brown on green, A Regular column about finances

Grants Returning in 2017

Free Will Baptist Foundation is glad to announce it will be awarding grants in 2017. In 2015, $75,000 was awarded in pilot grants to national departments and commissions. In 2017, however, any Free Will Baptist ministry connected to the National Association of Free Will Baptists (NAFWB) will be eligible to apply. This means all state associations and state-owned ministries are eligible. District associations and their owned ministries are also able to apply, as they either report directly to the NAFWB or are members of state associations. Local churches may also apply if they belong to a district association that is a member of a state that belongs to the NAFWB.

This program has long been a dream for the Foundation. To this point, the Foundation largely has been a channel for individuals to direct endowments and planned gifts to help fund ministries perpetually. The recent addition of the Free Will Baptist Estate Plan ministry has also helped, as more than 1,300 families have directed over $13 million to ministries through bequests. However, the grant program marks the first time in the 36-year history of the ministry that the Foundation itself can fund the needs of ministries directly.

The guidelines of the grant program outline that the purpose of the program is to fund long-term needs of our ministries. It is not designed to support the general fund of ministries, but rather to invest the grants in projects that have long-lasting effects on the ministry and the denomination as a whole. All ministries awarded a grant will file a follow-up report(s) with the Foundation to verify how the grant was used.

The Foundation will award at least $100,000 but hopes for more. It is our sincere desire that, through the grant program, the Foundation can provide resources for the next generation and beyond. The deadline to apply is March 15, 2017. Grants will be awarded during the Foundation board meeting in April 2017. Information regarding grant applications can be obtained by contacting the Foundation office at 877-336-7575 or by emailing foundation@nafwb.org.

Note: we will also make the information available in downloadable format on our Facebook page and at nafwb.org.

About the Writer: David Brown, CPA, became director of the Free Will Baptist Foundation in 2007. Send your questions to David at david@nafwb.org. To learn how the Foundation can help you become a more effective giver, call 877-336-7575.