New Category C grants of up to $50,000 a “game-changer” for small dioceses
In addition to green-lighting $369,000 in grants to 49 applicants, the November 16 & 17 meeting of the Anglican Foundation of Canada’s (AFC) Board of Directors resulted in another significant new change to AFC’s granting program.
“The Board unanimously approved the Grants Policy Working Group’s recommendation to introduce a Category C grant of up to $50,000 to complement the current Category A and Category B model approved at the September meeting,” says Dr. Scott Brubacher, Executive Director. “This new third category will allow the board greater discretion in approving larger grants where the impact will be most beneficial. It will also allow AFC to be a more flexible funding partner in dioceses where a cornerstone project needs a major boost.”
The launch of the Category C grants is the last in a series of recommendations that caps off a year-long review of AFC’s granting policies. The announcement comes on the heels of the introduction of Category A grants of up to $5,000—with no matching funding requirement—a move from a semi-annual to a quarterly grant cycle and waiving the AFC membership requirement for applicants.
“At AFC we want to make the granting process more accessible and to provide greater impact, as we continue to challenge ourselves to drive transformational ministry across the Canadian Church,” says Brubacher.
Rob Dickson, Chair of the Grants Policy Working Group, says the new and much larger Category C grants have the potential to be a game-changer for smaller dioceses. “The opportunity to submit a $50,000 grant request is well-suited to a diocese that may have the capacity to bring only one project per year, but a transformational project the entire diocese can rally around.” Dickson says the Category C grant will be the one application a diocese is allowed to submit in a calendar year.
In terms of the matching funding requirement for such a project, Brubacher and Dickson say that will be left to the discretion of the AFC Board. “A diocese may apply under Category C for a project with a $60K or $2M budget. It is the ability of the applicant to bring to the table, or to raise the additional funds needed, that will be taken into account.” Dickson says the diocese will need to articulate a strong case for merit, and the Board will have to evaluate these applications very carefully, “to a higher degree than other applications.”
This announcement marks the conclusion of AFC’s Grants Policy Working Group’s year-long review. “The Foundation’s role in resourcing a change-minded church in the wake of a global pandemic is only beginning to be defined,” says Brubacher. “We hope our members and friends across the Canadian church will see in these changes to our grant program a deep and genuine desire to resource the church as faithfully and abundantly as possible, so that we may drive change, together, with hope, courage, and vision.”
For more information on AFC’s new grant categories or to apply for an AFC grant, visit www.anglicanfoundation.org/apply or email [email protected].
