January 26, 2010
Dear Friend,
I’m pleased to let you know that our highly successful “A Helping Hand for Helping Hands.” grant program will continue in 2010.
This year our goal is to continue to support you, your staff, and your volunteers as you strive to improve your agency’s ability to help individuals, families, and our community. We hope that interaction between your organization’s leaders and the members of our church will result in a better understanding of your mission and create a desire among our members to volunteer in support of your goals and objectives.
The attached information includes a description of the program and a grant application. If you need additional copies of any of these documents, please contact the church office.
We look forward to working with you in serving those in need.
Sincerely,
The Reverend Carrie Bail
Pastor
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
United Church of Christ
906 Main Street
Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267
“A Helping Hand for Helping Hands”
2010 Application for a Training Grant for
Not-for-Profit Human Service Agency
Staff, Executives, and Volunteers
Serving the Northern Berkshires
(Please print or type)
Date: __________________
Name:______________________________________________________
Agency: ___________________________________________________________
Address:____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________
Email:________________ Phone:________________ Fax:_____________________
Home Address:____________________________________________________
Email:________________ Phone_________________
What is your current title? ___________________________________________________________
Describe your current responsibilities: ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
How long have you been employed by this agency? ________________________
What program do you wish to attend and why do you feel it will enable you to improve your professional skills and your performance? ___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Will your agency provide any funds for the program you plan to attend? Yes___ No___ If yes, what level of funding is available? ________________________________________
Please indicate the total amount of the grant you are seeking from Helping Hands $__________
Please include the following with this application:
• A brochure or photocopy describing the program you wish to attend.
• A one-page copy of your résumé to help the committee understand the current level of your background and level of training.
• A letter of support from your supervisor, or in the case of agency directors, the chair of your board of directors.
• A description of your agency, its mission, the community it serves, and its sources of revenue.
• An estimate of how your grant will be spent– tuition, fees, study materials, travel, meals, and lodging. Note: Grant funds may be used for tuition and fees, lodging at no more than $100 per night, meals at $40 per day, auto travel at
35 cents per mile up to 400 miles.
• Applications for 2010 may be filed at any time beginning February 1, 2010. You will be notified of the results of this application within 30 days after it is received at the church. Tuition and fees for recipient’s training activities will be paid directly by the church. Travel and lodging expenses will be reimbursed by the church following receipt of an expense report from the recipient.
Important Notes:
• Preference will be given to applicants who plan to attend programs within a 200 mile radius of Williamstown.
• Applicants must be willing to meet with the selection committee to discuss their application if deemed necessary.
• The recipient of a grant and/or a representative of his or her agency will be expected to present an oral and written report to the congregation, discussing the agency’s mission as well as views of the outcome of the training.
Send this application to: Helping Hands Grant Program, First Congregational Church of the United Church of Christ, 906 Main Street, Williamstown, MA 01267. Attn: Sally Sussman
MISSION STATEMENT
We, the members of the First Congregational Church in Williamstown, Massachusetts, strive to be a body of Christ in which all people may worship God and relate to one another with a secure feeling that they are welcome and appreciated. We seek to create a safe, accessible haven where a person’s faith may be nurtured and developed in the sharing of diverse cultural and spiritual experiences of God. We will try, with the help of God, to lead a life of Christian love and service to God, humanity, and all creation. In offering ourselves to this sacred mission, we attempt to show the way of Christ so that the community and the world in which we live may learn “to do justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.” (Micah:6:8)
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
United Church of Christ
906 Main Street
Williamstown, Massachusetts 01267
“A Helping Hand for Helping Hands”
Training Grants for the Staff, Executives, and Trustees
of Not-for-Profit Human Service Agencies
that serve the Northern Berkshires
Church Office Contact:
Gail Burns
906 Main Street
Williamstown MA 01267
Tel: 413-458-4273
Fax: 413-458-3414
Email: Office@FirstChurchWilliamstown.org
Helping Hands Contact:
Sally Sussman
906 Main Street
Williamstown MA 01267
Tel: 413-458-4273
Fax: 413-458-3414
Email: Office@FirstChurchWilliamstown.org
SUMMARY STATEMENT
This project is intended to provide funding for not-for-profit human service agencies that serve the Northern Berkshires to upgrade their ability to “meet human needs and alleviate suffering.” In turn, it is intended to involve members of the congregation as volunteers in the activities of these agencies.
