Mini Grants for Mission
Faith Foundation Northwest is thrilled to announce a new mini-grant program, through which faith communities in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington are eligible to apply for $1,000-$3,000 of unrestricted funding to help them carry out their missions. Applications are due September 30, 2024.
In order to be considered, applicants must provide contact information, a project description that includes high-level outcomes and measurable short-term objectives, a project timeline, a budget, and a brief analysis of who will benefit. Projects created by and for marginalized communities will be prioritized. Applications will be evaluated by the Foundation’s grant committee based on alignment with the Foundation’s mission, the potential impact on the community, and the clarity and feasibility of the project plan.
“Grant making hasn’t been a big part of the Foundation’s work in the past,” says Julia Frisbie, Executive Director, “but it does happen every so often. I remember one of my first projects when I came onboard in 2018 was learning about a grant we made to Riverton Park UMC to repair their grocery rescue truck. What makes this mini-grant program different is that there’s a formal application period and process. I’m excited to move us in this direction, because it means we’ll get to make grants more regularly, and they’ll be more accessible to people outside our regular networks.”
Sr. Kelly Marciales, Kellogg Campus Director at Alaska Pacific University and co-pastor at Christ First UMC in Wasilla, Alaska, chairs the Foundation’s grant committee. "We will be beta-testing this grant process," she says, "and gather feedback from applicants and recipients at every stage, allowing us to iterate and make the program the best it can be." The Foundation anticipates that applications for a second mini-grant cycle will open in March 2025.
This grant program has been funded entirely by private donors who have trusted the Foundation to continue their generosity beyond their lifetimes. Some donors wish to remain anonymous. Others gave us permission to share their stories.
Carl and Lorene Walker (longtime members of Wesley UMC in Yakima, Washington) made a planned gift during their lifetime to the Foundation with the excess funds raised for their many “Tours with a Mission.” With support from the PNW Conference, Carl and Lorene led 88 international mission trips throughout their lives! Tom Wilson, the Foundation’s previous Executive Director, remembers the Walkers’ passion for both travel and mission: “You'd go to their house and see a map of the world with pins of everywhere they'd been.” Carl and Lorene specified that the income on their gift be used for “missions at home or abroad.”
Burl and Aloha Wyckoff (who were connected with Nyssa UMC, Moses Lake UMC, Queen Anne UMC, and Trinity UMC, and who were active in missions and lay leadership at the PNW Conference level), used farmland outside of Moses Lake, WA to fund a charitable remainder annuity trust. This trust paid them a fixed income for the rest of their lives. After Burl’s passing in 2021, part of the remainder was gifted to Habitat for Humanity, and part was gifted to the Foundation to create a permanent endowment for “mission work within and outside of the Conference”.
Elsie Newkirk (longtime member of Asbury UMC in Tacoma) was a registered nurse who taught surgical and obstetrical nursing. But this was more than a career; it was a calling. In her retirement, Elsie started a new ministry at her church called “We Care,” which cared for the ill and homebound members of her community. She wanted this work to outlast her, so she established a trust with the Foundation. It paid her 6% per year for the remainder of her life, and then after her death, it supported Asbury UMC and the ‘We Care’ ministry until the congregation’s closure. Now it supports the missions of other faith communities.
We give thanks for the lives of these saints who have gone before us. Their generosity continues to fund special projects so that faith communities can carry out their missions. If mission is an important part of your life, consider making a planned gift to the Foundation, or to a church, camp, or agency that shaped your faith. You can even make a gift in honor of someone you love. We would be privileged to carry your stories forward.
For more information, please see our mini-grant FAQs, email staff@faith.foundation, or call 509-782-2954.