A blessed Pentecost to you all! As noted in a previous post, our grant applications have been open now since May 15th. Here is an overview of the description of the grants for 2025 and guidelines/expectations for applications. This year we will be giving a total of $35,000 in grants (Applicants can apply for a grant up to $10,000.)
For instructions on how to register and apply, please go to: https://www.elca.org/our-work/grants/impact-church-ministry after reading the description here. We’re excited to see God at work in your projects and plans!
Peace,
Rev. Lisa Heffernan,
ELCA Disability Ministries,coordinator
Grant applicants are required to follow the guidelines below to be eligible to receive grant funding through Disability Ministries. Please read through the description thoroughly before submitting your application.
All applicants seeking funds from Disability Ministries must demonstrate how the request or initiative addresses at least one of the following goals:
– Raising up people with disabilities for leadership positions, encouraging the participation of those with disabilities in the wider church, and preparing leaders for serving people with disabilities.
– Equipping our synods, congregations, and members with relevant and practical information that enables them to welcome and support individuals with disabilities so that they might participate fully in the life of the congregation, and that, together, all might experience being the body of Christ.
– Gathering and connecting those with disabilities and various groups within the church so that they might help us become an inclusive, supportive, and whole community of faith.
Additionally, all applicants must:
*Provide a detailed budget for their project.
*If applicable, provide plans for the sustainability of their project.
*Must clearly show that there is a current relationship, or that they are actively building a relationship with people who live with disabilities in their settings.
Please note that applications for all kinds of projects and programs will be considered for funding. It is vital that applicants include how their project directly benefits disabled people in their settings and ministries.
We will be funding a total of $35,000 in projects this year. Applicants can apply for a grant up to $10,000. Ministries that have received funding from Disability Ministries in the last three years are ineligible for this cycle of grant funding.
The application will open on May 15th, and close on July 31st. Projects receiving grants will be announced by the end of October 2025.