2010 ENDOWMENT FUND GRANT APPLICANTS
The Endowment Fund Board received grant requests from eight applicants this year. The Board has authorized a total of $4,000 to be awarded. The number of votes an applicant receives will determine how much money it receives, if any,
Here are the organizations that submitted applications, the amount they requested, and a brief synopsis of how the funds would be used, if received. A display in the lobby has additional information.
BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS Grant Request: $1,700
This request is for the funding of the salaries of the youth workers in this program for the disadvantaged run by Camp Washington United Church of Christ. The program meets four days a week for eight weeks in the summer. Besides building community, developing communication skills, conflict resolution and problem solving skills, the issues of self-esteem are addressed along with learning to “love God, love neighbor and love self.” For the second year, the program will be offering at least three (3) hours of math and reading tutoring per week. (www.washingtonucc.org).
HELPING NEIGHBORS Grant Request: $4,000
Friendship Lutheran in Amelia is beginning a community service ministry to assist individuals who cannot afford and/or are not physically able to perform home maintenance and repairs. The church hopes that its efforts will become an evangelistic tool as members "share the love of Christ by helping families in practical, relevant ways" in the community. Friendship Lutheran is partnering with area charitable and governmental service agencies to identify individuals that need assistance and will be working to obtain additional in-kind donations from construction companies and building products retailers. However, the current economic environment has increased the number of people who need assistance and decreased the aid that can be obtained from area businesses. The requested grant can help overcome the very limited resources of the church and Clermont County community. The church's website is www.friendshipcincy.org.
MEDIA ARTS PROGRAM Grant Request: $2,500
The Media Arts Program is a ministry of The Underground Zone that gives High School students hands-on experience creating videos and films in a Christ-centered environment. They are asking for $2,500 to help fund a 3-month program for about 100 teenagers who will create professional quality media projects for their local community. The content is used at national and local concerts (reaching over 20,000 youth annually), through the website, and through other online and direct resources. More information is available at www.theug.com
TEEN AND ADULT LITERACY
STUDENT DEVELOPMENT AND RETENTION Grant Request: $3,500
As one arm of First Lutheran Church’s ministry, The Over-The-Rhine Learning Center is working to lower the illiteracy rate in Cincinnati (which currently stands at 29%) in order to help fight poverty and crime. To further strengthen its proven literacy program, The Learning Center now seeks to build student retention by removing situational, institutional and dispositional barriers that hinder students from remaining in the program. They have found one-on-one tutoring to be most effective, as shown recently by three GED students graduating and several current students increasing their reading level by several years in just a few months. Building this one-on-one tutoring program that turns lives around will, however, take additional financial support that can be addressed by this grant. To learn more, go to www.firstlutherancincy.org.
TRANSFORMING JAIL MINISTRIES (TJM) Grant Request: $4,000
Rev W. Jack Marsh, representing Transforming Jail Ministries (TJM), has requested a grant for $4,000 for operating expenses to support an annual budget of just over $100,000. The mission of TJM is to “Engage those in jail with a servant heart and a hopeful message.” They accomplish this goal by training and coordinating The Adult Jail Chaplaincy team made up of both volunteer Chaplains and trained laypersons (Worship Teams) from over 100 local congregations. The Ministry is available to all of the nearly 50,000 jail admissions in Hamilton County. One goal in 2010 is to document over 10,000 prisoners and 1500 volunteers worshiping together. For more information contact www.tjmi.org
WORLD RACE STAFF (1 Year) Grant Request: $4,000
Mark Stratman has requested a grant of $4,000 for World Race – a mission project that is part of Adventures in Mission. Mark is a “self-funded staff member” of Adventures in Missions, meaning he is responsible for raising the funds to pay his annual salary of $8,500. Mark’s role is to coordinate team logistics for over 500 mission workers each year who travel the world for 11 months to serve the gospel of Jesus Christ. This includes traveling in South East Asia to establish travel routes and missionary contacts to accommodate the mission workers. Mark writes, “After witnessing firsthand the human trafficking while on the mission in South East Asia, God has expanded my heart for trafficking victims and for that particular region.” For more information go to www.theworldrace.org.
VOTING PROCEDURES
Each confirmed, active member of Good Shepherd may cast up to a total of 10 votes. Voting must be done during the weekends of May 1-2 or May 8-9, 2010. A ballot box will be available in the church lobby. Votes may all be cast for one of the applicants or split between two or more, using only whole numbers (e.g. 1, 3, 10). The total number of votes cast may not exceed 10. Ballots with more than 10 votes or using non-whole numbers will be disqualified.
Be sure to sign your ballot!
HOW DOES MY VOTE COUNT TOWARD DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS?
Each of your votes is counted as if it were one “share” in the Endowment Fund. The total number of votes cast after voting ends at 12:30 p.m. on May 8th will determine the value of each share. For example, let’s assume that a total of 2,000 votes are cast. That number (2,000) is then divided into $8,000 (the total amount of money to be awarded this year) to determine the value of each share. In this example, each share’s value would be $4.00. Next it is determined how many shares were cast for each applicant. We multiply that number by the value of each share – $4.00 in the example. So, if an applicant received 500 votes, it would be awarded $2,000 (500 votes at $4.00 per share = $2,000).
The Endowment Fund Board reserves the right to eliminate small awards if it is felt that the allocation would not have a sufficient impact on the organization’s needs.
Please take time to learn of the needs of these worthy groups and, above all, VOTE!
Endowment Fund Board of Trustees
Sherry Knapp-Brown, Chairperson
Doug Barnaclo
Marlin Morris
Ray Wojcieszak
Jonathan Keith
Buzz Dorward
Rev. Larry Donner