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Columba Fund for Mission and Ministry
The Columba Fund for Mission and Ministry exists to stimulate creativity in fulfilling the long-range plans and priorities of the parish by providing flexible, responsive funding for initiatives both within and outside the parish.
Introduction
The modern history of St. Columba’s Church has been marked by bold initiatives that, while they carried risks, have yielded profound results — benefiting the parish, the spiritual growth of hundreds of parishioners and the surrounding community. The nursery school, our partnership with Truesdell Elementary School, the counseling center, the evolution of our homeless ministries and participation in IONA Senior Services are all examples of this.
We never know what is ahead for St. Columba’s, but we do know that God continues to work among us, encouraging us to find ways to build up our community and to serve in the world. The Columba Fund is conceived as a way to enable members of this church community to respond to the prompting of the Spirit in an atmosphere free from the financial constraints of the past decade.
As members of the church, we are already in ministry. A major goal of the Columba Fund is to help us find creative new ways to carry out that ministry — ways that may be demanding, even risky. The Fund is looking for the proposals that none of us could have imagined.
The Fund
In launching The Campaign for St. Columba’s in the summer of 1999, the vestry set a goal of raising $1 million to create the Columba Fund. This fund is not an endowment; the Fund’s principal and interest will be disbursed during the next decade. Parishioners are encouraged to think creatively, in the knowledge that there will be resources at their ready disposal. This fund is not for the distant future. It is for now.
Types of Grants
The overriding rationale for the Columba Fund is to provide parishioners with resources that will serve as a catalyst for the pursuit of their dreams to serve God, both within the parish and in the world. To that end the fund will make grants for projects that actively engage St. Columba’s parishioners in either inreach or outreach.
- Inreach
Projects that draw parishioners more deeply into St. Columba’s life and faith. Such grants might enhance any aspect of parish life — worship, music, hospitality, study, care for one another. Grants for inreach will enrich the internal life of the parish. - Outreach
Projects that draw us into the neighborhoods of Washington, DC, and its suburbs, or to the world beyond. Proposals that involve a number of parishioners, rather than just a few, are en-couraged. Grants for outreach will benefit the larger community.
There are two types of grants:
- Catalytic grants serve either as seed or startup money for a program or project that will become self-suYcient or that is time-limited.
- Single Event Grants provide funding for a program or project that occurs only once or that is requested on an emergency basis.
General Guidelines
- Proposals should clearly articulate how the use of the funds will extend the ministry of St. Columba’s and effect change in the lives of its parishioners.
- The Fund generally exists to make grants rather than loans. However, applicants may propose to repay their grant at a later date, when the new ministry is underway.
- The Fund may be a source of additional resources for existing ministries of the church, so long as they are directed to new efforts that expand the reach of those ministries. The Fund is not intended to support regular, ongoing activities of the parish.
- Parishioners may apply for funds which support their ministry through groups or projects unaffiliated with St. Columba’s, though nonspecific grants for those organizations are not appropriate.
- Projects will be funded for one year and funds must be spent within that year. However, parishioners may apply to renew funding for a successful project.
Applications
Application forms are available from Pru Lake in the church office. Applicants need to provide the following:
- a statement of purpose
- the dollar amount requested
- a list of responsible persons
- an explanation of how the project will change the lives of those serving and those who are served
- a detailed budget
- performance goals and objectives
- plans to evaluate the project
Approval Process
Grants will be awarded by the vestry on the recommendation of the Columba Fund board. The board is made up of seven parishioners named by the vestry to serve three–year terms. The board contemplates making grants of between $1,000 and $25,000. However, an unusually strong application may result in a grant of as much as 50 percent of the total to be awarded in a single period. Grants will be awarded twice annually:
- Applications filed by April 15 will be considered for approval by the vestry in May.
- Applications filed by October 15 will be considered for approval by the vestry in November.
In extraordinary circumstances, a petition for funds may be made to the chairman of the Columba Fund board, who may call a special meeting to consider the request.
Applicants may reapply if the initial request for funding is denied, but they are encouraged to seek clarification from the board about the shortcomings of their proposals before resubmitting.
Grant Recipients
Read more about previous grant recipients and descriptions of their work in the Columba Fund in review brochure compiled by former Columba Fund board member Elizabeth Terry and published Feb. 24, 2008.
The Columba Fund Board
Inga Blust, Chair
Holly Mak, Secretary
Peter Dean
Barbara Woodall Kragie
Kristi Lowe
Glenn Piercy
Ed Worthy
The Rev. Janet Vincent, Rector, ex officio
Kathleen Stanley, Junior Warden, ex officio
Contact: Pru Lake
