Welcome to the PHW Grant Program. We are excited to partner with congregations across the state to engage our faith communities and their larger communities in living happier, healthier, more abundant lives. We have proudly done this for years through our PHW Collaborative Pledge and PHW Mini-Grant program. The churches and faith communities that have participated have done and are doing amazing work! We want to support depth and sustainability in the good work that congregations of all sizes are doing not only to promote health and wholeness but to live it out in their communities. Read below to find out how to apply for a mini-grant to support the valuable work that your health ministry is doing.
Steps to Submit a PHW Mini-Grant Application:
You must be an active member of The PHW Collaborative in order to apply for a grant. Click the image below to join The PHW Collaborative.
Grant Eligibility
Once your faith community has been accepted into The PHW Collaborative, you will be eligible to apply for one of two grants:
Denomination-Specific Grants: Congregations identifying as United Methodist, African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, and Christian Methodist Episcopal are eligible for a mini-grant in any PHW Focus Area.
Focus Area-Specific Grants: Any congregation not identifying as UMC, AME, AMEZ, or CME is eligible to apply for a focus-area specific grant in the following areas: Overdose Response or Tobacco/Nicotine Education.
PHW Mini-Grant Application
You will receive a link to the grant application in your Collaborative Pledge acceptance email. If you cannot find the link, please email phwinfo@ncchurches.org. Remember, you must be active in The PHW Collaborative (meaning you submitted a Collaborative Pledge within the last 12 months) before you can apply for a mini-grant.
Tips for Submitting a Successful Grant Application
The following tips are offered to help you submit a successful grant application:
1) Your grant request should be related to a specific project or program that is directly related to one or more of our focus areas.
For example:
“We will use the funds to create more opportunities to discuss mental health in our congregation.”
This is too vague. Instead:
“We will use the funds to hold a mental health symposium at our church on March 13, 2023. We will invite guest speakers, offer free counseling sessions, and serve healthy lunch to participants.”
-or-
“We want to start a food pantry for the needy.”
While we definitely uplift and recognize the legitimacy of this type of need in our communities, this project does not align directly with one of our focus areas.
Instead:
“We want to start a food pantry that focuses on collecting fresh fruits and vegetables and less processed ingredients. We will also offer cooking demonstrations.”
2) If applicable, we like to see that your project has a planned timeline. We recognize that some projects may be ongoing. Do your best to let us know how your project will play out over time.
3) We expect to see how you plan to use the funds. Please provide an itemized budget for your request (estimates are OK). There are some items that PHW does not fund, so please be aware of that as you are creating your budget.
- Pamphlets: Needs-based – Many organizations offer low or no cost pamphlets
- Books: Needs-based – Please reach out to PHW about specific books
- DVDs: Needs-based – Please reach out to PHW about specific DVDs
- Door prizes & incentives i.e. T-shirts, awards: up to 33% of the total budget – If direct connection to health ministry is clear
- Copies: Needs-based – If direct connection to health ministry is clear
- Copier ink: up to 33% of the total budget
- Presenters: Needs-based – preference towards PHW staff, local specialists, or low-cost presenters
- Technology: Needs-based – If direct connection to health ministry is made clear
- Office Furniture: We do not fund
- Rent: We do not fund
- Utilities: We do not fund
- Salary: We do not fund
4) We want to know how you plan to measure the success of your project or program. What are your desired outcomes? How will you decide whether or not you achieved your desired outcomes? This data can be qualitative, quantitative, or both.
Surveys from your participants and attendance records are good ways to track your program’s success.
Step 4: Wait for Your Grant Approval Notification & Accept the Grant Covenant
Like your Collaborative Pledge, you will receive an automated email when your grant is submitted. This does not mean your grant is approved. You will receive an email from phwinfo@ncchurches.org indicating the status of your grant application within four weeks from the date of submission. If your grant is approved, you will be asked to agree to the Grant Covenant (below).
Grant Covenant:
- Funds will only be used for the project submitted.
- Any major changes to the project submitted must be approved by staff.
- In the event that the submitted project cannot be completed, PHW will receive immediate notification and funds will be returned within 30 days.
- Complete and accurate records of how grant funds are spent will be kept and made available to PHW if requested.
- Funds may not be transferred to another faith community without prior approval from staff.
A link to confirm your acceptance will be included in your approval email (this is separate from your application and will only be available after your grant has been reviewed and approved). The Grant Covenant must be accepted before funds can be disbursed.
Once we have received your acceptance of our Grant Covenant, a check will be requested. You should receive your check at the mailing address you provided in this form within 4-6 weeks.
Sample grant applications:
Click here to view a sample denomination-specific grant application.
Click here to view a focus area-specific grant application.
Please note that we are unable to fund all the grant requests we receive. Your project may be partially funded. As a member of The PHW Collaborative, you are entitled to specialized guidance from our team to fortify your health ministry. Even if we cannot award grant funds to your congregation, we are committed to walking alongside you in the journey to health and wholeness.
Steps 5 & 6:
All that’s left to do is wait to receive your check and to continue on your journey to health and wholeness.
Your PHW Staff is here for you every step of The PHW Collaborative process. Our partnership with you does not stop at sending you a check. We want to be involved with your health ministries to provide support and resources year-round!
You may direct any questions to phwinfo@ncchurches.org, or schedule a one-on-one virtual consult here.
Helpful Tips and Information
We recommend being as detailed as possible when writing your application. We like to be able to envision exactly what your project or program will look like. A thorough application has a higher chance of being approved than a vague application.
Please give mindful consideration to the amount that you request. Allocated funds will be shared across our state and are limited. Some grants may be partially funded depending on need, response, and availability.
Our grant program is competitive and we are not able to approve every application. As a member of The PHW Collaborative, your congregation is entitled to specialized support from our team to fortify the work of your health ministry. Even if we cannot award grant funds to your congregation, we are committed to walking alongside you in the journey to health and wholeness.
We look forward to learning about all the wonderful work you are doing to improve health and wholeness throughout North Carolina, and how we can further assist you on your mission.
Thank you for your interest in submitting a PHW Grant. If you have any questions please contact a member of our PHW team, or schedule a one-on-one virtual consult.