Funding Missions
Written by Caitlin Riddle
Potential missionaries have been looking for different resources to substantially afford their training school. College is expensive, but if you contribute to finding grants, there is a higher chance of not having to pay for your tuition in full.
Are there grants available for missionary work? Yes, depending on your religious affiliation, there are potentially many different applicable grants to apply for. There are specific church organizations that hand out mission trip grants. There is also a list of other organizations that will help you raise the funds for your journey.
What Are Grants?
A grant is a portion of money given to missionaries by other organizations for their trip. Grants are given to missionaries who fill out the different applications to apply
Types of Grant Suppliers
Here are three main grant websites to look into for raising a mission trip’s financial necessities.
1. Grants.Gov
Grants.Gov has a long list of various mission trips that you can go on with grants that that already been attached to the trip itself. Warning though, many other people will be applying for these grants, so the competition rate will most likely be high.
2. Encompass Cares
Encompasscares.org is a great site if you are interested in medical missions. This organization raises funds and provides different grants by dispersing them to many missionaries in need.
3. Faith Church Grants
Faithec.org is another good grant source if you are in the Anglican denomination. Faith Church provides different grants that bless their participants who have been serving in their church.
The Importance of Grants
Some grants supply funds for the mission field. Others provide funds to enrichment programs like summer camps and mission trips to support economically disadvantaged people who aspire to receive an education.
Repayment
When you take out a loan, the expectation is that you will pay the money back. Grants, on the other hand, does not need to be paid back. The money you receive is yours to keep. This is why it’s highly recommended for missionaries to apply to as many grants as possible. There is nothing wrong with raising your money through supporters, but it would be even better if you had organizations backing you up.
Eligibility
Determining whether you are eligible to apply for and receive a federal grant is very important. If you are not legally eligible for a specific funding opportunity, you would waste a lot of time and money completing the application process when you cannot actually receive the grant.
When grants are considering eligibility, it is important to know what type of organization you are going to represent (whether you are applying as an individual or not). If you already know whether you will apply on behalf of your organization or as an individual, then you can fill out different applications online, to see which organizations will potentially support you for your mission trip.
Loans VS Grants
The main point that segregates loans from grants, is repayment. With a loan, a student has to take an amount and then pay it back. Grants are blessings because someone does not have to buy a grant.
If you are a graduate student, you can potentially get grants through your FASFA. Basically, you could be rewarded free money handed out from working hard and keeping your GPA up.
Grants may be awarded by government departments, trusts, or corporations and given to individuals, businesses, educational institutions, or non-profits. They are also a gift aid awarded to not only missionaries but to students who have a financial necessity. Grants typically come from the state government, the federal government, non-profit organizations, and institutions.
Advantages of Grants
Grants offer a number of benefits that any person in need of funding should consider.
- Grants are non-repayable. Once you’re awarded the grant money, it’s yours without any strings attached. There’s no need to worry about monthly payments or piling on more debt. Repayment is the fundamental difference between a grant and a loan, and also what makes grants more valuable than loans.
- A grant is a no-risk way to obtain the financing you need. If a loan is not repaid, you put your credit score in jeopardy. Grants do not require repayment and will only benefit you or your business
Mission Funding Organizations
The question of what foundations are best to turn to for mission trip funding is being pondered all the time. There are various factors to consider such as the degree of compatibility between your mission and the aims of a foundation. This remains the most important consideration. But at a time when foundation funding is declining, it helps to know which foundations are giving the most–along with knowing a little about their overall purpose, the kinds of Christian organizations they fund, and the kinds of programs that interest them.
Mission funding organizations are very rare and in-between to find online. Below is a list we are providing you with various resources to help you raise funds for your mission trip.
Many non-profit organizationsrely on grantsfrom foundations, corporations and government agencies to round out their fundraising efforts. If you are looking for new grant opportunities for you mission trip, check out the different resources provided below.
Main Resources
Here are three main resources that you could potentially use:
1. Foundation Center
Create an account for the website to access an endless amount of grants from grant makers. This site provides a comprehensive database and powerful search tool through the Foundation Directory Online. With Foundation Directory Online, you can put Foundation Center’s extraordinary database and fundraising expertise to work for your organization, project, or client, while uncovering information on all 165,000 U.S. Foundations. It’s the smartest and fastest way to win more funding.
2. We Raise Foundation Grants
This website is for the leadership of a mission team. We Raise Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides grants for team leaders and ministers. They also give out various grants worth more than $200 for different mission trips to help raise the funds to send a team across the world. Flights are not cheap and neither is traveling, grants are the best way to gain support and not worry about debt later.
3. Do Something
Though this site might not specifically hand out mission trip grants, it does attempt to raise funds in order to help people trying to make a difference accomplish their wish. Grants typically hover around the $500 mark and are awarded only after an application has been submitted and reviewed, as well as a budget compiled about how the money will be spent to further the mission’s goal. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and applicants will find out if they’ve won about two to three months later. Past recipient projects have religious undertones, it has the underlying goal of helping those in need.
Applying For Grants
Looking up and fill out grant applications is not easy. Here are 3 brief tips to look into before writing out why you need this grant in the first place.
1. Make Your Goals and Objectives Known
What goals are you wanting to accomplish on your mission trip? Any objections? Make sure to be clear with your examples and illustrate what you would be doing if you received this sum of money. Be specific.
2. Express Your Need
Express the necessity of the grant, but don’t make yourself sound too desperate. Explaining why you want to go and explain your passion behind this trip is what is going to show others how important the grant is to you.
Express the need for the service or activity that the grant will support and your organization’s track record in fulfilling that need.
3. Let Them Know Opportunities the Grant will Provide
Thoroughly describe where the location is that you are potentially going to and what exactly this grant is going to be providing for you. What opportunities will this blessing provide for you to help proclaim the gospel to that nation? Be specific and as detailed as much as possible.
Elaborate on your organization’s knowledge, staffing, and fiscal stability and explain how these ensure you can carry out your proposal and meet the goals of the grant program.
