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Page lists pre-application deadline of May 10, matching stored deadline of 2026-05-10.
Duke Endowment Rural Church Grants is a grant from The Duke Endowment that funds programs and projects for United Methodist Churches in rural North Carolina communities with populations of 1,500 or less or those designated rural by RUCA codes. The program supports four strategic areas: cultivating pastoral leaders, reimagining church real estate, building congregational capacity, and testing community-focused programs for children.
Pre-application deadlines are May 10 and October 3 each year. Eligible applicants must represent a United Methodist Church or affiliated organization in qualifying rural North Carolina communities.
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The Duke Endowment | Rural Church Grant Application & Eligibility Rural Church Grant Application & Eligibility Edit an Existing Application If you have previously started an application, please select “ Edit an Existing Application” to prevent loss of information.
Edit an Existing Application The Rural Church program area of The Duke Endowment uses a short pre-application process, which will help confirm your eligibility and guide you to the best application process for your proposed project. Pre-application deadlines for Rural Church grants are May 10 and October 3 . The pre-application portal will open approximately six weeks prior to these deadlines.
Pre-applications cannot be accepted outside of these dates. After receiving your pre-application, The Duke Endowment will either invite you to submit a full application for the upcoming grant cycle, or inform you that your project does not align with current priorities, thereby concluding the process. Pre-application deadlines for Rural Church grants are May 10 and October 3 .
Frequently Asked Questions Q. What are the Rural Church program area’s strategic priorities? Cultivate and support pastoral leaders; Reimagine church real estate; Build congregational capacity; Identify and test selected programs.
To learn more, visit the Rural Church program area page . Q. Am I eligible for a Rural Church grant from The Duke Endowment?
A. Eligibility is determined by both strategic fit and the dictates of James B. Duke’s Indenture of Trust.
An applicant must represent an eligible United Methodist Church or organization and the proposed project must fit within one of our strategic pathways. Click here to view the list of eligible churches . Q.
How is a church’s eligibility status determined? A. In his Indenture of Trust, Mr. Duke stated that eligibility for rural church funding to churches in North Carolina was to be based on the population of the community in which the church is located according to the latest federal census.
Therefore, after data from each federal census is collected, the eligibility of all United Methodist churches in North Carolina is re-examined, and a new list of eligible churches in the state is published. Eligibility status is determined using one of our two approved definitions of rural. Mr. Duke defined “ rural” as a town or community with a population of 1 , 500 or less.
Churches in towns or communities with a population of 1 , 500 or less according to the latest federal census continue to be eligible to apply for grant funding in our priority areas. The Trustees of The Duke Endowment have approved an expanded definition to include churches in areas designated rural by the Rural-Urban Commuting Area ( RUCA ) code.
RUCA codes were developed by the United States Department of Agriculture and are based on the commuting patterns of residents in individual census tracts. Q. Why does the Endowment only support rural United Methodist Churches in North Carolina?
A. Our founder, James B. Duke, was raised in a Methodist family, and he saw and appreciated the impact that churches and their pastors had on rural North Carolina communities.
The Dukes were strong supporters of the church and of its various activities. They understood that in rural areas, churches were often the strongest and most effective community institutions. Q.
Does the Endowment award grants to other Methodist denominations, such as Evangelical Methodist or African Methodist Episcopal churches? A. No. In keeping with Mr. Duke’s instructions, rural church grants can be made only to United Methodist churches.
Q. How do retired United Methodist pastors apply for pension grants from the Endowment? A.
No application is needed. These grants are made annually to the North Carolina and Western North Carolina Conferences of the United Methodist Church to distribute to eligible pastors and their families on record with them. Learn more about the Endowment’s new Zero to Eight emphasis .
Cultivate and Support Pastoral Leaders We support programs that recruit and retain candidates for ministry; nurture clergy growth and competencies; and support training for district superintendents that strengthens connections between churches and their communities.
Reimagine Church Real Estate We support structures that help rural congregations make informed decisions about optimizing their assets and using them as catalysts for community-focused ministry. Build Congregational Capacity We support programs that engage rural congregations with their neighbors to identify and implement solutions that could have a lasting, positive impact on their rural region.
Identify and Test Selected Programs We identify, develop, and test programs that have demonstrated positive outcomes, with a special focus on children. Simultaneously, we provide funding for churches to implement these programs. This strategy should only be selected by organizations already directed to apply for funding in this category.
Scoring criteria used to review proposals for this grant.
Based on current listing details, eligibility includes: United Methodist Churches or affiliated organizations in North Carolina located in communities with a population of 1,500 or less, or designated rural by RUCA codes. Applicants should confirm final requirements in the official notice before submission.
Current published award information indicates Unspecified Always verify allowable costs, matching requirements, and funding caps directly in the sponsor documentation.
The current target date is May 10, 2026. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, attachments, and final submission checks.
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The Fund for Women & Girls Grant Program is sponsored by The Foundation for Enhancing Communities (TFEC). The Fund for Women & Girls, an initiative of TFEC, makes grants to local nonprofit organizations in specific South Central PA counties. The grants support projects that advance the lives of women and girls by providing opportunities to address basic needs, develop economic self-sufficiency, and strengthen health and safety needs.
VGF grants will be used to develop and/or support community-based entities to recruit, manage, and support volunteers. CNCS seeks to fund effective approaches that expand volunteering, strengthen the capacity of volunteer connector organizations to recruit and retain skill-based volunteers, and develop strategies to use volunteers effectively to solve problems. Specifically, the VGF grants will support efforts that expand the capacity of volunteer connector organizations to recruit, manage, support and retain individuals to serve in high quality volunteer assignments.Applicants that receive funding under this Notice may directly carry out the activities supported under the award, or may carry out the activities by making sub-grants to community-based entities, supporting volunteer generation at these entities.). Funding Opportunity Number: AC-05-25-21. Assistance Listing: 94.021. Funding Instrument: G. Category: O. Award Amount: $6.1M total program funding.