D006 Resolution Establishing Equity in The Awarding of TEC Grants
Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring,
That the 80th General Convention of The Episcopal Church direct that 25% percent of the grants that are annually awarded by The Episcopal Church be set aside and awarded to congregations or organizations that are predominately made up of people of color; and be it further
Resolved, that all TEC Grants shall be communicated in a timely manner and through an appropriate medium to ensure that grant availability, criteria, and timelines reach the appropriate audiences; and be it further
Resolved, that all grant reviewers shall have taken TEC’s anti-racism training; and be it further
Resolved, that grant criteria that may create hardships for congregations that are struggling financially or who lack partners be eliminated; and be it further
Resolved, that grant-writing resources and other relevant expertise be made available when requested by a potential grant applicant; and be it further
Resolved, that each office of TEC which makes such annual grants shall report to each successive General Convention on its progress in the effectuation of this resolution’s purposes, specifically a report detailing a breakdown of the dollar amounts of grants awarded to congregations or organizations of color versus those awarded to majority congregations or organization shall be provided.
Explanation
The Episcopal Church annually awards nearly $10 Million in grants and scholarships from budgetary lines and from trusts that it manages. Included among these are Beloved Community Grants, Block Grants, Constable Grants, Conan Fund Grants, Educational Enterprise Grants, Evangelism Grants, Jubilee Ministry Grants, to name a few. Yet few of these awards are made to congregations or organizations that are controlled by people of color. For example, during the first round of funding for The Beloved Community Grants, while $350,000 was the total dollar amount awarded, only $24,000 was awarded to an organization controlled by people of color. This amount represents just 7.0% of the total dollar awarded.
Accordingly, pursuant to the gospel of reconciliation and commitment to have a just and humane society dictates that the TEC can do better in ensuring that all organizations begin playing on a level field.
This level field can be achieved if the availability of such grants is communicated in a timely manner and through an appropriate medium to ensure that grant availability, criteria, and timelines reach the appropriate audiences.
Additionally, to counter any implicit biases on the part of the grant reviewers, all grant reviewers shall have taken TEC’s anti-racism training.
Furthermore, grant criteria that may create hardships for congregations who are struggling financially or who lack partners be eliminated. For example, such struggling congregations may not have additional funding sources and partners. Yet, the lack of these factors may count against the scoring of their grant application.
Lastly, many struggling African American Churches do not have resources to assist them in putting together a grant application. Therefore, grant-writing resources and other relevant expertise should be made available when requested by a potential grant applicant.