Skip to the page content
Your donations
Passes our checks

Lutheran Heritage Foundation

EIN 38-3106702 · Macomb, MI

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthStrong100 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

TO TRANSLATE, PUBLISH, DISTRIBUTE, AND INTRODUCE HISTORIC LUTHERAN BOOKS AND MATERIALS PRIMARILY USED IN THE TRAINING OF PASTORS, TEACHERS, AND LAY LEADERS.

Income
$4.2 million
Spending
$3.7 million
Spent on programs
75%
Reserves
25.4 months of spending
Largest source of income
donations and private grants, 90%
Employees
13
Volunteers
100
Highest pay
$156,531, executive di

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 88% of charities in its peer group (religion, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    35 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 25.4 months of spending.

  • Debt

    20 of 20

    It owes 0% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    15 of 15

    Income exceeded spending by 12% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 38% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    75% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 10 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 85% of charities in its peer group (religion, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    15 of 15 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (5)
  1. $2.1 million spent. THE LUTHERAN HERITAGE FOUNDATION (LHF) FULFILLS THE GREAT COMMISSION FOUND IN THE BOOK OF MATTHEW BY TRANSLATING, PUBLISHING, DISTRIBUTING, AND INTRODUCING LUTHERAN RESOURCES THAT ARE BIBLE-BASED, CHRIST-CENTERED, AND REFORMATION-DRIVEN SO THAT THE CHURCH MAY INCREASE. IN ORDER TO CARRY OUT THIS WORK LHF UTILIZES INDIVIDUALS WORLDWIDE WHO SERVE AS TRANSLATORS, REVIEWERS, EDITORS, GENERAL LINGUISTS, AND THEOLOGICAL SPECIALISTS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THE MOST ACCURATE TRANSLATIONS POSSIBLE. SINCE INCEPTION IN 1992 LHF HAS PUBLISHED 1766 TITLES IN 187 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AMOUNTING TO OVER 6,581,475 BOOKS PRINTED. DURING 2025 OVER 111 TITLES WERE PRINTED IN 48 LANGUAGES AMOUNTING TO OVER 414,000 BOOKS/PAMPHLETS BEING PRINTED DURING THE YEAR. THIS INCLUDED FIRST TIME PUBLICATIONS IN 3 NEW LANGUAGES A SIGNIFICANT PUBLISHING ACCOMPLISHMENT DURING THE YEAR WAS THE PRINTING OF THE SIMPLIFIED CHINESE BOOK OF CONCORD IN A TWO-VOLUME SET AND THE REPRINTING OF THE SWAHILI BOOK OF CONCORD. OTHER PORTIONS OF THE BOOK OF CONCORD, BIBLE COMMENTARY, LUTHER'S WORKS, AND DEVOTIONAL MATERIALS WERE ALSO PUBLISHED IN A VARIETY OF LANGUAGES. THE TOPICAL SERIES OF WHAT ABOUT? PAMPHLETS WRITTEN BY FORMER LUTHERAN CHURCH MISSOURI SYNOD PRESIDENT REV. DR. A.L. BARRY ADDRESSING 29 DOCTRINAL TOPICS, MORAL ISSUES, AND CONCERNS IN THE CHURCH TO HELP CHRISTIANS GROW IN THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THESE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS WAS TRANSLATED AND PUBLISHED IN VIETNAMESE WITH A NUMBER OF ETHIOPIAN LANGUAGES READY TO PRINT. OTHER PRINTING HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDED A FIRST PRINTING OF THE SMALL CATECHISM WITH EXPLANATION IN 2 NEW LANGUAGES AND REPRINTING IN 5 OTHER LANGUAGES. THE ENCHIRIDION, IN VARYING FORMATS, WAS ALSO PRINTED IN 5 NEW LANGUAGES AND REPRINTED IN 4 OTHER LANGUAGES. A CHILD'S GARDEN OF BIBLE STORIES WAS PRINTED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 6 NEW LANGUAGES AND REPRINTED IN 7 OTHER LANGUAGES. BIBLE STORIES IN PICTURES WAS REPRINTED IN 1 LANGUAGE. GOD'S WORD FOR YOU WAS ALSO PRINTED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 4 LANGUAGES AND REPRINTED IN 1 LANGUAGE. A SIDE-BY-SIDE KHMER/ENGLISH EDITION WAS PRINTED FOR CAMBODIA IN OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW TESTAMENT VOLUMES. THE JESUS NEVER FAILS EVANGELISM BOOKLET WRITTEN BY LHF FOUNDER, DR. ROBERT RAHN, WAS PRINTED IN 8 NEW LANGUAGES AND REPRINTED IN 3 LANGUAGES WITH MANY ADDITIONAL TRANSLATIONS NOW UNDERWAY. THE PUBLISHED RESOURCES ARE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH MISSIONARIES, CHURCHES, AND INDIVIDUALS WORLDWIDE WITH INCREASING REQUESTS FROM WITHIN THE UNITED STATES FOR CAMPUS MINISTRY, MISSION TRIP, OR EVANGELISM OUTREACH