RATIONALE
The members of the First Congregational Church of Williamstown and the Church’s Board of Outreach believe that, while each human services agency in our region is unique, but many face similar challenges. Staff recruitment and retention, board recruitment and training, quality record keeping, informing the public of the agency and its mission, grant writing, developing financial support necessary for success, and insuring effective interaction with state and Federal programs, are just a few examples of these common issues. Knowledgeable and well-trained staff and volunteers are keys to confronting these challenges However, limited resources often dictate that upgrading of skills and expanding knowledge are sacrificed in order for the agency to meet other, more immediate, needs.
Many not-for-profit service organizations that focus on the human needs of the Northern Berkshire community may be unable to provide important and necessary training and skill enhancement programs, often resulting in a reduction of the agency’s ability to deliver high quality services in an efficient and timely manner.
A few examples of the many areas of training that are important include:
• Building staff skill sets that improve interaction with clients.
• Developing a better understanding of resources available from local, state, Federal, and private sources.
• Upgrading skills in fund-raising, grant-writing, planned giving, and other means of support procurement.
• Familiarizing current employees with current trends and thinking in their areas of expertise.
• Improving executive’s skills in recruitment, training and interacting with board members and other volunteers.
• Enhancing the agency’s ability to inform the public of its mission and role in the community.
• Upgrading software and Internet skills in order to handle administrative tasks more efficiently.
An outcome of providing additional training may lead to improved staff morale and retention.
Our congregation has established this initiative in order to address this problem.
PROGRAM
We will provide grants of up to $1,000 to executives, staff members and other representatives from not-for-profit human service agencies that serve Northern Berkshire County. These grants are to be used to fund additional training for the recipients.
An applicant must apply in writing on forms available from the program contact (see above) or the church office and must be willing to appear before the selection Board if deemed necessary. An applicant must have a supporting letter from her or his supervisor, or, in the case of an agency head, the chair of his or her board.
Preference will be given to applicants who plan to attend programs within a 200-mile radius of Williamstown. Grant funds may be used for tuition and fees, lodging at no more than $100 per night, meals at no more than $40 per day, and auto travel at $ .35 per mile up to 400 miles.
The Outreach Allocations Committee and the Community Cluster will be especially interested in requests that include at least partial or matching funding from the agency itself.
Interested individuals should apply at least 40 days prior to the activity she or he wishes to attend. In most cases a response to an application may be expected less than 30 days.
Applications for grants for the year 2010 will be accepted beginning February 1, 2010 and will continue to be accepted until resources for the year are committed.
OUTCOME
The recipient of a grant and/or a representative of his or her agency will be expected to present an oral and written report to the congregation, discussing the agency’s mission as well as views of the outcome of the training.
It is our intent to keep the members of the congregation informed about the recipients of these grants and the agencies they represent. We hope that this flow of information will, in turn, motivate church members to consider becoming involved with these agencies as supporters and/or volunteers.
Church World Service, an umbrella organization that is well known for its disaster relief, sends emergency hygiene kits. Our church school is planning to put some kits together to send to CWS, to replace the ones that have already gone to Haiti. If you would like to donate items for the kits, the necessary components are listed below:
To assemble a Hygiene Kit you will need:
- One hand towel measuring approximately 16″ x 28″ (no fingertip or bath towels)
- One washcloth
- One wide-tooth comb
- One nail clipper (no metal files or
emery boards)
- One bar of soap (bath size in wrapper)
- One toothbrush (in original packaging)
- Six Band-Aids®
Most of us have found our hearts turning to Haiti this week in the wake of the terrible quake there.
There are, of course, a multitude of ways to give money to help provide relief. Some we have heard about go directly through your cell phone or through a link on the website. The national UCC link (as well as the Massachusetts Conference) will send money through the One Great Hour of Sharing emergency relief program, an organization that has already sent relief toward Haiti and has been operating as an ecumenical entity for more than a half century. 100% of your donations will go to the relief effort. http://www.ucc.org/disaster/major-earthquake-strikes.html. The UCC has a strong presence in Haiti, with two missionaries – Kimberly and Patrick Bentrott. Click here to read some of their reports from the past several months.
You can also send a check made out to our church (FCC) with Haiti in the memo line, and Annie will forward the collection to OGHS. In that way, your contribution will be added to your offering statement at the end of the year.
