WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
New and established ministries within the Greater Milwaukee Synod, ELCA which focus their ministry in low-income communities are eligible for Outreach for Hope grants. Specifically, Outreach for Hope provides funds for congregation-based ministries which…
- Are directly affiliated with the Greater Milwaukee Synod – ELCA, and within the geographical boundaries of the Greater Milwaukee Synod.
- Include, in the core of their mission, ministry among people of their surrounding community faced with issues of poverty.
- Do outreach into their community, seeking to engage those in their neighborhood in spiritual and congregational life.
- On their own, would find it challenging to financially sustain outreach ministries that can significantly impact the community.
- Engage their own members in the ministry. Applicants are expected to have a ministry plan that draws on the worshiping community to be part of a transformational process in the lives of the people, households, and neighborhoods that are faced with the challenges of poverty.
- Invest their own financial resources to support the mission for which funds are requested.
Outreach funding has included seed money to initiate the work of Neighborhood Ministers, homework help programs, creative arts camps, “Good Samaritan” money, meal programs, development of worship designed to draw in the community, and creative Bible study programs, to name a few examples. Congregations can apply for general support or seek funding for a specific program of the congregation.