1. South West Peninsula District Grants

The following are grants agreed by the District Grants Committee and approved by the District Policy Committee:

District Advance Fund Grants: These can be for personnel or property projects. For personnel grants, the maximum award is usually 35% of the project cost, and for property grants this is generally 10% of the project cost. The criteria for these awards are mainly missional (as outlined in the District Grant Making Policy), showing evidence of community outreach and evangelism and/or new ways of working. DAF grants are not generally made for the maintenance of ministry.

District Training Fund and District Youth Fund: Applications for these Funds can be made District Grants Secretary Andrew Vidamour andrew.vidamour@swpmethodist.org.uk, through a brief (side of A4) Reasoned Statement giving the context and purpose of the application, and its financial aspect.

Methodist Action on Poverty Fund: These are monies from Connexion held by the District to help mitigate poverty and its effects. Applications for these grants are again via a Reasoned Statement to Andrew Vidamour.

Seed Corn Grants: These are awards of up to £2,000, to enable new or recent projects which link in particular with Our Calling and the Connexional God for All Strategy. This is suitable for projects exploring and testing an NPNP idea. Application is by a summary (on no more than two sides of A4) of the vision, purposes and aspirations around the project for which the grant is intended, also showing how it links with the District Grant Making Policy. Applications can be made to Andrew Vidamour, in the first instance.

Most of these applications will be considered initially by the District Grants Committee, which meets three times a year, in October, February and June. The next deadline for the submission of applications is Monday 27 January 2025.

Warm Welcome Grants: This District-funded grant programme supports Methodist churches offering Warm Welcome spaces. Grant amounts vary by the frequency of service provision: monthly: £250; fortnightly: £375; weekly: £500; three or more times per week: £1,000. To apply, first contact your Circuit Superintendent to refer your Warm Welcome Space for a grant. Once referred, you will receive a simple online application form. This is a rolling programme and not subject to the submission deadline above. For further information, contact: Helen Pearce, District Social Justice Officer: socialjustice@swpmethodist.org.uk or Jeremy Ward, District Grants Officer: grants@swpmethodist.org.uk

2. New Places for New People Grants

God is calling ordinary people to begin new forms of church. New Places for New People (NPNP) is movement to develop new Christian communities for people with questions about life and faith who struggle to connect with existing forms of church.

The Methodist Church sees starting NPNP in every circuit as a vital part of responding to the gospel of God’s love, revealed to us in Christ. Our aim is to see new people becoming disciples of Jesus and forming new Christian communities in rural, estate, urban, suburban and village contexts. And to have a NPNP project in every Circuit. In doing so, we believe we will see lives and communities transformed by the love of God.

The South West Peninsula District New Places for New People Committee is responsible for encouraging, supporting and administering NPNP Grants.

If your Circuit or Church has the seeds of an idea for a new place for new people, please get in touch at the earliest stage with:

Revd Darren Middleton, NPNP District Coordinator darren.middleton@methodist.org.uk

Jeremy Ward, NPNP District Grants Officer jeremy.ward@swpmethodist.org.uk

For more information and criteria please read “Starting New Christian Communities: A practical guide for circuit-based New Places for New People” here.

3. Grants from external grant-making organisations.

There are more than 8,000 charitable funders in the UK who provide financial support for an extraordinarily wide range of project themes and purposes. In addition, there are national and local government supported funding programmes, local community benefit funds and individual and corporate philanthropic donors.

The District can provide professional advice and support with searching suitable funding sources and developing good quality applications that maximise the chances of success. Funding is ideally considered as part of initial project planning and design. The way in which a project is structured at the outset can be crucial in being successful in raising the necessary funds.

We recommend our District guide, First Steps to a Compelling Grant Application, as an essential resource.

For a discussion about external funding and grants for your project, please contact Jeremy Ward, District Grants Officer jeremy.ward@swpmethodist.org.uk  Tel 07543504641.

We look forward to helping your projects flourish through targeted and effective funding.

Click the Buttons below for more information on:

• District Grant Making Policy
• District Advance Fund Application Form
• Financial Budget Template
• Guide to Circuit New Places for New People Projects
• First Steps To A Compelling Grant Application