Church World Service is an umbrella organization for these same mainline organizations that is well known for its disaster relief. You may contribute directly to them. You can connect with them here:
http://www.churchworldservice.org
In the past we have been involved with St. Joseph’s Orphanage through the Hearts with Haiti program. Some of our members have even gone there to work (Carol Stein-Payne, Jan Keep, and Jody Green are among them.) You can, of course, also direct your efforts there. http://www.heartswithhaiti.org/page16/page16.php
We are getting suggestions from many of our members of many other places with missions already on the ground who can help. I’m sure there are many worthy and effective organizations. But the above mentioned organizations are ones with whom we as a church have worked before, and they remain the church’s recommendation suggestion.
- Pastor Carrie
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
906 MAIN STREET
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA 01267
office@firstchurchwilliamstown.org
MAKEPEACE BEQUEST GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSALS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010
(Grants to be formally approved at Annual Meeting in January 2010)
General Guidelines:
A. In order to qualify for Makepeace funds, projects must aim to relieve human suffering and work for justice and peace.
B. Proposals that seek stipends for an individual shall not be funded, unless the stipend is for professional services rendered to an agency. Such a project will be limited to reimbursement of expenses. Makepeace money shall not be awarded that will result in permanent capital goods or improvements for the benefit of any church member or friend.
C. Priority will be given to providing seed money for new initiatives.
D. The church is not precluded from funding requests by an appropriate group for multi-year projects that have a definite goal and a definite completion date. However, priority will be given to short-term, well-defined projects. Normally an agency will not be guaranteed continued funding, either for operating budgets or for subsequent years of a multi-year project.
E. Granted funds unused by the end of the church’s fiscal year will revert to the church, unless there are extenuating circumstances (e.g., illness of project participant). The project organizer cannot carry funds forward to do the project in the future or to do a related project.
F. If an individual is a member of a church group (committee/task force/cluster/Council) which determines Makepeace allocations and is also a party to a Makepeace application, that person will be expected to abstain from voting on that application.
Instructions for Applicants
1.) Complete the attached application form.
2.) Attach additional material to the application form summary page (suggested length: 1-4 pages). The additional material should include specific information on the need the project addresses and the goals of the project. Is this expected to be a one-year or a multi-year project?
The committee reviewing proposals needs budget information that is as detailed as possible. Show what funds are intended for salaries (salaries cannot be paid to any Church members), what for travel, and what for supplies or other project costs. Where the Makepeace funds are providing only a portion of project costs, information should be provided for the entire project.
The relevant Church committee may, at their discretion, request more project information before deciding whether to recommend funds to the project.
3. Two copies of the full proposal are due at the Church office by Friday, October 16, 2009. Proposals will be evaluated by Church boards and grants will be formally approved at the Annual Meeting in January, 2010. Money for projects that are approved will be made available in January, 2010.
4.) Successful applicants are expected to submit at least two reports during the year in which the money is spent. An interim report is due in June 2010, and a final report is due by December 18, 2010. Money that has not been expended by December 31, 2010, will revert to the Makepeace Fund unless the Committee decides that there are extenuating circumstances, such as the illness of the project coordinator.
APPLICATION FORM FOR FUNDS FROM THE MAKEPEACE BEQUEST
Applications must be received at the Church office no later than Fri., Oct. 16, 2009, and should be addressed to: Makepeace Grants Committee, First Congregational Church, 906 Main Street, Williamstown, MA 01267.
PROJECT TITLE:______________________________________________ __
CONTACT PERSON: _____________________________________________
Name: _________________________________________________________
Title: ___________________________________________________________
Organization: ____________________________________________________
Address:________________________________________________________
E-mail: _________________________________________________________
Telephone:___________________
(Note: This individual may be requested to discuss this proposal — by telephone or in person – with members of the review committee in November or December 2009, if the committee deems it necessary.
BRIEF SUMMARY STATEMENT FOR THIS PROJECT:
(Additional narrative detail may be attached)
AMOUNT OF FUNDS REQUESTED:__________________________________
Please attach a detailed budget for the project, and use the space below to provide any budget narrative describing the status of other pending requests that are crucial to the completion of the project, and information about how the project would be impacted by a failure to raise the full amount budgeted for the project. (Note: Grants greater than $5,000 are rarely given, and that unrealistic budgets are unlikely to be funded.)
