Lakeland College

Founders' Society

When Mission House was founded in 1862, the German and Swiss immigrant forefathers embraced higher education and religion in their combined academy-college-seminary. Lakeland's Founders' Society helps the college keep those intentions alive.

The Founders' Society is composed of dedicated individuals with the insight to include Lakeland in their estate distribution plans. The college needs a strong endowment to award scholarships and provide student aid.

In the early 1980's, then-Director of Planned Giving and Church Relations, Rev. Louis Grossen '51, helped approximately eight people create either a Charitable Gift Annuity, participate in a pooled income fund or name Lakeland in their will. The seeds were planted for our Founders' Society.

The Founders' Society has over 150 members who are committed to seeing the thoughts, feelings and ambitions of the college's founders remain part of Lakeland's mission.

Members of the Founders' Society are recognized annually with a luncheon and during special Lakeland events.

Members of the Founders Society are insuring that the values and achievements of the past will exist in the future. Membership is achievable through a bequest, an estate gift or a special deferred gift. Other ways include, but are not limited to:

• Creation of a Charitable Gift Annuity
• Establishing a Charitable Remainder Trust
• Participating in the Pooled Income Fund
• Naming Lakeland College as a beneficiary of an insurance policy
• Assignment of retirement benefits