In rough economic times, congregations look for ways to meet the costs of upkeep, programs and ministries. If these are directed towards the wider community, like soup kitchens, counseling centers, tutoring programs and youth drop in centers, congregational leaders and clergy wonder if it is possible to obtain grants.
Joy Skjegstad writes for the Alban Institute:
Pastors and ministry leaders are always asking me whether grants are available to fund the work of their congregations, and this question is arising more during these difficult economic times. Congregations that are having a difficult time meeting budget with gifts from inside the congregation are increasingly looking to outside sources for help.
So, is there grant funding out there for your church? I always answer: “It depends.” Whether you can secure grants for your congregation will depend on a number of factors, including:
* how closely your mission matches the funder’s mission (the most important factor)
* the results that your programs achieve
* whether there is spiritual content in the programs you seek to get funded and how the funder feels about that
* the ability of your church to actually do what you’ve set out to do, as measured by the qualification of your staff members and volunteers and the experience the congregation has implementing these types of programs
Paying attention to what funders are looking for and preparing strong grant proposals is even more important during these difficult economic times. Most foundations and corporations have less money to give away—profits are down for many companies and foundation endowments are worth much less than they were a year ago. So, with the same number of (or more) groups competing for less grant money, responding to the issues identified here will greatly increase your chances of being funded.
Before deciding to seek grant funding, keep in mind that many grants are made by foundations and corporations that are not interested in the spiritual dimension of programs. Some funding groups are even prohibited from funding religious organizations by their own bylaws. Take corporations that make grants to community programs, for instance. Because corporations have such a wide range of stakeholders—employees, customers, stockholders, and senior executives (and often many others)—many of them resist making grants to programs with religious or spiritual content for fear of alienating one or more of these key constituencies.
Another thing to keep in mind is that foundation and corporate funders typically want to support programs that benefit the broader community, not just an exclusive group of people like the members of a particular congregation or denomination. So regular church expenses like worship, pastoral care, Sunday school, and maintenance of your sanctuary usually won’t be eligible for grant funding (exceptions to this include grant support from denominations and funders like the Lilly Foundation that focus on building the capacity of congregations and pastors).
Read the rest here.