Services for Churches - Grants Ministry

Grants

Who Can Apply

The Texas Methodist Foundation exists for the purpose of strengthening The United Methodist Church in Texas; therefore, grants are predominantly made to United Methodist churches, agencies and causes in Texas, unless otherwise directed by the governing document of funds given by a donor for restricted use. All potential recipients must be recognized as charitable organizations by the Internal Revenue Code.

Grant Guidelines

Grants made from the Foundation’s discretionary funds and from our own Undesignated Endowment give priority to the needs of children in poverty and crisis, especially those programs that promote systemic change by addressing root causes of poverty. Grants are not typically made to fund operating budgets, building and capital improvement projects, endowments or fundraising events. Grants for new program start-up costs with a plan for sustainability are given preference over underwriting existing operating budgets.

The Foundation looks for one or more of the following criteria in a grant application. The proposed project:

Effectively addresses a documented need
Is well planned and efficient in its use of funds
Has identified adequate local and extended support to sustain the project beyond the grant period
Includes efforts to maximize use of requested funds by creative sharing of resources with other groups
Involves volunteer leadership and staffing where appropriate
Strengthens the community
Has the potential to stimulate other giving to that cause or to other United Methodist causes

Request an Application

To learn more about our Grants Ministry, or to request an application, contact Candy Gross at cgross@tmf-fdn.org or 1-800-933-5502.

Grant Deadlines and Review Schedule

The Grants Committee approves grant requests two times each year, in the spring and fall.

The spring meeting reviews requests funded from our more restricted endowments. Documents governing those funds have either named a specific cause or potential recipients who can apply for funds. Deadline for submission of spring grant requests is March 1.

The fall meeting reviews requests funded from endowments that give the Foundation discretion over how funds may be used. Most requests fall within this category. Deadline for submission of fall grant requests is September 1.