NBA Grants More Than $170,000 to Fall 2023 Mission & Ministry Grantees
The National Benevolent Association is proud to announce its Fall 2023 Mission & Ministry Grantees. In this cycle, NBA’s Mission & Ministry Grants program provided a total of $174,420 to 32 Disciples projects and ministries working with older adults, children, and youth. With this cycle complete, this brings NBA’s granting total to $349,020 for 2023.
Launched in 2017, the Mission & Ministry Grants program has made purpose-restricted funds available for Disciples’ congregations and health and social service ministries for more than half a decade. This is the second year of our new twice-a-year cycle, which allows the NBA to award up to $400,000 a year to ministries. Now in its sixth granting year, the Mission & Ministry Grants have granted more than $1.5 million to ministries that support disenfranchised youth and older adults.
“It has been incredible to watch the Mission & Ministry Grants program grow in the way it has,” reflects Kara Whitehouse, who has overseen this work since its inception and was promoted to Grant Management Coordinator at the beginning of 2023. “What I love most about this work, is the deliberation process with the committee that gets to review the applications. I am always inspired by the creative projects and work being done across the Disciples denomination and I’m grateful NBA is committed to financially supporting this work with youth, young adults, and older adults.”
This round of grantees represents 15 states and Disciples regions. This group is also comprised of 16 ministries that are receiving Mission & Ministry Grants from NBA for the first time. Overall, in 2023 we awarded grants to 72 ministries across 26 Disciples regions.
Due to the success and impact of our Mission & Ministry Grants program, we launched two other granting opportunities this year that support Disciples young adults looking to develop their leadership skills and an opportunity for our Health & Social Service Partners looking to take their ministries to new heights.
Granting at NBA exists to accompany, empower, and support health and social service ministries and leaders as they boldly enact visions of compassion and care. The NBA does this in several ways:
- Funding opportunities for ministries
- Providing support for young adult leadership development
- Creating comprehensive grants education and accessible resources
It’s this model that has allowed us to expand both our Mission & Ministry Grant offerings and other grant offerings over the last few years.
See the full list of Fall 2023 Mission & Ministry grantees below. We look forward to sharing stories from all our grant areas in the coming months!
| Purpose Area | Organization Name | Project Name | City | State | Amount Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youth & Young Adult | All Peoples Community Center | APCC After-School "Tomorrow's Leaders" Program - Math and Reading Tutoring Program | Los Angeles | CA | $ 6,000.00 |
| Youth & Young Adult | Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) | Scripture & S.T.E.A.M. Program for Children and Youth grades-12. | Huntington | WV | $ 4,000.00 |
| Youth & Young Adult | Disciples Christian Church | Dance Studio and dance programming | Cleveland Heights | OH | $ 3,500.00 |
| Youth & Young Adult | First Christian Church-Huntsville | Blue Theology for Appalachia | Huntsville | TX | $ 5,000.00 |
| Youth & Young Adult | First Christian Church-Princeton | Healing At-Risk Youth and the Environment through Creation Care Program | Princeton | KY | $ 4,200.00 |
| Youth & Young Adult | Good Grief Now! | Creative Expressions for Navigating Grief | Indianapolis | IN | $ 10,000.00 |
| Youth & Young Adult | Ohio Voice | Freedom School | Columbus | OH | $ 8,000.00 |
| Youth & Young Adult | Rebuilding Broken Places CDC | Project YESS Greenleaf Alpha Arms Afterschool Program | Goldsboro | NC | $ 5,000.00 |
| Youth & Young Adult | Riverside Avenue Christian Church | S.T.E.M.S. Kids | Jacksonville | FL | $ 5,000.00 |
| Youth & Young Adult | The Cleveland Christian Home Inc. | Fostering Restorative Care and Normalcy for Youth in Residential Care | Cleveland | OH | $ 5,000.00 |
| Youth & Young Adult | United Campus Ministry of Greater Houston | The Pocket Pantry is a basic needs pantry for colleges | Houston | TX | $ 12,000.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | Beloved Christian Church | Compassion Practice+ | San Diego | CA | $ 4,000.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | Central Christian Church Inc. | Food for the Soul: Community Connection and Food Ministry Project | New Albany | IN | $ 3,100.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | First Christian Church-Chanute | To provide weekly worship services and trishaw rides to residents of long care residential facilites and to expand these experiences to other churches in the region. | Chanute | KS | $ 5,000.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | First Christian Church-Glasgow | FCC Ramp Ministry | Glasgow | KY | $ 5,000.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | First Christian Church-Greenville | Savoring Seniority: SOUL Food part 2 | Greenville | SC | $ 4,000.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | First Christian Church-Monongahela | Meeting The Needs Of Seniors In the Monongahela Valley | Monongahela | PA | $ 4,000.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | First Christian Church-Princeton | Memory Cafe at FCC | Princeton | IL | $ 2,000.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | Florence Christian Church Disciples of Christ | Fresh Start Shower Ministry | Florence | KY | $ 5,000.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | Glen Oak Christian Church | Hands-on Outreach involving Seniors who prepare 1800 Weekend Snack Packs | Peoria | IL | $ 5,000.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | Isaiah 58 Ministries | Isaiah 58 Ministries Health and Wellness Program | Saint Louis | MO | $ 5,000.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | JOYFUL CHURCH | JOYFUL ART THERAPHY ACADEMY | Las Vegas | NV | $ 3,000.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | Just Love Your Neighbor | Prepare and deliver weekly hot meals to struggling households. | Covington | LA | $ 4,000.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | Main Street Christian Church dba Countryside Christian Church | L's Angels: Learning, Lunching, Listening, Laughing and Lollygagging | Winchester | IN | $ 3,000.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | New Direction Christian Church Community Outreach Ministry | Fellowship in Love with our Elderly members, homeless/sick people. | Memphis | TN | $ 5,000.00 |
| Older Adult Ministry | Walk in the Light Christian Church, Inc. | To launch and support "The Well" Senior Activity Center. | Indianapolis | IN | $ 7,500.00 |
| Intergenerational | Bethany Memorial Church | Black Identity and Developing Young Black Leaders in West Virginia | Bethany | WV | $ 16,620.00 |
| Intergenerational | First Christian Church-Bellefontaine | Exploring opportunities for older adults to mentor at-risk youth/families | Bellefontaine | OH | $ 2,000.00 |
| Intergenerational | First Christian Church-McAllen | Adopt an Angel Ministry | McAllen | TX | $ 5,000.00 |
| Intergenerational | Mosaic Christian Church | The WHOLE Initiative (Whole Health Opportunities for Life Enrichment) | Peoria | IL | $ 7,500.00 |
| Intergenerational | New Galilee Christian Church | Galilee Chrisitian Church Youth Empowerment | Holly Hill | SC | $ 6,000.00 |
| Intergenerational | New Union Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) | New & Old Bricks: Living Stones Work Better Together | Versailles | KY | $ 5,000.00 |
| TOTALS | $174,420 |
