Church programs offer high-quality programs that impact real people with real needs. Here are the nuts and bolts of what your church must do to attain grant funding.
Churches and faith-based organizations are our nations’ perfect community responders. We already operate high-quality programs and projects that are vital for meeting the spiritual, physical, social, emotional and economic needs within our communities.
Churches are able to respond immediately to dire community needs and can readily designate space to house a wide variety of programs. Their campuses remain relatively under-utilized during the week, plus are predominantly located in close proximity to the communities served. Additionally, church facilities typically have program resources already at their disposal, whereas other nonprofits start from square one.
Churches offer high quality programs that impact real needs and real people. For this reason, church programs dovetail closely with the funding goals of grantmaking organizations.
Quick turn-around time
Administratively speaking, churches can make swift executive decisions without the hold-up of bureaucratic meetings and voting protocols. Churches can act!
Too often, however, churches simply lack the extra finances needed to launch and operate a wide variety of programs. Because churches don’t charge fees for their programs and services, they rely on charitable contributions to sustain everything from paid personnel, overhead costs to operational costs.
After the typical sources of charitable contributions, such as tithes, offerings, pledges and fundraising campaigns, are stretched as far as possible, then churches must prioritize their ministry efforts and make program decisions based on available funding.
And, this is exactly where grantmaking organizations come in! Grant funding allows non-profit organizations – and that includes churches – to continue to impact, reach, sustain and grow their program’s capacity, activities, and quality.
Generate attainable program ideas
Fundable program ideas are attainable programs. Not every exceptional program receives grant funding. Grant proposals need to answer very specific questions for the grantor especially around the impact statements.
Every grant application requires grant writers to clearly, concisely define a program’s deliverables. Deliverables refer to a program’s goals, objectives and outcomes. Attainable program ideas are programs that are really able to deliver on their stated goals and outcomes.
In other words, the program must demonstrate that it can really accomplish what it says it will accomplish and in a specified time period. In grantspeak, this time period is the course of the grant cycle.
This is a classic example of “not over promising and under delivering!”
Not only are outcomes measurable, they must be realistic and attainable. Again, your program will result in grant funding if it clearly and concisely describes how individuals will be impacted by participation in your program.
Example of brainstorming session:
In a recent conversation with a church leader we brainstormed the following church program, from “concept” to “concrete” to get it grant ready.
STEP 1: Identify real people with real dire needs
The church leader described the at-risk youth in the community where their church was located. The greatest percentage of their youth, both attending church and surrounding their church campus, were from poverty stricken households. Their parents could be described as living a cash-only lifestyle. In other words, they lived paycheck to paycheck, and many don’t even have a bank account.
Result: The real people with a real dire need have been identified. In grantspeak, this will become the foundation of the statement of need.
STEP 2: Strategize a solution
The youth and adolescents run the risk of following in their parents’ financial footsteps and eventually experiencing generational poverty as adults. They must receive financial education and gain healthy financial knowledge to break down the impoverished life cycle.
To break the cycle of poverty, these youth must learn how to handle their personal finances differently through financial literacy instruction. Our church can offer a financial literacy program.
The church leader really wanted to teach Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University to these young people. Great idea!
Challenge: These young people do not have the financial resources to pay for the course material, nor did their church have the available funds to offer this to young people for free.
Result: Strategizing a solution to address this real need has just taken place. And, now we also have the premise for requesting funds from grantors through a grant proposal.
STEP 3: Write clear mission and vision statements
The next step is to determine the administrative structure and focus of this church ministry or focus. Decide whether this program will fall under the organizational structure of a current ministry, or become a separate ministry altogether.
Through our brainstorming session, we asked some guiding questions:
Will this financial literacy program run under the current youth program? If so, what is the name of your youth program, and its mission and vision statements? How does this financial literacy program align with the mission and vision of your youth ministry?
Or, will this financial literacy program be a separate entity that may one day extend to teach financial literacy to all age levels? If so, what will you name this program? What will the mission and vision of this program be?
Result: Take the time to decide right now how you will organize and structure this ministry. Answer the above questions and then either adopt the name, mission and vision of a current ministry. Or, take the time to write clear mission and vision statements for this new program. And, make sure to give it a name!
For assistance in writing mission and vision statements, read this blog article, “How to: Write Powerful Mission and Vision Statements,” and use the mission and vision statement worksheets available in Exousia’s Worksheet Packet.
STEP 4: Establish program goals that align with the mission and vision
The mission and vision statements now become the steering wheel for the entire program. These statements direct all program decisions, from goals, objectives, program elements to desired outcomes. Church leaders must establish specific program goals that align with the mission and vision.
So, let’s tackle this with our brainstorming example. What could possible goals be for this program?
To teach young people sound money habits (or, financial literacy) that break generational poverty.
To instill within young people money principles that strengthen their entire lives.
To help young people develop work ethics and financial goals.
Result: Excellent! We now have one or more goals to really help us determine the best objectives, or activities, and program elements that we need to implement to reach those goals.
STEP 5: Develop objectives and program elements to reach those goals
To reach the goal of teaching young people financial literacy, this program will implement Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University curriculum. This is one objective for this program.
Let’s make a 2-column list of what the church already has as available resources to offer this program, and what the church needs to be able to successfully offer this program.
Church Resources Church Funding Needs
Classroom Dave Ramsey’s curriculum
Utilities Community partners
Furnishings
Equipment (i.e. sound system, copier)
Supplies (i.e. Paper, pens)
Volunteers
Work to put a dollar value on everything that the church will contribute to this program. The church will be the fiscal agent of the program, and what it provides is VALUABLE. This will strengthen your grant proposal.
