Seed Grant Program
Grants for Women of the ELCA units to help you continue health initiative work already begun
Need a financial boost to move your efforts forward in our health initiative, Raising Up Healthy Women and Girls?
The second cycle of seed grants opens September 30, with all applications due no later than December 15, 2011. Grants will be made on a rolling basis, beginning October 1. A total of $50,000 is available with a maximum grant to any one unit limited to $1,000.
The seed grant program was created to increase the capacity of the health initiative to affect the lives of women and girls. These seed grants go to congregational units who are limited by financial resources in moving forward and continuing the work they have started. This program encourages units to think big and act boldly in educating, advocating and emboldening women and girls to lead healthier lives.
Apply for a Seed grant
Applications accepted beginning:
September 30, 2011
No applications accepted after:
December 15, 2011
Final report deadline: three months after program is completed. All re-seed offerings should accompany the report.
DOWNLOAD the application.
|
Programs and projects funded by the seed grants must meet these criteria:
- 1. Bring together women in the unity and community
- 2. Meet the goals of Raising Up Healthy Women and Girls
- 3. Be replicable in other settings
Grantees are also required to plant a seed themselves, that is, make a financial contribution to the seed grant program. A final report must also be filed. Grants will be awarded on a rolling basis between October 1 and January 15, unless the total amount designated for the program—$50,000—is awarded prior to December 15. (If this occurs, it will be noted on this page.)
What have others done to plant the seed?
The activities carried out by the first seed grant recipients are unique to their own locations and needs. However, you can adapt their ideas, making them suit the needs and situations facing your congregational unit.
As you plan your next steps in the health initiative, plan to bring together women and girls of all ages, both in your congregation and your community.
The activities of the first grantees involved a health and wellness fair, a wellness seminar, mentoring and peer education, emotional health education, gardening, healthy eating education, exercise and fitness programs and health retreats. Our new resource,
Planting Seeds For A Healthy Tomorrow, tells the stories of the 17 units that received seed grants in the program’s initial granting cycle. The free resource also offers suggestions on how to use any of the ideas to create a program in your own congregation.
The women of
First Evangelical Lutheran in Mount Carroll, Ill., organized a health and wellness fair around the ELCA Wholeness Wheel to promote a balanced and healthy life. The event was open to the public and the women offered special incentives to come as mother/daughter, sister/sister, aunt/niece, godmother/godchild pairings.
At
Our Savior’s Lutheran in Rochester, Minn., the women offer a Faithfully Fit Forever program that includes enhancement of body, mind and spirit through exercise, education on a health-related topic and devotions. The program was developed by MeritCare Health Systems in Fargo, N.D.
The women of
Church of the Abiding Savior in Durham, N.C. partnered with the congregation’s campus ministry outreach program to offer Spoken Word, a form of poetry writing and reading that helps women and girls gain skills for self-expression. The project is all about helping women and girls speak out knowledgeably about their own health and spirit needs, including topics such as the HIV/AIDS and obesity pandemics and mental illness.
The Generational Garden program of
St. Stephen’s Lutheran in Chicago, Ill., uses a vegetable garden to help women and girls lead healthier lives, providing the centerpiece for discussing healthy eating habits and health concerns from diabetes to obesity to hypertension.
The women of
Good Samaritan Lutheran in Lanham, Md., created a program with three elements: a peer-to-peer event in homes, healthy eating classes open to the public and exercise classes at the church.
The women at
Martin Luther in Charleston, S.C., created Hooping for Health that uses hula hoops to burn calories, tone muscles and sculpt bodies. While becoming healthier through movement, participants also share life experiences and moments of growing in God’s grace.