Congregations have many financial needs, not all of which can be met through pledges. There are roofs to replace and emergency boiler repairs, there’s a desire to carry out more mission and ministry programs—if only funding were available.
Funding is available for all this and more through the Diocese of Newark. Last year, it provided more than $637,000 in loans and grants.
The diocese is recasting its seven loan and grant programs into four groups that better match the three goals for growth in its mission statement: the Fund for Building & Capital Improvement, the Fund for Outreach & Social Justice, the Fund for Congregational Ministry & Mission Development and the Bishop’s Church Extension Fund. The Ward J. Herbert Grant Fund and the Episcopal Capital Loan Fund will continue to exist, for example, but congregations will apply for them through the Fund for Building & Capital Improvement since that is what both funding mechanisms target.
It is also making applications for these funds easier—easier for congregations to use and easier for the diocese to see whether a congregation is doing all it could be doing to increase its congregational viability. The application for each fund will begin with a viability checklist that will ask whether the congregation has done things like a mutual ministry review, a stewardship plan, or a property or energy audit. The Rev. Canon Gregory A. Jacobs says that while gaps in the viability checklist won’t affect consideration of an application, they are a way of reminding congregations of things that vital congregations can do to help themselves. A mandatory list of financial reporting requirements, such as whether the congregation is current with its parochial reports, church audits and pledge commitment card, will also be included.
Each application form will clearly state the purposes of the funding program in question, as well as award sizes, terms and deadlines, and will be available on the diocese’s web site. Canon Jacobs says that the diocese will be holding a grant-writing day for congregations that will cover the four funding groups and may include grants outside the diocese that may be available to congregations. The diocese will also be taking steps to evaluate the effectiveness of the grants that have been disbursed.
“We appreciate the opportunity to be stewards of these funds that help our congregations,” says Canon Jacobs. “We want to assure people that there is a consistent system for how those funds are used.”
