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Vitality Granting Program
The Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma is deeply committed to vitality in every congregation.
The purpose of the Vitality Granting Program is aimed directly at facilitating and strengthening our capacity for vitality, based on research both within and outside of our Diocese on factors influencing the vitality of congregations. Grants come in two forms: Experimental Vitality Grants (up to $500) and Large Vitality Grants ($501-$10,000). Grants must demonstrate a commitment to one of the two goals below:
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This grant option asks congregations to consider how they can make and build relationships in the communities surrounding our congregations. Community engagement helps our congregations become more aware of and deeply involved with the people and groups that share our congregations’ community for the purpose of building relationships, discourse, cooperation, and participation. By strengthening our community engagement, we become more aware of the work God is already doing in our communities and how we can partner in this work.
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This grant option asks congregations to consider ways in which members of the congregation might find God outside of Sunday morning services and beyond the walls of the church. Grant projects might take place in homes, neighborhood centers, public places, or online, with the goal of engaging people in spiritual practices such as prayer, reading the Bible, and sharing their faith. By building our spiritual practices, we are strengthening our capacity to identify God’s action in the movement of our daily lives. Grants that fund programs that focus on programs that take place within the gathered congregation will not be considered. The purpose must be to strengthen how members find God outside of our churches in their daily lives.
Want to Browse Ideas?
These are grants congregations around the diocese have tried. If you are interested in learning more about one, please contact Kate Bond at kbond@epiok.org.
Examples of congregational grants include intergenerational events with the community, neighborhood block parties, partnership events with a local non-profit, pop-up worship, and community arts events. Check out grant examples below!
Our Grants
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A Native American cultural dinner and Christmas pageant to engage with neighbors and learn more about their community. Goal is to build a better working relationship and invite them to our community.
After their first experimental grant, St. Paul’s applied for a $2,000 grant. They offered a series of 6 workshops in partnership with the Seminole Nation Boys & Girls Club, focused on urban agriculture in Oklahoma. Each summer, the Seminole Nation Boys & Girls Club enrolls roughly 130 youth ages 12-18, primarily Native American, representing many different tribes. The community of Holdenville, like many of our towns in Oklahoma, has a high rate of poverty and is a food desert. Many of the youth have little knowledge of how to obtain nourishing meals, grow food, or even prepare it. They also hoped to host a field trip to Durbinshire Farms, a local goat farm, owned by one of the new members of St. Paul's.
The hope was to bring them into contact with a large group of youth in their community.
Pastor Radach, a supply priest at St. Paul’s shared, "Such cross-cultural engagements are always a blessing. The people of St. Paul's have had little contact with this group. This seemed to be a God-given opportunity that dropped into our laps."
In June 2023, St. Paul's was awarded the grant, and off they went! Their workshops included butter and biscuit making, homemade ice cream, origami, card making, portrait drawing, pizza making, sun catchers, and even goat petting!
Not only was this effort popular with the youth, St. Paul's was honored as the 2023 Volunteer of the Year by the Seminole Nation Boys & Girls Club.
This honor came after St. Paul’s, Holdenville, in March was recognized as organization of the year by the Holdenville Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture.
Read more about St. Paul’s Vitality Story HERE.
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St. James passed out 100 dozen eggs door-to-door in the surrounding neighborhood on April 1st, the Saturday before Palm Sunday, and included a flyer inviting folks to join them for Easter services and informing them about our monthly St. James Food Pantry. They are testing if Anglos and Hispanics can work together on an outreach project, learn how to love each other across cultures and build upon one diverse congregation at St. James. They hope that conversations door-to-door in either Spanish or English will enable them to learn who their neighbors are and what issues are important to them. They hope to determine if they are aware of St. James and to assure them they are welcome at our services and Food Pantry.
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The goal is to meet and chat with neighbors in St. Bede's Westport neighborhood and to allow their neighbors to enjoy a connection with the tranquil, retreat-life setting of St. Bede's.
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In the Fall of 2022, St. John's in OKC opened their spacious property for a brand new dog park for the local community around their church. The congregation noticed that the apartments and neighborhood surrounding their church had many dogs and not much green space for them to roam. So, St. John's took a leap of faith to reach out to their neighbors and applied for a large vitality grant to create a community dog park on their property. The diocesan grant provided approximately 10% of the funds for this project.
