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Under the current granting policies of ACTS/VIM, Alleluia Fund, Marge Christie Congregational Growth & Vitality Fund, and the Ward J. Herbert Fund, a church can file a grant request and be awarded a grant that will be paid to it, as long as it has complied as applicable with certain requirements – including having completed and filed its congregational audit, parochial report, pledge to the diocese, compliance with Safe Church and annual Health Care reporting, and so on. Actual grant payments are not made to the church until it has complied with these requirements. Historically, the church has been given one year to comply; if it does not comply within one year, it forfeits the grant and the money is then available for future grants.
At its September 2014 meeting, the Diocesan Council reduced the compliance period from one year to 90 days from the date of the grant. This was done to streamline the processing of grants, and based on the recommendations of the chairs of the applicable granting boards and the diocesan Finance Department.
This new requirement is effective for all grants submitted on or after September 14, 2014.