expenses). FY2023 marked the foundation's first serious grantmaking year: $1,350,000 in grants paid, with total giving of $1,567,663 — a 54-fold increase in grants paid year-over-year.

Assets have grown steadily: $20.9M (FY2022), $21.8M (FY2023), and approximately $23.4M as of the most recent IRS data. Net investment income in FY2023 was $875,650, reflecting a roughly 4.2% yield on invested assets. The foundation also received $199,255 in new contributions in FY2023, suggesting ongoing donor support alongside endowment returns. At $1.35M in FY2023 grants against $21.8M in assets, the distribution rate was approximately 6.2% — above the IRS-mandated 5% minimum for private foundations.

No grantee-level data is publicly available in IRS filings reviewed, so a breakdown of grants by recipient, geography, or program area cannot be confirmed. Based on the five named strategic partners, individual grants likely range from $100,000 to $400,000 per relationship annually. With total grantmaking of $1.35M and five partners, an average of approximately $270,000 per partner is a reasonable working estimate. The CCP and international missions partners (Impact Latin America, Impact Middle East) likely command meaningful portions of this budget given LRG's emphasis on global reach. The annual grantmaking budget appears to be scaling; if FY2024 continued the trajectory, total grants could approach or exceed $1.5M.

The table below compares LRG Impact to five peer private foundations of similar asset size in the Religion NTEE category, based on IRS filings:

Among peer foundations in this asset tier, LRG Impact stands apart for two reasons. First, its grantmaking rate of approximately 6.2% of assets in FY2023 is comparatively transparent and active for a foundation this young — most peer foundations in this range have minimal or no public-facing financial disclosure beyond IRS filings. Second, LRG Impact is the only one among this peer set with a functioning public website, named strategic partners, an articulated programmatic framework, and a staff-led operation. This transparency is an advantage for prospective applicants: there is meaningful public information available to craft a genuinely tailored approach, something that simply cannot be done with the other foundations listed above.

LRG Impact's most significant recent activity is the dramatic scale-up of grantmaking in FY2023. After distributing only $25,000 in grants during FY2022 (its launch year), the foundation deployed $1,350,000 in FY2023 — signaling a clear transition from endowment-stabilization to active capital deployment.

No press releases, news coverage, or public announcements were found for 2025–2026 in web searches. The foundation maintains a limited digital footprint: no social media presence, no published newsletter, no annual report, and no grants database. Given that LRG's current named strategic partners include Free Methodist World Missions, Impact Latin America, and Impact Middle East, it is likely the foundation continued and possibly expanded disbursements to these partners in FY2024 and FY2025, though no IRS 990 filings for those years are yet publicly available.

Executive Director Bradley Button has been in place since at least FY2022 (compensated $73,108 that year), with compensation increasing to $95,001 in FY2023 — a 30% increase consistent with a foundation moving from startup to operational mode. The volunteer board — Joe Helms (Chair), Karen Burt (Secretary), Daniel A. Kurtz (Treasurer), Kaye Kolde, Mark Olson, and Delia Nuesch-Olver — appears stable across multiple IRS filing cycles. No leadership transitions were identified in web research. Foundation assets grew from $21.8M (FY2023) to approximately $23.4M in the most recent IRS data, suggesting continued strong investment performance.

1. There is no open grant cycle — the relationship is the application. LRG Impact does not post RFPs, maintain a grants portal, or list application deadlines. The website's sole intake mechanism is a contact form at lrgimpact.org. The effective first step is a concise, theologically-informed introductory message to Executive Director Bradley Button explaining how your organization embodies one of the three funded pillars.

2. Speak Kingdom Collaboration Process language. LRG uses a proprietary framework by this name to clarify vision and provide coaching for implementation. Organizations that can articulate their vision-clarity processes, coaching structures, and disciple or leader multiplication metrics will resonate far more strongly than those using secular outcomes language (e.g., 'beneficiaries served,' 'lives impacted').

3. Align explicitly with the Free Methodist ecosystem. Given the Spring Arbor, Michigan location, Free Methodist World Missions as a named partner, and the founding church board's roots, organizations with formal or informal ties to Free Methodist, Wesleyan-Holiness, or broader evangelical traditions are at a structural advantage. Document these ties clearly.

4. Choose one primary pillar and own it deeply. Do not try to claim all three program areas. Community Church Planting proposals should reference South Africa origins and proven CCP methodology with replication data. Leadership Development proposals should quantify cohorts trained and churches subsequently led. Kingdom Expansion proposals should demonstrate local church engagement and a replicable coaching model.

5. Emphasize international reach if applicable. Partners in Latin America and the Middle East confirm LRG funds work beyond U.S. borders. Cross-cultural reach, missions integration, or global disciple-multiplication models should be highlighted prominently.

6. Budget 6–12 months for relationship maturation. As a partnership-driven foundation, LRG likely vets potential partners through introductory calls, virtual meetings, and possibly site visits before formalizing grant support. Do not expect a rapid turnaround; plan a multi-touch engagement strategy.