GRANT WRITING 101: The Basics for Church Leaders
Generosity Hotline - Book a 50-minute appointment with an expert Ministry Strategist to uncover best practices, discuss pressing questions, and clarify opportunities and resources available. If you want to fully fund your ministry plan and grow disciples, discover how creating an enduring culture of generosity in your church is the path.
Center for Nonprofit Management - Access to grant-writing training. Email Mandy White to access discounted rates through the TWK Conference's membership.
Tennessee's Nonprofit Association - Access to grant-writing training
- Renfro: The Renfro Trust Fund awards annual “brick-and-mortar” grants to small rural United Methodist congregations in the Southeastern Jurisdiction. Applications can be found hereand should be submitted to the TWKUMC Global Ministries Team (grant@twkumc.org) by August 1 for consideration.
- Equitable Compensation Grants for churches with a full-time pastor that cannot afford a full time salary. These grants allow a church some relief while they get back on their feet.
- ENCORE grants are available for churches who are offering ministry to retired adults.
- Stay UMC funds are available for churches affected by disaffiliation. Pastors can discuss with their District Superintendent for what types of funds support they specifically need.
- Faith and Innovation helps to establish traditional church plants, essence plants, and experiments. More information can be found here.
- United Methodist Development Fund of TN/KY offers Church Building Renovation Grants. The project must contribute directly to the mission and ministries of making disciples of Jesus Christ and must be consistent with the doctrine and social principles of the United Methodist Book of Discipline. Grants are awarded only as matching grants up to 25% of total project cost or $10,000 (whichever is lowest). Grant funds are not disbursed until the church or agency has the match for the grant available for use.
- Racial/ Ethnic Church Grants are provided to assist local racial/ethnic congregations with projects and programs on one of three areas: 1) Leadership Development; 2) Church Growth and Development; and 3) Pastoral Salary Support. The maximum RELC programmatic grant is $15,000 and the maximum pastoral salary support grant is $12,000. The church’s membership must be at least 51% majority racial/ethnic. RELC Grant and Multiethnic Ministries Grant applications will be accepted January 2 – March 1, 2024. Application forms can be found here: https://umcmission.org/multiethnic-ministries/
- Global Youth Service Fund (Discipleship Ministries)- The Global Youth Service Fund (YSF) is a unique grant program within the UMC, because all aspects involve youth. Youth create fundraisers and contribute money, youth decide what projects receive money, and all of the projects supported must be youth-designed, led by youth, and benefit young people. These projects are chosen based upon criteria established by the youth of the Division on Ministries with Young People. Their current priorities include (but are not limited to) community outreach and evangelism, leadership development, and justice work related to young people.
- Grants for Ministries with Young People (Discipleship Ministries)- Young People’s Ministries offers these grants through our program budget because we believe that dynamic, creative individuals and groups sometimes need resources to help a ministry become reality. These grants are meant to support creative and innovative approaches to ministry for, with, and by, young people. These applications are often chosen for their ability to create systems and models, which create meaningful ministry and discipleship opportunities with young people, that can then be shared with and replicated throughout the United Methodist connection. Opens January, closes in May.
- Multi-Ethnic Ministries Grant (Global Ministries): supports multiethnic and racial-ethnic congregations as they reach out in mission and ministry in their local communities.
- The Disability Ministries Committee helps fund accessibility and inclusion projects for United Methodist churches. This is an annual cycle, open from January to March each year. Frequent questions, instructions, and application are included in the form. In 2023, a cycle is open from February 1 to April 15.
- Foundation for Evangelism’s Equipping the Local Church grants for $5,000 or $10,000 will be awarded to small and medium** church congregations, or clusters of churches working together, in a Wesleyan-tradition denomination. The grant focus is to launch an experiment or initiative to share the Gospel, tell their faith stories, and invite others into a relationship with Jesus alongside a local faith community.