Volunteers make sense. They can help market, host, organize and teach the classes. It’s a fantastic planning strategy to begin to identify your volunteers based on experience working with youth (or your target audience), professional and educational experience. When it comes to grantwriting, your proposal will gain credibility and reputation by a qualified volunteer base.
Ask yourself:
How many volunteers?
How many hours have they volunteered or are willing to volunteer?
What is their educational attainment?
What are their professional qualifications and experience?
How do they add value to ensure the program’s success?
In other words, do a little legwork and obtain bios.
Remember, two additional goals were to develop work ethics within the youth participants and to have them set financial goals. So, what objectives and program elements will be offered to meet these goals?
Back to the brainstorming table. . . If the program is going to teach young people work ethics, then the program needs to provide opportunities to teach and to apply those work principles. So, the program should offer classroom instruction that includes how to dress and conduct oneself professionally, how to write a resume, and how to apply for a job. Again, great ideas! What program elements are needed to do this?
Program element ideas include:
Curriculum - This can be developed by a volunteer or taught by community partners, such as employment agency volunteers or businesspersons
Resume development - We’d need a computer system and printer, plus community partners to work individually with students
Paid internships - This will provide actual work experience, so we need to develop community partnerships with local businesses willing to mentor youth.
Internship pay - Great! This gives them actual money to begin working towards reaching actual financial goals.
Banking institution partnership - They need to be introduced to banking institutions, bank accounts, bank procedures; perhaps receive a tour of a bank; help opening a bank account. We need a bank volunteer to provide this lesson and field experience. Then, they’d also have a place to save their money and reach their financial goals.
Result: This step has resulted in really nailing down the objectives and program elements that will be offered. In grantspeak, you’ve begun crafting your program description. This is one of the common elements of every grant application.
STEP 6: Identify specific outcomes resulting from objectives
Proverbs 29:18a affirms that “where there is no vision, the people perish.” The same can be said of our programs. Without a vision, our programs will falter and fade in effectiveness.
Every program must start with a vision, then leaders put into action the deliberate steps needed to make that vision a reality. Consider that vision to be your program’s outcomes, or end results. Another way to view an outcome is to consider the benefits your programs will have on its participants.
It’s time to consider both the outputs and outcomes of your program’s activities. Through the course of your program, your objectives and program elements will generate outputs. Outputs are measurable and readily trackable, such as the number of activities completed, people served, participants, class taught, counseling sessions offered, meals served, materials distributed, events hosted, and so on.
On the other hand, outcomes are the benefits that individuals experience by participating in your program. Potential outcomes can be both quantitative and qualitative, such as new knowledge gained, increased skills, improved conditions, changed attitudes, and modified behaviors.
For our example, let’s go back to the stated goals, and identify specific attainable or realistic and measurable outcomes.
Some guiding questions are:
How many students can you serve? What’s the maximum capacity?
What are the demographics of the young people to be served? Age range? Both sexes? What is the racial/ethnicity composition? Household income levels?
These questions may lead to outcome statements such as:
This program will engage at least 50 individuals aged 12 - 18 years old for at least 2 hours each week in financial literacy instruction.
At least 75% of program participants will complete 40 weeks of instruction, field trips, and internship opportunities.
At least 80% of program participants will increase their financial literacy knowledge as indicated by a pre- and post-program survey.
At least 75% of participants will achieve their financial goals by the end of the program period.
Results: Excellent! When you complete this step, you will have a definitive action plan and projected end results for the entire program. In grantspeak, this is referred to as the outcome statements in your grant proposal.
STEP 7: Implement measurement tools to track outcomes
Outcomes are attainable, realistic and measurable. You’ll notice that each suggested outcome statement from Step 6 is measurable.
So, what are measurement tools as it applies to grant writing? Consider these possibilities: You can track participation levels by attendance records. The program’s schedule and duration can be tracked on a spreadsheet, along with copies of lesson plans, calendar schedules. Videos and pictures can even document participation, activities, events and attitude. Finally, the increase of knowledge can be tracked through work samples, interviews, surveys, and pre- and post- assessments.
Result: Grantmaking organizations seek to fund programs that are credible, reputable, accountable and good stewards of their funding. Tracking your success is absolutely critical to grantors.
Finding your community’s focus
It’s time to sit down and consider all the different ministries, programs or projects that your church is currently involved in. Think BEYOND church services.
What programs and ministries does your church offer to strengthen individuals, to create community, to connect individuals that don’t attend your church with your church? What initiatives do you host to outreach your community? To impact and reach your community?
Next, I want you to consider the programs and ministries that you don’t currently offer but want to offer. These are the programs that when you look into your own backyard you see a very real need. Individuals, from children to seniors, are struggling and face a dire need.
And, you know that your church can offer a solution. These are the programs that shout:
Something needs to be done about this…
If someone doesn’t offer a solution now, then this situation will only grow worse…
Individuals call your church asking about whether you offer it …
These needs may have been brought to your attention by a church member with a burden. You may have been talking with community leaders, and this problem is being discussed. Or, perhaps news articles are reporting on this challenge, and you say to yourself – our church can provide a real solution. We have the available space, available property, access to equipment, supplies and volunteers, maybe even community partners.
It’s time to sit down with your church’s ministry leaders and members, and begin brainstorming your church programs. Take your ideas from the abstract to the concrete by following the steps outlined above.
Once you complete the concept flow, you’ll generate attainable programs that are ready to receive outside funding from grantors!
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