How to Apply for a Grant

All grants to First Foundation must be reviewed and approved by one of the ministries of First Presbyterian Church. A person or organization wishing to apply for a grant should follow these steps:

Contact and meet with the appropriate ministry for your grant request. If uncertain as to which ministry fits your grant request, please contact the Chair of First Foundation or the Associate Pastor.

Work with the ministry regarding your grant request. See the application, guidelines and priorities below.

The ministry will let you know if they have approved your request to be presented to First Foundation.

First Foundation meets quarterly and will contact you about the date of the meeting and time when your request will be reviewed. Be prepared to have a representative at that meeting to answer questions related to your grant request.

All grants which exceed $7500 must also be reviewed and approved/disapproved by the Session (the church governing board). This may delay the final decision regarding your grant for up to one month following the approval by First Foundation.

Once grants have been approved, recipients will be notified by either First Foundation or the sponsoring ministry, then funds will be made available for disbursement.

Grants should be submitted by the 1st day of February, May, August or November in order to enable the foundation time to review each grant during their quarterly meeting.

Grant Criteria

First Foundation grants are made to individuals and ministries within the church and to individuals and organizations outside of the church.

Grants originating within First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham should focus on one of the following areas:

Seed money for new ministry activities or pilot ventures;

Term-limited support for existing ministry activities that have not yet become self-supporting;

Education and training expense for fees, tuition, licensing costs and related out-of-pocket expenses for congregation members or staff personnel for theological, educational or training consistent with FPC mission, focus or other stated goals;

Activities that engage the congregation in mission work or educate the congregation about mission-related issues.

Grants originating from individuals or organizations outside of First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham (including all 501c3 non-profits, higher governing bodies of the PC(USA), other churches and organizations, and individuals who are not members, staff, or affiliates of First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham) should focus on one of the following areas:

Seed money for new activities or organizations;

Term-limited support for activities that have not yet become self-supporting;

Programs related to the wider church, denominational projects/programs, or outreach to marginalized populations

Mission opportunities within the local, national, or international community for charitable organizations.

Grant Priorities
While First Foundation will carefully consider all grants that meet the eligibility requirements, preference will be given to grants that exhibit the following:

Urgency of need and high impact of funding on relieving a community need.

Consistency with FPC vision statement: “As Everybody’s Church, we serve Christ by cultivating mission, inclusion, and community.”

Involvement with First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham members and community.

Relationship to Biblical values of caring for the “widow, the orphan, and the stranger.”

Viability / sustainability of the grant and organization receiving grant monies. Support for organizations and individuals working in the following areas of focus:

Local, immediate, basic needs (food, clothing, shelter)

Education in low-income communities

Women’s needs (abuse, trafficking, pregnancy, jobs, housing, etc.)

Support for youth in foster care

Support for people with special needs

Social justice concerns

Denominational efforts

What We Don’t Fund

In general, we do not fund operational expenses of the church or ongoing operations of any entity. We typically do not fund organizations with multi-million dollar operating budgets.

Grant Amounts

All grants must meet grant criteria and several grant priorities. Multi-year grants are discouraged (i.e., $5,000/year for 3 years). First Foundation will sometimes agree to partial funding of a larger project on the condition that the additional funding is acquired from other sources.