- Church and Society Grants provides funding through Ethnic Local Church Grants, Human Relations Day Grants, Peace with Justice Grants.
- Intentional Growth Center seeks to fund educational events or programs that increase pastoral and congregational effectiveness in order to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The deadline is February 1, 2024.
- GCORR Action Fund Grants – funds mental health small groups, cohorts
- Council of Bishop Grants -Every year the Council of Bishops awards 3 grants to annual conferences from around the world that are involved in ecumenical and/or interreligious ministry. These grants are for $1,000 US each and must be used for ministry projects that focus on ecumenical/interreligious relationship-building both in invitation and goal. Applications are solicited in July or August and are awarded by the end of the year for projects designed for the following year.
- State of Tennessee: Houses of Worship State Security Grant Program - The State of Tennessee’s Houses of Worship Security Grant is a competitive grant for eligible 501(c)(3) organizations intended to fund contracted security personnel for their religious institutions. This grant has a 12-month grant period and funds will be disbursed through a Tennessee cost reimbursement grant contract.
- State of Tennessee Preservation Grants
- Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD) announced new funding aimed at creating and expanding the availability of respite within faith-based communities and community nonprofits.
- Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Program - The Lilly Endowment National Clergy Renewal Program at Christian Theological Seminary is a competitive grants program open to Christian congregations with one or more ordained pastors that serve their congregation. CTS plans to award as many as 125 grants to the congregations that submit the most outstanding applications. The Lilly Endowment National Clergy Renewal Program at Christian Theological Seminary will provide grants of up to $50,000 each directly to congregations for the support of a renewal program for their pastor. The costs associated with family members who accompany a pastor may be included in the amount requested for the pastor. Up to $15,000 of the grant may be used to help the congregation fulfill pastoral duties during the pastor’s absence and/or support activities that enable the congregation to also be renewed in its ministry.
- Brotherhood Mutual Kingdom Advancing Grant funds innovative Christian church programs that are transforming local communities through ministry.
- Kharis Foundation (Middle Tennessee) awards grants to churches and to nonprofit organizations that provide services to the underprivileged and vulnerable populations.
- Wal-Mart Local Community Grant funds churches with a proposed project that benefits the community at large, such as food pantries, soup kitchens, and clothing closets.
- Oldham Little Church Foundation - Facility Completion Grants are provided to churches across the United States. Awards are considered for a specific item(s) within a building repair, renovation, or new construction project that would be needed to help the church finish their project.
- The Mustard Seed Foundation provides seed funding for small startup projects of churches around the world. The Foundation seeks to help launch projects as a minority partner, providing funds over a limited time period, and in a way that encourages self-sufficiency and reliance on the local church. We typically fund projects that share the gospel with non-Christians (outreach), generate income and economic decision-making opportunities to poorer Christians (empowerment), or equip Christians to better proclaim and demonstrate the gospel (discipleship). The average grant size is $5,000.
- National Fund for Sacred Spaces helps congregations and others with a stake in older religious properties make the most of them as civic assets in ways that benefit people of all faiths and of no faith.
- National Trust for Historic Preservation – Grants from Preserving Black Churches are intended to preserve historic Black houses of worship (with either active or non-active congregations) and advance ongoing preservation activities. With grants ranging from $50,000 to $200,000, the funding will strengthen capacity for historic congregations, preservation organizations, and community groups to better steward, manage, and use their historic structures.
- The Interfaith Federal Credit Union has announced that clergy members are eligible for unsecured debt consolidation up to $20,000 at 5.99%. Contact Wayne Young with further questions: wayne@interfaithfcu.org.
- The Foundation for Evangelism will open the 2024 Equipping the Local Church grant cycle on January 15. Up to 50 grants of $5,000 or $10,000 are available to small and medium church congregations, or clusters of churches working together, in a Wesleyan-tradition denomination.
- The Healing Trust offers grants for organizations who are aligned with their priorities around holistic health.