Beyond the Walls Round 3 grant recipients include previously underrepresented Sunshine District

The Grant Review Team of the Conference Board of Discipleship is pleased to announce the awards for Round 3 of the Beyond the Walls Grant Program.

Six churches will receive funds in Round 3, to support projects that range from interviewing seniors about music to expanding programs that provide food for hungry people to empowering church members to live out their faith where they work and play.

All of the applicants in this round were Colorado churches, and with two grants awarded to churches in the Sunshine District, all districts of the Rocky Mountain Conference have now been represented among grantees.

New this round is a program of peer learning and follow-up support for grantees, in the form of conference calls coordinated by Laurie Day, Assistant Director of Mission and Ministry. The Grant Review Team believes this opportunity to check in two or three times during the 12-month funding period will enable funded churches to reflect on their process and share both their successes and challenges in a supportive environment.

The Board of Discipleship anticipates setting Sept. 1, 2015, as the next application deadline for Beyond the Walls Grants. Prospective applicants will be required to contact the Grant Review Team in advance of submitting a proposal in order to receive guidance on the program's funding priorities, in order to equip more churches to submit effective proposals.

The Beyond the Walls Grant Program is funded by the Legacy Fund of the Rocky Mountain Conference.

Approved for Funding:

Notes:

• We only received proposals from Colorado in this round, including four from Sunshine District, which had previously been underrepresented.
• Geographic distribution was a consideration but ultimately less significant than how closely the proposals met funding criteria (fit, impact, ownership, innovation). After three rounds and 19 grants, all districts have been represented among grantees.
• Priority was given to those projects that showed evidence of experimentation or risk-taking as well as replicability or sustainability.
• The Beyond the Walls Grant Review Team for Round 3 consisted of Kerry Greenhill, Laurie Day and Jeff Hirota.
• Funds will be disbursed by Feb. 28, 2015 to approved projects.