Mission Development in Charges “Supporting growth in our churches”

1. Diocese of Edinburgh St Hilda’s Fund Mission Development in Charges“Supporting growth in our churches”

2. General Information • The fund is an exciting opportunity to support churches move from “care and maintenance” to growth • Diocesan financial support will be provided to congregations who wish to develop a project which will help them achieve a part of their mission as a local Christian Church • We are looking to help creative, people-based, local projects get ‘off the ground’ • This Diocesan initiative will result in a movement of resources from the centre to where mission is taking place

3. General Information • 3 or 4 congregations funded for local projects each year with a grant of up to or around £5,000. • Aim - to support every congregation in the Diocese achieve a local mission project over about 15 years. • Smaller congregations are encouraged to apply. • Grants normally for one year only • A clear plan for the project including planned outcomes is needed before a grant is agreed. • A formal evaluation report on the success or otherwise of your project.

4. What the Grant Funding is For Funding is considered for projects which will have a measurable impact in terms of your Christian mission, on the following areas: 1. Your congregation or 2. Your Community or The Diocese Note: A contribution to two or more of the possible areas identified will be given a higher priority Grants will normally be for one year only as ‘seed funding’, so consideration will need to be given as to how projects will be continued after the grant is finished

5. Grant Restrictions • Requests for repairs to buildings will not be granted from this fund. • However, any upgrade to premises maybe acceptable if it forms a very small but necessary element which makes your proposed mission to people possible.

6. How Applications will be Prioritised (1) • Applications will be given higher priority, if they have one or more of the following characteristics: • A high level of commitment by the congregation e.g. the number of the congregation who have already committed to active support of or by agreed partnerships with other organisations • A level of ‘matched funding’ by the congregation to increase the impact of the Diocesan Grant • However, all applications will be considered even if they do not have either of these characteristics.

7. How Applications will be Prioritised (2) • The clarity of purpose of your project (to further the mission of your congregation) is key in prioritising by the Diocese - the nature and design of the project will be entirely up to the congregation • Projects will be assessed on their perceived viability and measurable impact on furthering mission within your congregation, your community or the Diocese. • Once projects have been ranked on the basis of perceived viability and measurable impact, other factors such as geographic spread, to ensure impact across the whole of the Diocese, will be considered, and also the nature of projects, so we build a bank of experience of different types of projects

8. The Role of the Diocese • Support through Diocesan structures (e.g. CCD) will be offered as projects develop • Applications will be assessed by a Diocesan group (Application deadline is September 2012) • Decisions on the successful applications will be communicated by the end of October • Feedback on unsuccessful applications will be provided, to help congregations increase their likelihood of success in future applications • The application process will be fully reviewed, in the light of feedback, at the end of its first year

9. The Application Form (1) • Congregation Name • Contact Names and details (there is an expectation that a lay person will share equal responsibility for this application and that the congregation has considered the project and strongly endorses it) • Brief description of your church, including developments and successes relevant to your application (Aim for a maximum of 200 words) • How have your congregation identified the need for this project? (Aim for a maximum of 200 words describing the process you went through) • Description of your project including: What do you want to do? Who will be involved? Where will it take place? How will it be managed? (Aim for a maximum of 500 words)

10. The Application Form (2) • What will be the key targets of your project? This should be detailed in your Planned Outcomes Form. (Aim for a maximum of 200 words) • How will you monitor and evaluate the work so that you know whether or not you have been successful? This should be detailed in your Planned Outcomes Form. (Aim for a maximum of 200 words) • What is the income and expenditure for this piece of work? Please provide a fully costed budget using the format provided later in this form. • What support are you requesting from The St Hilda’s Fund? • If you are successful in your application to the St Hilda’s Fund, when would the funding be required? • Please use this space to give us additional supporting information which you feel is relevant to your application