General Grants are for those applicants who envision projects intended to implement programs or ideas from which others might benefit, and which align to the 2017 Strategic Plan.
Specifically, we seek projects that will model ways for communities of the Convocation to:
Become vibrant congregations, which more fully proclaim and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Develop new communities, where possible in association with ecumenical partners, including indigenous language churches.
Foster ecumenical and interfaith relationships and projects.
Be progressive and prophetic Christian witnesses to secular post-Christian European societies.
Engage European policy-makers, along with other churches, in the promotion of justice, peace and the integrity of creation.
Note that grants provided by the Convocation are not intended to provide for the basic running costs of a community, but rather are directed toward funding programs or initiatives that can realize one or more of the above objectives. The committee will also consider grant requests for capital improvements to buildings, but looks for an understanding of how the improvements proposed directly relate to the mission and ministry of the congregation.
Evaluation
In evaluating grant proposals, the Committee will look for a clear, compelling answer to the following questions:
What is the difference we want to make?What is the question we are grappling with to which the project we propose is an answer? |
How will we make that difference?In other words, what is our theory of change? How will the project we propose offer an answer to the challenge we have identified? |
How will we evaluate the results of our work?How will we assess what difference our project actually made? This need not be something quantitative; it could be a change in depth of engagement by members of a congregation in a ministry offered to the wider community, a change in perspectives or attitudes observed by surveys conducted before and after a project, or other measures. |
How will we share the insights we have gained from this project and the lessons we have learned in ways that will benefit the wider Convocation? |
How is the congregation prepared to support the work of the project proposed, both financially and in other ways? |