Director of Christian Education’s Report
I have enjoyed working here at First Church since I started on August 15th. I have found First Church to be a very energetic and caring church. I am surprised at how active the church school, itself, is in outreach. This fall we were very involved in the Northern Berkshire Crop Walk, from apple picking and baking bread for the walkers to participating in the walk. In November the “Tween Group” decorated pumpkins for our shut-ins and baked 24 pumpkin pies for the food bank Thanksgiving dinner and cookies in December. We overcame bad weather and the congregation attended a Mexican posada complete with tacos, a piñata, and crafts. Weather once again threatened but the children stepped up and did a wonderful job on our Christmas pageant despite the weather and the change of venue.
Thanks to your help I have recently finished an online course from Andover Newton Theological School. The topic was Today’s Children’s Ministry. In the course we discussed where the church is headed in the future and how we can meet the needs of today’s families. The trend of many families across the country today seems who to be to turn away from church. Why? Families’ time together is getting shorter and shorter. Packed schedules means there is little or no real family time as both parents work outside the home. Today’s parents are busy and stressed. Parents tend to overbook children to compensate for not having quality time to spend with them. They want to keep children occupied for a period of time so they can have down time too. They want to spend quality time as families and in their quest they tend to ignore Sunday mornings in church. We need to help parents realize they need to nourish their spirituality. Sometimes this means supplying a place parents can feel safe leaving their children because they are confidant the children are cared for. Parents need the time to regroup and rejuvenate their spirits and church can be that safe heaven. Parents realize they need to be visible in the children’s lives and be role models. Therefore when they bring children to church for help and guidance in accomplishing these goals it is the church’s responsibility to be ready. We need to ignite the flame of faith with programs that can provide the support today’s families need. Across generational church can offer the support needed by young stressed families today by offering quality programs that allow parents to take that break. Otherwise families will stay home.
The family and the church are the safest places on earth. They are the only places where a children can be absolutely sure who they are and still know they will be accepted and forgiven. This acceptance should mirror the love and acceptance God feels for them. Churches need to encourage family participation in religion and, because faith is more caught then taught, a cross-generational church should be a nurturing setting where parents and families can find the things they need to flourish and help families care for the souls of their children. While the soul of a child is a tender thing it is ready to be filled with the joys and wonders of life with God. We need be intentional about shaping their faith.
Our churches need to lend that guidance and helping hands. A church is family, friends, neighbors and new acquaintances. It is people reaching out to each other and sharing their lives together. We need to be a cross-generational church offering programs where each generation shares, honors, and respects each other, nurtures faith and gives us the feeling of belonging. The Holy Spirit spreading among us is an experiential faith. It is one of the best ways to catch faith: adults learning and sharing from children, parents learning from older generations and everyone learning through the children. Each generation brings their own unique outlooks to the circle. Open communication with legitimate listening promotes a sense of family and belonging that all churches need to survive. The youngest generation is our future; we need them just to stay alive. Their parents have specific needs and concerns just to provide for their families in today’s world and they need them met. The older generation will be the ones to help guide and advise them. There must be trust, empathy and caring between all generations for a church to flourish and prosper. Losing any one of our generations would be devastating and I fear we are in danger of losing the newest generation. Mostly, because of the turn that is being made away from the church on Sundays and into themselves and their homes, all for the need to destress. There is a quest to find an inner calm and a rest from the fast-paced lives led during the week. We need to fan those warm sparks of love and belonging. We need to keep open lines of communication and explain why we do what we do in the church to children.
First Church has meet many of the needs we discussed in class. We have a warm, friendly environment and a well-balanced curriculum with Bible lessons and plenty of out reach. We make learning fun and memorable, and appealing to everyone. We strive to teach children how to relate to others and to become good friends and strong caring adults who want to share what they know and be good citizens of the world. It may be time to rethink the time of the church school and the content of some of the family programming. It seems that the families of today are standing outside watching and wondering what to do, where to turn, and how will they fit in. We need cross-generational involvement to survive and bring in these new families. Do families need together time with “canned fun events” stress free and with no thought on their part? Do they need quality educational programs or parenting classes, event planned child care or a place for kids to come and be themselves with no pressures? Do parents need a place to come and chat with other families? What do they want? How will we fill that need? Can we give them what they want so they can become active caring involved church members? We need to inquire as to their needs and desires. This is our new mandate!
It is up to our congregation to be there to show them what faith is. Remembering that faith is caught, not taught, is the responsibility of the congregations to show the way, to bring families along and let them experience their faith as we do as adults. We need to be vigilant models of our faith.
Kathy Noble
Church School Director
