A Message of Encouragement from the Team:

Dear Friends, we are convinced that God is still here and still at work in our Presbytery.  The purpose and mission of our team is to contribute the substantial resources of our Presbytery to support that work in your communities.  But, as important as these resources are, just as important to us are the opportunities for us to be a community of believers sharing the stories of what God is doing in our congregations, networks, and partners.  Please feel free to apply, and we can’t wait to hear from you and to hear what God is doing in and through you!  This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  

The Vision Fund Team
March 2024

The Presbytery of the Western Reserve had established The Vision Fund to focus on the following three specific areas of the Matthew 25 Initiative:

• To build congregational vitality

• To dismantle structural racism

• To eradicate systemic poverty

To enable your project or work that contributes to any of these, the Vision and Mission Task Force, working with the Vision Fund Team, invites you or your group to complete the following electronic grant application, sharing your vision, your purpose, and your contact information.  The team will review your application and, if approved, a grant will be dispersed.

Please note the suggested amount thresholds per application and number of applications allowed per year:

• Individual - $1000 per application, 1/year

• Member Church - $5000 per application, 2/year

• Presbytery Committee - $4000 per application, 3/year

• Presbytery Network - $2000 per application, 2/year

• Other Entity or Presbytery Partner - $1500 per application, 1/year

Grant applications can be accepted anytime throughout the year and are considered on a monthly basis on the third Monday of each month.  To be considered in a particular month, applications must be completed by the first of that month.  Due to the time needed to process applications, we ask that grant applications be completed no later than November 1 for funds to be dispersed in the current calendar year. 

If your project or work lies outside of the three Matthew 25 areas, please note the Presbytery can still help.  Follow this link to see the many other sources of funding available.

If you’d like to download a PDF version of this cover letter, you can do so here.

Here are the guidelines the Vision Fund Team uses to evaluate applications.