Grants for Program and Capacity Building

Grants for Program and Capacity Building is sponsored by Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis. Supports Christian community development, Lutheran churches, schools, and related nonprofit programs.

Funding focuses on project services and capacity-building initiatives that strengthen organizational infrastructure and ministry impact.

Capacity Building | Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis Lutheran Foundation has a rich history of supporting capacity building and seeking opportunities to strengthen organizations. In addition to providing funding, the Foundation partners with Send Me St.

Louis to offer capacity building support to area congregations and faith-based organizations. Click here to learn more about Send Me St. Louis and how your congregation/organization can access these valuable services.

Through our new strategic funding plan, we are continuing to focus our funding for programs and ministries in targeted focus areas . Within these focus areas, Lutheran Foundation recognizes that churches, ministries, and organizations must be healthy in order to provide transformative and impactful services.

To be effective, they may need to devote time and resources to infrastructure so that they can continue to be a resource for others. Capacity Building refers to “whatever is needed to bring a nonprofit to the next level of operational, programmatic, financial, or organizational maturity, so it may more effectively and efficiently advance its mission into the future.

” [i] Lutheran Foundation supports efforts that maximize human and financial resources in the communities that are being served. We live our core value of Stewardship by providing funding to those institutions when they identify challenges and seek solutions to strengthen their organization and programs.

Evaluation Lutheran Foundation values projects that can demonstrate impact where there are clear objectives and measurable outcomes. For capacity building, evaluation efforts should be unique and tailored to that project and address the specific needs of the organization. Evaluation should ultimately answer the questions: How would your organization or program be transformed as a result of the project?

What steps will you take to get there? How will you know if you have achieved those results? Applicants are encouraged to discuss the evaluation of their project with Foundation staff and consult the Capacity Building Application.

Who We Fund Only those organizations who have previously received a Lutheran Foundation grant and have a demonstrated commitment to performance management will be eligible for capacity building funding. Interested applicants must be recognized by and be in good standing with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization or be sponsored by such an entity.

In the latter instance, the sponsoring agency must serve as the lead organization and will be recognized as the fiscal agent for the grant. Applicants must provide project services in the geographic area supported by the Lutheran Foundation which includes the following counties in the St. Louis metropolitan area: Missouri counties: Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St.

Charles, St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and Warren Illinois counties: Jersey, Madison, Monroe, and St.

Clair How We Fund Organizations interested in applying for capacity building support are highly encouraged to schedule a Foundation staff consultation. Capacity building funding is typically project or time limited. Funding from Lutheran Foundation is expected to help an organization with a particular effort.

If ongoing funding is needed to sustain the effort, organizations should include how that will occur in their application. *NOTE: Organizations submitting a request will need to use the Capacity Building Grant application, which is only available upon request.

Evaluation activities such as, third party evaluation, creation of logic model/theory of change, and purchase of measurement tools Purchasing a program database Plans to ensure a high functioning and quality body that addresses member recruitment, strengthening, and/or development Fundraising activities: purchasing databases, creation of development plans, and capital campaign assessments Marketing and re-branding efforts Strengthening Human Resources Limited infrastructure upgrades such as IT/computers and phone systems What We Do Not Fund The Foundation will generally not consider the following requests: Annual appeals/special events/fundraisers/sponsorships Capital campaigns or major capital expenditures that are not directly related to program implementation Key Dates The Lutheran Foundation has two grant cycles per year.

The due dates for those are June 1st and December 1st (if that date falls on a weekend, the due date will be the following business day). Click here to view our application timeline. [i] Chandler, J.

& Scott Kennedy, K. (2015) “A Network Approach to Capacity Building. ” National Council of Nonprofits.

Retrieved from https://www. councilofnonprofits. org/sites/default/files/documents/a-network-approach-to-capacity-building.

pdf Vision: Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis sees the Church brought into the lives of hurting people and people included in the healing life of the Church. Mission: Rooted in Christ, Lutheran Foundation of St.

Louis seeks the improved care of people in our region by creating opportunities for relationships, learning, and funding. How We Advance Our Vision Lutheran Foundation of St. Louis was established in 1984 with proceeds from the sale of Lutheran Medical Center.

Since that time, the Foundation has awarded more than $145 million to 730+ churches and organizations.

Christian Community Development and Engagement Foreign-Born Neighbors Flourishing in Community Adults Returning to Community from Incarceration Older Adults Maintaining Independence in Community How We Advance Our Vision Christian Community Development and Engagement Foreign-Born Neighbors Flourishing in Community Adults Returning to Community from Incarceration Older Adults Maintaining Independence in Community