Fr. Nate Carr, Vicar of St. John's, shared his vision of the dog park at St. John's as a way to repurpose church property. This space is now a vibrant hub for the local community. The fenced park includes benches for pet owners, large rocks, and other items for dogs to dodge and play with. Water stations will also be added, and a children's playground will be near the dog park.
Fr. Nate Carr also serves as the Diocesan Missioner for strategic development. He assists the Diocese in reimagining its properties to serve the community better and generate revenue for congregations.
Read more about St. John’s Dog Park HERE.
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The goal was to build relationships with the community, by holding a neighbor BBQ and passing out flyers to all neighbors and various other organizations, ie. police, fire department, EMS, Chamber of Commerce, inviting all to stop by for a burger or hot dogs. They were surprised and delighted at who responded, especially the children in neighborhoods around the church.
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A pillowcase ministry to reach out to the Watonga community, the pillowcases were distributed to tribal members. It has a prayer/song that was printed on the pillowcase in both English/Cheyenne.
While almost every child is comfortable in a conversation, they might feel like they don’t have the right words to talk to God. It is so important that we encourage kids to pray.
For Darrel James, a Whirlwind Oakerhater Episcopal Church member in Watonga, he hoped a Pillowcase Prayer will give them tools and language for prayer to help ease the awkwardness.
“I want our congregation, and particularly the kids, to understand the importance of prayer,” said James. “This project will help them share what they have learned with family and friends, where they can help create a prayerful tribal community.”
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All Saints applied for a $500 Diocesan Vitality Grant for the purpose of community partnership around St. Francis Blessing of the Animals.
In October 2023, they held a pet blessing in the green space around their church and partnered with the local PAWS program (Partners for Animal Welfare Society). Their team of volunteers and doctors brought over 160 rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats, and they used every dose in their cooler.
With the Vitality Grant All Saints purchased 50 small bags of dog food, 30 bags of cat food, toys, treats, leashes, and collars for 50 dogs and cats. They also partnered with a local food truck who offered delicious Mexican food on a chilly and windy day!
The Rev. Janie Koch, Vicar of All Saints shared her appreciation for the grant, "Thank you so much for offering these grants to the Oklahoma parishes; the ability to bring ministry ideas forward into our communities offers such energy and good will in our communities."
General Information about Vitality Grants
The Vitality Granting Program awards two types of grants, Experimental Vitality Grants or Large Vitality Grants, to those congregations engaging in the values of the granting program, these include:
The desire and willingness to try new things
A posture toward creativity, inventiveness, and inquisitiveness
Ideas that are relational, participatory, and cooperative
Reaching into our neighborhoods and communities to form new partnerships
Helping members of congregations find God in their daily lives
The Vitality Granting Program is a specific series of grants to support programs aimed at strengthening and facilitating community engagement or finding God in our daily lives.
Not all great ideas fit vitality-granting purposes or guidelines. The types of programs or ideas that DO NOT qualify for the Vitality Granting Program include:
Individual projects, including sabbaticals or scholarship funds
Support for existing programs or ministries within a congregation or organization
Programs primarily engaging current members
Outreach-only, or service-based initiatives
Financial or material support for those in need
Advertising
Discretionary spending
Funds to support the operating budget
Capital improvement projects (see specific note in the information regarding the Large Vitality Grants related to the use of funds for capital improvements)
Experimental Grants
Experimental Vitality Grants are small micro-grants up to $500 for engaging in small-scale, discrete learning experiments. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis from February 1st until November 15th each year.
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Learning: Intended to facilitate learning.
Innovation: Encourages trying something new.
Engagement: Helps congregations connect with God by engaging local communities or finding God in daily life.
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Use the Application Form to apply. You can also Preview Application Form Questions.
Grant review typically takes up to a week. If approved, funds are dispersed within 14 days.
Grant projects must occur within 60 days of the award or funds must be returned.
Unused funds must be returned within 60 days of the project’s completion.
