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What is the Chichester Diocesan Mission Fund?
The diocesan mission fund has been created to support mission initiatives within the diocese. It will support both new work and new developments of current activities that need further financial assistance. It will focus on initiatives that will deepen faith and increase commitment to worship.
Where has the money come from?
In 2003 money was made available from Church Commissioners’ funds to support parish ministry throughout the country. All dioceses received this support from the Commissioners. Then in May 2004, the diocesan synod agreed to transfer £125,000 of the 2003 surplus to a diocesan mission fund. A slightly larger figure was similarly transferred in 2005. There have been other smaller additions and donations.
- Assessment committee
An assessment committee has the responsibility for allocating grants from the mission fund. It will examine applications against specific criteria and guidelines (see section 3).
Current membership is:
The Ven Roger Combes, Archdeacon of Horsham
The Revd Martin Onions, (Eastbourne) Diocesan Finance Committee
The Revd Norman Taylor (Worthing) nominee of Chairman of House of Clergy
Mrs Ruth Dunnett (Rotherfield), nominee of Chairman of House of Laity
Mr Ian Clark, Stewardship Officer
Mrs Scilla LePla, (Midhurst) co-opted
The Revd Canon Ian Prior (Hurst) co-opted
Capt Gordon Banks, Diocesan Evangelist co-opted
Miss Francesca Del Mese, Diocesan Secretary
Mrs Anne Steele to administer and service the fund
- Overall aim of the diocesan mission fund
The overall aim of the diocesan mission fund is to help more people in Sussex develop Christian faith and commitment to worship.
Its grants will aim to support imaginative new forms of local mission or new developments of current mission.
The fund’s overall guidelines are:
• the mission development of a new church congregation in an existing or new community
• the mission development of a new ministry within an existing parish church (eg youth work, schools’ work or parent and children ministries).
• the mission development of network ministries (eg ministry among employment, leisure, recreation, or consumer networks which are not tied to a narrow geographical location).
• the support of other mission initiatives that are particularly focussed on the development of Christian community among people who are not currently part of the life of a church.
• other mission initiatives.
Project applications will need to demonstrate
• evidence of clearly defined local needs
• clear mission objectives
• aims in line with the Diocesan vision Life Together
• an explanation of the project and how it is expected to develop
• a realistic plan of action and resourcing
• a job description and person specification where relevant
• a process for monitoring progress and evaluating outcomes against the objectives
• a clear budget for both income and costs
• an assessment of the major risks in carrying out the project
• plans for the long-term viability of the project once the grant ends
• endorsement from deanery officers and Area Bishop for the application
Generally speaking:
• a project will be expected to find some of the money locally or obtain grants from other Christian and/or secular sources.
• funding will be limited to a maximum of three years in most cases.
• adapting a room or equipping it for a new work might be a welcome project, but buildings of themselves are probably outside the scope of the Fund.
• the fund aims to nurture the development of new and extended work in parallel with existing ministries, rather than provide core funding for existing ministries.
• the fund will be used for continuing ministries rather than one-off events unless they are part of a longer-term programme or there are clear follow-up strategies.
- Proposed application process - application form
Applications will be welcomed from parishes, deaneries, ecumenical groups or individuals that have an Anglican connection within Chichester Diocese.
An application will be assessed as to the level of grant needed from the limited financial resources of the fund, and will be examined against the criteria above.
Once a grant has been awarded by the assessment committee, monitoring procedures are set in motion. An initial brief report on the development of the project will need to be submitted to the assessment committee after 6 months. On completion of the project a fuller evaluation will be required, so that others may learn from their collective experience.
If an application for a grant is unsuccessful, the assessment committee will provide an explanation.
- Other matters
At this stage the committee proposes not being too restrictive or prescriptive about how the Fund can best work. Some flexibility is needed, especially in the early days of the fund. At present, the thinking is that:
• Grants for a project could range from (say) £250 up to £20,000 a year.
• Some grants will be administered as a single grant and others as a series of smaller grants.
• Areas of joint funding can be explored. The mission fund could be used to secure financial support from other sources, ie as pump priming or matched funding.
• Any future developing of the fund will be considered later. Meanwhile, gifts to the fund from churches or individuals are welcome and gratefully received.
• The criteria and application system will be reviewed in light of future experience and revised where appropriate. The committee would like to keep the application process as simple and unthreatening as possible, and the criteria flexible, to encourage new and imaginative forms of mission for today’s world.