There are multiple grants and loans available from the Episcopal Church, the Diocese of Oregon Board of Trustees, the Episcopal Bishop of Oregon Foundation (EBOF), Diocesan Commissions, and others. Please click on a link below to learn more about that grant or loan.
The Board of Trustees has authority over the invested funds of the Diocese. Some funds are in restricted accounts, limited to loans. Others are unrestricted and may be used for either grants or loans. The Trustees have a fiduciary obligation to conserve Diocesan funds. We therefore will make grants or loans only where we believe it is a sound investment for the Diocese as a whole. We appreciate your thoughtful answers and gathering of materials to allow us to make informed decisions on behalf of the Diocese. Per Canon 3.6, upon receipt at the Diocesan Office, applications for funds for building, remodeling or additions of a permanent nature will be forwarded to the Commission on Church Architecture and Allied Arts. Applications for funds for program or redevelopment will be forwarded to the Mission and Ministry Committee of the Diocesan Council. That Committee or the Council as a whole may request additional information.
If you would like to submit an application for an emergency grant or loan for consideration, please complete the Board of Trustees Grant Application.
This fund supports many projects, including food pantries, community gardens, medical clinics, and homeless shelters. The fund especially seeks to support new ministries that involve children and youth, involve community partners, or display innovative ways of addressing poverty’s many challenges.
We encourage your congregation to assess your current direct-relief and advocacy efforts and to consider ways in which you can be more effective in addressing the needs in your community.
Grants are limited to $1,000 per congregation. The projects must have active parishioner involvement. We especially encourage new requests and ones that try new approaches (such as an after-school program for enriching children’s lives or a language skills program). We do not fund salaries or capital improvements.
The Commission on Poverty and Homelessness is experimenting with a new timeline for grants in 2019. You will receive the request for proposal information at the end of July/beginning of August and can immediately begin sending in your proposals. The close date will be September 30. The Commission will meet the following week to review and select the grant recipients; we hope to have the checks out the following week. In the meantime please note that the proposal information will remain substantially the same. We are eager to hear your plans for serving the Beloved Community and to assist you however we can. It is such a privilege and a blessing to walk with you in your vital work meeting Holy Needs.
Grant applications are due September 30, download the application here and submit it to Pamela Lyons-Nelson at 3plnelson@gmail.com. Visit the Poverty and Homelessness Working Group page for more information.
The mission of the Episcopal Bishop of Oregon Foundation is to support the creation and development of healthy diocesan institutions, vital congregations and affiliated organizations in the Diocese of Oregon. We accomplish this by partnering financially with diocesan institutions, congregations, affiliated organizations in their efforts to create and develop faithful communities and organizations full of joyful leaders, formed in Christ offering sacramental hospitality with a clear mission in the world.
The goal of the Foundation is to provide resources to all parts of the Diocese of Oregon so that the mission and ministry of the diocese can be enriched in the places where there is a recognized need for additional funding. The Foundation currently offers grants in the following general areas of interest:
Church Grants: We seek to fund congregations and clusters of congregations so they may begin, grow or expand a program designed to enable congregations to live into the reign of God in new and interesting ways. Applications in this area will be primarily from diocesan congregations.
Diocesan Grants: We seek to fund institutions so they may support ministry that spreads across the diocese in such areas as Christian Formation, Congregational Growth, Youth Ministry, Ethnic Ministries, and other related areas of Christian life. Applications in this area could come, for example, from the Office of the Bishop, Diocesan Council, Standing Committee, or the Board of Trustees.
Affiliated Organization Grants: We seek to fund affiliated organizations so that ministry spreads beyond the confines of the churches of the diocese and the diocese itself. Applications in this area could come, for example, from such organizations as Oregon Episcopal School, William Temple House, and other 501c3 organizations with an affiliation to the diocese.
The grant cycle is as follows:
Applications received by:
February 28 (29)
May 31
August 31
November 30
Award Determination by:
April 15
July 15
October 15
January 15
The Episcopal Church Building Fund helps congregations thrive through the strategic, resourceful and creative use of their buildings. ECBF loans are available to Episcopal Church congregations for building and renovation projects for churches, schools, rectories and expansions of ministry projects. And through our consulting services, we help congregations to develop new and vital ways of “being church.”
Visit the Episcopal Church Building Fund website, and fill out a loan application here.
Canon 5.4 of the Diocese, section 4, reads:
An offering shall be taken in each Parish and Mission of the Diocese upon Pentecost Sunday, which shall be transmitted to the Treasurer of the Diocese. The offering shall be used as designated by Diocesan Council.
Over the years, Diocesan Council has designated the Pentecost Offering for a variety of different types and numbers of ministries. Historically, the designations have held in balance the two different and yet related interpretations of the Spirit of Pentecost. On the one hand, Pentecost is the birthday of the Church. In this spirit, the offering or a portion of the offering has often been designated for “bricks and mortar.” On the other hand, Pentecost is the great baptismal feast that expresses the empowerment of Christians to be Jesus in the world.