Permanent Endowment Fund
Grant Policies
The Permanent Endowment Fund of Moody Memorial First United Methodist Church is a trust created by the Charge Conference of the Church in 1980 to support the ministries of the church and contribute to its religious, charitable and educational purposes. The Permanent Endowment Fund supports the ministry of Moody Memorial First United Methodist Church with matching funds for the church’s program budget and in the maintenance of the church property.
Beyond the ministries of the church, the Fund makes grants now totaling $1.75 million dollars per year to institutions with religious or charitable purposes. Seventy percent of those grants benefit local programs in the Galveston area; twenty percent benefit ministries of the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church; ten percent support programs beyond the Conference and Galveston.
Grants can be made only to churches and other tax-exempt, non-profit organizations. Grants are not made to government or political entities. Programs which may be considered for grants must qualify for consideration as appropriate for the outreach ministry of the church. In many cases, some very worthy civic, cultural and educational causes are not accepted within these guidelines. Primary emphasis is on human services and religious ministries.
Grant proposals are considered at two major grants meetings in March and October, while a small number of proposals tied to academic fiscal years are considered in July. The application deadline for the spring meetings is February 1, for the summer meeting June 15, and for the fall meeting September 1. All local proposals will receive a site visit following receipt of the complete application.
Grants for the Texas Conference have undergone a change in policy and procedures for a more pro-active approach since 2004. With the help of the Conference leadership the Permanent Endowment Fund board determines the area(s) of ministry they wish to focus on each year and receives proposals only in the selected fields. Inquiries for proposals are screened for appropriateness to these focal areas.
In the case of grants for programs beyond Galveston and the Conference, due to the relatively small amount of funding available for this geographic category, the board of directors reviews an initial letter of intent with a description of the project to determine which programs should complete the formal proposal. Those which are selected will then receive the grant application form in order to submit a full proposal.
In order to request a grant application form, send a brief description of the project for which you are requesting funding to:
Vivian Pinard, Grants Administrator
Permanent Endowment Fund
Moody Memorial First United Methodist Church
2803 53 rd Street
Galveston, Texas 77551
Grant Criteria and Restrictions
Grant proposals are evaluated by the following criteria:
- The degree to which the project is appropriate as an outreach ministry of the church
- The human, spiritual or social need addressed by the program
- The degree to which the project addresses a vital need of the community
- The numbers of people directly served or indirectly impacted by the project
- The degree to which the project fills a void in services or complements/collaborates with similar services
- The degree to which a new project is unique, innovative or otherwise groundbreaking and capable of replication
- For an ongoing program, a history with solid results
- The strength of the board, staff, and volunteers of the organization
- The financial accountability of the organization
- The stability of future funding
- Measurable outcomes which warrant the investment of resources
- Grants are not made to government or political entities.
- Grants are not made for medical research.
- Grants are normally not made for general operating costs of public or private schools or for private school scholarships.
In the national/international category of grants, there are certain restrictions due to limited funding:
- An organization may receive no more than three grants in a five year period.
- An organization may not submit more than one proposal in the same year
- Grants are not made for strictly local programs in states other than Texas or for general operating costs of ongoing established programs.
- Grants are not made for construction/building needs of individual churches within the United States.
Revised June 2006