When church leaders ask me about securing grants, the first directions I point them to are Joy Skjegstad's two books, Winning Grants to Strengthen Your Ministry (Alban I
nstitute, 2007) a
nd Starting a Nonprofit at Your Church (Alban Institute, 2002). She's been very involved in a local church and illustrates her points constantly from that perspective.
By the way, Joy often leads webinar (fee involved) for the Alban Institute with titles related to her two books.
Joy Skjegstad (pronounced "SHEG-stad") recently wrote an article called "Are Grants the Answer?" It was published in Faith and Leadership, a publication of Duke Divinity School. Excerpts are below, along with a link to the full text of the article. Boldface is my own.
ARTICLE EXCERPT:
. . . grants can be a great resource. But congregations sh ouldn’t think of grants as the cure to their money troubles. Instead, they need to consider what aspect of their ministry might be appropriate for outside funding, and what compromises they might have to make to take advantage of the money.
When I served as the executive director of a church-based nonprofit in the 1990s, I was involved in securing grants for community ministry programs. Over the years, we built relationships with local foundations that supported our summer youth program, a computer learning center and a health clinic, among other initiatives.
The money was great, but I often found myself struggling with the dilemma it posed. We wanted to serve the community. But our goal also was to serve people spiritually.
I spent a lot of time looking out the window of my office wondering: Should we take money from groups that don’t share our spiritual goals?
One of the main concerns of the foundation staff I interviewed for my book was whether programs seeking funding would serve only the people in the church. . . . if your proposal is focused only on people in your congregation or denomination, you may not get grants.
The issue of spiritual content in programs also is a challenge for funders. If you apply for grant funding, expect to be asked whether clients are required to participate in religious activities such as Bible study or worship services. If the answer is yes, many grant funders won't support the program.
In addition, many funders think church members ought to pay for the services they receive at church. So congregations are unlikely to get grants for core internal ministry programs of the church, such as worship, pastoral care or Sunday School.
. . . If your organization offers -- or wants to offer -- services such as job training and placement, affordable housing, prison re-entry and teaching English as a second language, you may find grant funding. . . . Remember that most foundations and corporations focus on program grants, not unrestricted operating support or capital grants. So ask for help covering the costs of a program, underwriting staff positions, supplies, facility costs, event fees, curriculum and other expenses directly related to the program. . . . But if you do find the right fit, grant dollars can be a great addition to the time and money that the people in your congregation are already investing.
The full article is online (free) at: http://faithandleadership.com/content/are-grants-the-answer
See also her online (free) article entitled “Should Your Church Start a Non-profit?” It’s found at: http://www.faithandleadership.duke.edu/content/should-your-church-start-nonprofit.
See also her online (free) article in Your Church magazine entitled “Finding Funds” at http://www.christianitytoday.com/yc/2009/novdec/findingfunds.html.
See also her online (free) article in Your Church magazine entitled “How Two Churches Do It: Discussing the Ins and Outs of Grants” at http://www.christianitytoday.com/yc/2009/novdec/howtwochurchesdoit.html
Warren Bird, Ph.D., is Research Director at Leadership Network, and co-author of 21 books on various aspects of church health and innovation. He is a frequent contributor to this blog and also to the blog Learnings @ Leadership Network.
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