Recipients must provide feedback on learning and progress using the Experimental Grant Learning Form. You can also Preview The Experimental Grant Learning Form.
Failure to provide feedback or return funds may exclude you from future grant opportunities.
Multiple Grants: Congregations can receive one Vitality Grant at a time but may apply for multiple grants within a year. Specify the priority order if applying for multiple grants simultaneously.
Recognition: Grant recipients will be recognized by name at the Diocesan Convention, or in the weekly newsletter.
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One-time events rather than recurring events.
Projects must reflect the values of the Vitality Granting Program:
Desire and willingness to try new things.
Creativity, inventiveness, and inquisitiveness.
Relational, participatory, and cooperative ideas.
Engaging neighborhoods and communities to form new partnerships.
Helping congregation members find God in their daily lives.
Must take place outside of Sunday morning and not at the church building.
Must actively engage the community for building relationships or partnerships.
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Individual projects (including sabbaticals).
Existing programs, internal programs.
Outreach or service-only initiatives.
Advertising, discretionary spending, operating budget, personnel, or capital projects.
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Start with a Question: Begin with curiosity rather than a problem to solve.
Aim Small: Experiments should be small tests to answer curious questions.
Focus on Learning: Celebrate learning, regardless of the experiment's outcome.
Reach Out for Help: The Ministry Partners Team is available to discuss ideas and help formulate proposals.
Large Vitality Grants
Large Vitality Grants ($501 - $10,000) assist in implementing larger projects stemming from congregational vitality processes. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis from February 1st until November 15th each year.
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Learning: Facilitate learning through new projects.
Innovation: Encourage trying new approaches.
Engagement: Help congregations connect with God by engaging local communities or finding God in daily life.
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Use the Application Form to apply. You can also Preview The Application Form Questions.
Grants for Finding God in Daily Life must occur outside Sunday morning and not at the church building.
Grants for Building Relationships must actively engage the community to build relationships or partnerships.
Proposals are reviewed by the Ministry Partners Team with final decisions by the Bishop, Canon to the Ordinary, Canon for Congregational Vitality, and Canon for Finance and Administration.
The review process may take up to six weeks, so submit your grant at least six weeks before the planned start date.
Additional information or questions may be requested during the grant consideration.
Projects must begin within 90 days of receiving funds.
Unused funds must be returned by the end of the grant timeline unless prior approval for a timeline deviation is obtained.
Congregations must contribute financially to the project in addition to grant funds.
Recipients may only receive one Vitality Grant at a time but may apply for multiple grants within a year. Specify the priority order if applying for multiple grants simultaneously.
Feedback on learning and progress must be provided every six months and upon completion using the Large Vitality Grant Learning Report. You can also Preview Large Grant Learning Report Questions.
Failure to provide feedback or return funds will exclude recipients from future grant opportunities.
Recipients will be recognized by name at Diocesan Convention and may be asked to present their projects or in the weekly newsletter.
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New programs to build relationships in your neighborhood or help members find God in daily life.
Projects that build on a previous Experimental Vitality Grant or other learnings from your Congregational Vitality process.
Preference is given to congregations that have tested the idea through an Experimental Vitality Grant.
Projects must reflect the values of the Vitality Granting Program:
Desire and willingness to try new things.
Creativity, inventiveness, and inquisitiveness.
Relational, participatory, and cooperative ideas.
Engaging neighborhoods and communities to form new partnerships.
Helping congregation members find God in their daily lives.
Plans should be well-developed with specific proposals, timelines, budgets, and documentation of congregational vitality goals.
Grant funds can be used for capital improvements required for executing the project.
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Individual projects (including sabbaticals).
Existing programs, internal programs.
Outreach or service-only initiatives.
Advertising, discretionary spending, operating budget, or personnel.
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Start with a Question: Begin with curiosity rather than a problem to solve. Ask how, why, what, where, and who questions about your neighborhood and how God might already be working there.
Reach Out for Help: The Ministry Partners Team is available to discuss ideas and help formulate proposals.
For more information or assistance on applying for grants, contact Canon Steve (canonsteve@epiok.org) or Kate Carney Bond (kbond@epiok.org).
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We are the Episcopal Church in Oklahoma.