Grants Committee

Introduction

The Committee is appointed by and responsible to the Synod Executive, who shall appoint its members

Membership 

The members of the Committee shall be:

Members:

A Chair, appointed by the Synod, who will be a member of Synod Executive

1 person nominated by the Mission and Discipleship Committee

The Transformation Director

1 person nominated by the Trust

In attendance:

Finance Manager (acting as secretary)

Trust Officer

A representative of the Area Pastoral Committee for the area of the applicant

The Property Consultant for property grants

The Trust Officer will ensure that the papers going to the committee are complete as far as possible and circulate for comments to be received prior to the meeting from Finance, Property, Trust, Area Mission Mentor, Area Pastoral Committee Chair.

Terms of reference

The committee will make final decisions on all applications under £50,000 and in the case of those over £50,000 it will make recommendations to the Synod Executive.

It would be expected that anyone wishing to challenge the recommendations of the Grants Committee on grants over £50,000, would give notice to the Chair of the Executive in advance of the Executive meeting.

Applications for Grants over £100,000 will be subject such process as the Executive shall agree from time to time.

In considering the grant applications the Grants Committee will consider:

•         How it advances the mission of the local church and the Mission Partnership;

•         The sustainability of the local church and the activity beyond the grant period;

•         The priority given to the work included in the Grant Application relative to other calls on the local church’s time and resources;

•         How it advances the overall mission and strategy of the Synod; and

•         Such other matters as it considers necessary.

For successful grants, the Grants Committee will set out its expectations for reporting and monitoring of the grant, the outcomes and outputs of the work, including sharing of learning with other churches.

For multiyear grants the release of funds for year2 and year 3 will be approved by the Committee on satisfactory progress reports. 

The Grants Committee will ensure that amount, full terms and conditions of funding are communicated to the grantee, and in respect of unsuccessful applicants will communicate that news along with a brief outline as why the application was unsuccessful.

Where grants decisions lie with the Synod Executive, the Chair of the Grants Committee will ensure that the decisions are communicated as above.

In all cases it is expected that communication with the applicants will be via the Trust Officer.

Applications and meetings cycle

The Committee will meet quarterly, and will publish the deadline for applications annually  For example:

Deadline for Applications - Committee

1st February - Early March

1st May - Early June

1st August - Early September

1st November - Early December

The Grants Committee will expect that the applicants will adhere to the timetable but may in exceptional circumstances permit applicants to amend their applications when the initial checks reveal the information is incomplete.