PURPOSES. IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT THE RESOURCES ARE UNDERSTOOD AND USED EFFECTIVELY THE LHF CONDUCTS INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING SEMINARS FOR PASTORS, CHURCH LEADERS, WOMEN, AND OR CHILDREN DEPENDING UPON THE CONTENT OF THE VOLUME. LHF IS ALSO OFFERING MORE RESOURCES IN ELECTRONIC AND AUDIO FORMATS ESPECIALLY FOR TITLES LIKE JESUS NEVER FAILS, GOD'S WORD FOR YOU AND THE DAILY SPANISH DEVOTIONALS TITLED LA PALABRA DEL SEOR PERMANCE PARA SIEMPRE (THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER). AVAILABLE LHF DIGITAL RESOURCES CAN BE FOUND ONLINE AT HTTPS://ISSUU.COM/LHFMISSIONS/STACKS. DURING THE YEAR 42 NEW ELECTRONIC RESOURCES WERE ADDED COVERING 11 NEW LANGUAGES. AUDIO RESOURCES CAN BE FILTERED FROM LHF PUBLICATION PAGE HTTPS://PUBSEARCH.LHFMISSIONS.ORG/. THE LHF IS BLESSED TO HAVE A FAITHFUL GROUP OF DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS THAT ASSIST WITH MAILINGS AND OTHER PROJECTS ON A REGULAR BASIS. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON CURRENT PROJECTS, A COMPLETE LISTING OF PUBLISHED RESOURCES, OR TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT THIS IMPORTANT WORK PLEASE VISIT WWW.LHFMISSIONS.ORG. SOLI DEO GLORIA THE LUTHERAN HERITAGE FOUNDATION (LHF) FULFILLS THE GREAT COMMISSION FOUND IN THE BOOK OF MATTHEW BY TRANSLATING, PUBLISHING, DISTRIBUTING, AND INTRODUCING LUTHERAN RESOURCES THAT ARE BIBLE-BASED, CHRIST-CENTERED, AND REFORMATION-DRIVEN SO THAT THE CHURCH MAY INCREASE. IN ORDER TO CARRY OUT THIS WORK LHF UTILIZES INDIVIDUALS WORLDWIDE WHO SERVE AS TRANSLATORS, REVIEWERS, EDITORS, GENERAL LINGUISTS, AND THEOLOGICAL SPECIALISTS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THE MOST ACCURATE TRANSLATIONS POSSIBLE. SINCE INCEPTION IN 1992 LHF HAS PUBLISHED 1766 TITLES IN 187 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AMOUNTING TO OVER 6,581,475 BOOKS PRINTED. DURING 2025 OVER 111 TITLES WERE PRINTED IN 48 LANGUAGES AMOUNTING TO OVER 414,000 BOOKS/PAMPHLETS BEING PRINTED DURING THE YEAR. THIS INCLUDED FIRST TIME PUBLICATIONS IN 3 NEW LANGUAGES A SIGNIFICANT PUBLISHING ACCOMPLISHMENT DURING THE YEAR WAS THE PRINTING OF THE SIMPLIFIED CHINESE BOOK OF CONCORD IN A TWO-VOLUME SET AND THE REPRINTING OF THE SWAHILI BOOK OF CONCORD. OTHER PORTIONS OF THE BOOK OF CONCORD, BIBLE COMMENTARY, LUTHER'S WORKS, AND DEVOTIONAL MATERIALS WERE ALSO PUBLISHED IN A VARIETY OF LANGUAGES. THE TOPICAL SERIES OF WHAT ABOUT? PAMPHLETS WRITTEN BY FORMER LUTHERAN CHURCH MISSOURI SYNOD PRESIDENT REV. DR. A.L. BARRY ADDRESSING 29 DOCTRINAL TOPICS, MORAL ISSUES, AND CONCERNS IN THE CHURCH TO HELP CHRISTIANS GROW IN THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THESE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS WAS TRANSLATED AND PUBLISHED IN VIETNAMESE WITH A NUMBER OF ETHIOPIAN LANGUAGES READY TO PRINT. OTHER PRINTING HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDED A FIRST PRINTING OF THE SMALL CATECHISM WITH EXPLANATION IN 2 NEW LANGUAGES AND REPRINTING IN 5 OTHER LANGUAGES. THE ENCHIRIDION, IN VARYING FORMATS, WAS ALSO PRINTED IN 5 NEW LANGUAGES AND REPRINTED IN 4 OTHER LANGUAGES. A CHILD'S GARDEN OF BIBLE STORIES WAS PRINTED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 6 NEW LANGUAGES AND REPRINTED IN 7 OTHER LANGUAGES. BIBLE STORIES IN PICTURES WAS REPRINTED IN 1 LANGUAGE. GOD'S WORD FOR YOU WAS ALSO PRINTED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 4 LANGUAGES AND REPRINTED IN 1 LANGUAGE. A SIDE-BY-SIDE KHMER/ENGLISH EDITION WAS PRINTED FOR CAMBODIA IN OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW TESTAMENT VOLUMES. THE JESUS NEVER FAILS EVANGELISM BOOKLET WRITTEN BY LHF FOUNDER, DR. ROBERT RAHN, WAS PRINTED IN 8 NEW LANGUAGES AND REPRINTED IN 3 LANGUAGES WITH MANY ADDITIONAL TRANSLATIONS NOW UNDERWAY. THE PUBLISHED RESOURCES ARE DISTRIBUTED THROUGH
  2. N/A
  3. N/A
  4. $670,661 spent. EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION AND FOUNDATION OVERHEAD THAT IS ALLOCATED TO PROGRAM SERVICES.
  5. EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION AND FOUNDATION OVERHEAD THAT IS ALLOCATED TO PROGRAM SERVICES.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since August 1993.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.