Best Friend Grant & Application Information
Ironwood Church believes the entire church is called to bring glory to God by loving our neighbors. Mission is not one department of the church, but the very nature of the church. God has gifted each person differently, called us to different vocations, and sent us to different locations and neighborhoods. As we live out these varied callings, the church becomes the best friend the community has.
We are excited to award a number of Best Friend Grants that empower people in our church to initiate specific projects to live out the gospel among our neighbors.
We call these “Best Friend Grants” as an expression of our desire to be the best friend our community has.
Key Dates
Application Deadline: March 1, 2024
Presentations: March 10, 2024
Final Grant Decisions: March 17, 2024
If you Choose to apply, Here’s the Process:
1) Application and Deadline — We encourage you to start thinking through and working on the application as early as possible so you can have time to pray, discuss, edit, and submit your application by Friday, March 1 at 11:59pm.
Applications will be evaluated based on the metrics outlined in this article. Once the application is complete it will be reviewed by the Grant Advisory Panel.
Applications are not considered on a first-come, first-served basis and earlier applications are not given priority consideration. No Word documents will be accepted; only electronic application forms are allowed. Click here for a PDF of the application questions so you are able to prepare your thoughts before submission as applications cannot be saved.
2) Presentation — Applicants will be contacted to schedule a time to present their ideas before the Grant Advisory Panel. Presentations will be scheduled on March 10 between 1:00-4:00pm. Block this time off so you will be open if asked to present. Presentations will be 10 minutes followed by questions from the Grant Advisory Panel, a 7-person group of Ironwood members. (If you absolutely cannot present in-person, you may submit a video presentation). More details on the presentation will be given to those that move forward in the process.
3) Grant Decisions — Final Grant decisions will be made on March 17, 2024 and will be communicated in writing to applicants. Instructions will be provided to grant recipients on how to retrieve their grant funding after decisions have been made.
4) Reporting — If you are awarded a grant you will be required to fill out a 2-3 page evaluation periodically throughout 2024.
What Applicants Can Expect from Ironwood Church
Communication — Grant recipients will be communicated to through email.
Award Amounts — Funding amounts for each grantee are determined by the Grant Advisory Panel and some grants will be awarded with stipulations. Funding amounts vary from applicant to applicant. $1,000, $2,500 or $5,000 grants will be awarded.
Encouragement & Feedback — The Grant Advisory Panel will provide written encouragement and feedback for each applicant, sharing what they think are the best aspects of the idea, what could make the idea even stronger, and, if necessary, why the request was not granted.
Prayer
Fair and transparent grant process
What Applicants Should NOT Expect from Ironwood Church
Guaranteed Grant Awards — Not necessarily all who apply for a grant will receive one.
Repeat Grant Awards — This grant should be thought of as a one-time gift. If it happens to lead to an ongoing project or ministry, you should not anticipate that the church will be able to continue funding it.
Promotion — We may fund the work, but give no promise of promoting the work. Additionally, we may choose to promote some of the grant recipient works, but not others. This will be handled on a case by case basis at the discretion of the staff.
Volunteers — although there may be opportunities to mobilize the church body to serve alongside your ministry/initiative, this is not guaranteed and will be handled on a case by case basis at the discretion of the staff.
Application Requirements
The applicant must be a regular attender or member of Ironwood Church. These grants are not open to organizations or individuals that are not connected to Ironwood.
Applicants must provide a proposed budget for how they envision using the funds. If a grant is received, the recipient must also provide reporting on how the funding was used at the conclusion of the project. If surplus funds remain, the recipient must agree to return what was unspent.
Marks of a Strong Application
These are things we are looking for that will make a strong application. Not having all of these does not disqualify the application, but thinking through how your initiative addresses these components will make a stronger application.
Embody the Gospel: What is it about who God is, what God does, and what God cares about that make this initiative significant from a gospel-perspective?
Holistic: How does this initiative provide an opportunity to love whole people and whole communities? How does this work speak good news and serve our neighbors?
Strategic: In what ways does this initiative meet a strategic need at this time and place? Are we reinventing the wheel or is someone else already meeting this need sufficiently and well?
Loving Our Community: How does this initiative provide tangible love to the real people in our community, not just people in general?
Creative: Is there anything especially innovative or interesting about this approach?
NOTE: The application must be filled out in one sitting and cannot be saved. You may want to download the PDF of the questions, prepare your answers in a separate document, and then cut and paste those answers into the application.
Questions? Email lukesimmons@ironwoodchurch.org
