Thiel College and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Greenville, recently received a $100,000 grant designed to generate thousands more in financial gifts to Holy Trinity and eventually other Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) congregations.

The grant will support the Thiel Congregational Advancement Team (TCAT), a partnership to promote successful current and deferred giving campaigns for medium-sized ELCA congregations.

The grant is one of 75 awarded by the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation as part of its $4.8 million Charitable Gifting Initiative program.

“It is our hope that this grant will strengthen the Thiel Congregational Advancement Team and Holy Trinity by informing potential donors of various options available to them to financially support the church’s work,” said Brad Hewitt, president of the Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation. “As people, through Thiel College, come alongside Holy Trinity with charitable gifts, the organizations will become increasingly effective in carrying out their ministry.”

The 2006 Charitable Gifting Initiative grants ranged from $5,000 to $100,000. The 75 grants are expected to generate a total of more than $160 million in immediate or deferred monetary gifts to Lutheran institutions.