ELCA Disability Ministry will begin accepting grant applications on December 12 and will officially close the application process on February 15, 2023

They will accept for consideration the first 30 grant applications received through the application process in GrantMaker. Once that number is met, correspondence will be sent out through our newsletter and blog. Please note that this may happen before the February 15 deadline. Of those 30 received, the review team will approve up to five grants of up to $10,000 for projects.

Applicants for this grant can be congregations, synods or other ELCA organizations. To be eligible for a grant, your project and proposal must reflect at least two of the three commitments of ELCA Disability Ministry:

  • Preparing leaders for serving people with disabilities, raising up people with disabilities for leadership positions, and encouraging the participation of those with disabilities in the wider church.
  • Equipping our synods, congregations and members with relevant and practical information that enables them to welcome and support individuals with disabilities so that they might participate fully in the life of the congregation and that, together, all might experience being the body of Christ.
  • Gathering and connecting those with disabilities and various groups within the church so that they might help us become an inclusive, supportive and whole community of faith.

A successful grant proposal must supply the following pieces of information, which will be put together in the application on the ELCA GrantMaker system:

  • Project leader information.
  • A detailed summary plan that includes your project’s name, location, timeline, targeted audience, etc.
  • Goals and objectives.
  • Budget and budget narrative detailing how the grant funding will be spent.
  • Synod support (letter and/or financial).
  • Proof of other funding sources outside the grant.

The ELCA Grants Management Team has made a tool to help grantees with the registration process on GrantMaker. It is available here. The team has also included a document to help you navigate the tool: Managing the Grantee Tool.

Please do not hesitate to contact Disability Ministry as questions arise in your grant proposal writing and application processes. Email Disability.Ministry@elca.org or lisa.heffernan@elca.org.