Fund for Unitarian Universalism
Guidelines
Grants are made to Unitarian Universalist (UU) organizations in the U.S., Mexico and Canada that:
Funding Priorities
Priority is given to innovative, challenging or experimental programs that will have wide denominational impact or that address needs unmet by the institutional structure of the denomination. We rarely make grants for projects where the impact is limited to the applicant organization. Applications for conferences or meetings must detail measurable outcomes, products or services that will result from the event.
We prefer projects with plans for income from diverse sources, including contributions from the members of the group applying. See Sample Grants.
Restrictions
Grants are not made to individuals. Generally, grants are not awarded for equipment, building renovations or improvements, capital campaigns, endowments, or feasibility studies. Grants are not made for activities that are considered to be part of the ongoing work of UU organizations or congregations.
Grant Size & Type of Funding
The maximum grant is $20,000. The average grant is $8,000. Challenge or "Matching Grants" are common, in line with our mission to encourage UU generosity. Grants are for one year. Second-year funding is possible after submitting a new proposal and a final (or interim) report. Third-year funding for the same project is unusual. We are not sustaining funders. See the complete application process.
How to Apply
Grant applications are made in our application platform, the UUFP Funding Center.
The Fund for Unitarian Universalism has 2 grant cycles, one in the spring and one in the fall.
Applications are loaded to the platform no later than early March for the Spring cycle, and early September for the Fall cycle. It simply depends on the time required to update the application for the cycle. The deadline for the Spring cycle is March 31st, and the Fall's is September 30th.
Narrative Questions
The following questions are in the application narrative. You will probably find it easiest to do the work in the UUFP Funding Center, as you can save your work and return later as often as you like until the deadline or you hit the "submit" button. Or, you can begin a draft of your application in a word processor if you prefer, and then copy and paste your answers into the platform. The drawback to using a word processor is it won't keep you within our character limits.
Grants are made to Unitarian Universalist (UU) organizations in the U.S., Mexico and Canada that:
- grow and strengthen Unitarian Universalist institutions and community life;
- nurture and celebrate our liberal religious heritage; and
- encourage a generosity of spirit among UUs that is reflected in commitments of time, money and energy.
Funding Priorities
Priority is given to innovative, challenging or experimental programs that will have wide denominational impact or that address needs unmet by the institutional structure of the denomination. We rarely make grants for projects where the impact is limited to the applicant organization. Applications for conferences or meetings must detail measurable outcomes, products or services that will result from the event.
We prefer projects with plans for income from diverse sources, including contributions from the members of the group applying. See Sample Grants.
Restrictions
Grants are not made to individuals. Generally, grants are not awarded for equipment, building renovations or improvements, capital campaigns, endowments, or feasibility studies. Grants are not made for activities that are considered to be part of the ongoing work of UU organizations or congregations.
Grant Size & Type of Funding
The maximum grant is $20,000. The average grant is $8,000. Challenge or "Matching Grants" are common, in line with our mission to encourage UU generosity. Grants are for one year. Second-year funding is possible after submitting a new proposal and a final (or interim) report. Third-year funding for the same project is unusual. We are not sustaining funders. See the complete application process.
How to Apply
Grant applications are made in our application platform, the UUFP Funding Center.
The Fund for Unitarian Universalism has 2 grant cycles, one in the spring and one in the fall.
Applications are loaded to the platform no later than early March for the Spring cycle, and early September for the Fall cycle. It simply depends on the time required to update the application for the cycle. The deadline for the Spring cycle is March 31st, and the Fall's is September 30th.
Narrative Questions
The following questions are in the application narrative. You will probably find it easiest to do the work in the UUFP Funding Center, as you can save your work and return later as often as you like until the deadline or you hit the "submit" button. Or, you can begin a draft of your application in a word processor if you prefer, and then copy and paste your answers into the platform. The drawback to using a word processor is it won't keep you within our character limits.
- Please give a fifty word summary of the project.
- Briefly describe the inception of this project.
- Describe more fully the project for which you are applying. What are the goals of the project? What are the specific outcomes you anticipate?
- Give a timeline detailing how and when you plan to meet your goals.
- Please describe your specific plans for raising income in addition to the proposed UUFP grant. How do you plan to sustain the project?
- How will this project strengthen and/or grow Unitarian Universalism, its ideas, influence, and/or its organization? Explain how Unitarian Universalism will benefit from the successful completion of this project.
- Name the individuals who will carry out the project’s plan. Please provide 2-3 sentences about each persons skills and experiences related to the project. If your program involves children or young adults, include resumes of the adults in charge and detail the quality of the adult supervision provided.
- List the key individuals, committees or organizations that have contributed to this project through money, time or other forms of support. What UUA resources/departments have been consulted about this project?
- Please describe your evaluation plan and give the criteria for evaluating the success of your project. See a Sample Evaluation Plan.