BOARD OF CHRISTIAN SERVICE MISSION STATEMENT

As custodians of God’s resources with a sincere desire to promote God’s work through the church and the community, the Board of Christian Service allocates Asylum Hill Congregational Church outreach funds in ways that supplement the effectiveness and value of those gifts.

1. OBJECTIVES

The results that we hope to achieve over time are increased self-esteem and self-sufficiency among the people and institutions that we support.

By addressing the root causes of deprivation (e.g., education and leadership) we hope to create conditions under which unemployment, homeless, substance abuse and other brokenness can be addressed.

2. CRITERIA

We do not intend these criteria to automatically exclude effective programs in other areas or to exclude programs that do not have all the features listed below.

Our general guiding principles will be:

• Basic need: We will address the need for food, housing, education, and leadership development.

• Geographical area: We will focus primarily on the Asylum Hill neighborhood, with secondary focus on Hartford.
  

• Asylum Hill Congregational Church: Our focus will include programs developed by members of AHCC, or those having close ties to our church, as long as the program has goals that are compatible with the AHCC mission.

• Financial need: Will the funding truly make an impact on the program? Can and will the people running the program work with us to develop other financial sources and a volunteer base?

• Effectiveness and accountability. In order to make the best use of the resources we’re entrusted with and to obtain the best results for the people we seek to help, we will attempt to create leverage by funding programs and organizations which will: 1) use our contributions as seed money and attract additional funds from alternative sources; 2) make greater use of volunteers; and 3) assume increased responsibility for the management of projects to which we contribute.

3. IMPLEMENTATION

How The Grant Process Works

The allocation of grants from Asylum Hill Congregational Church is the responsibility of the Board of Christian Service, which begins its annual process in the summer. The chair of the Board of Christian Service sends a request for proposal letter to area agencies (the list of invitees is determined by the Board). In recent years, the funding is for a one-year period.
The letter outlines the criteria that guide the Board’s decisions (see above). The Board makes its allocations from an operating budget that the congregation has voted to approve and from several restricted funds designated purposes.

Those restricted funds include:

• The Faith Collins Fund designated for the “the gentle women of Hartford…”
• The Buchanan Fund designated for foreign missions
• The Luna Leach Fund earmarked for social services in Greater Hartford

Additionally, a portion of the Christmas/Easter open plate offering is given to the Board for benevolence purposes.

The grant applications are due by mid-September, and the Board of Christian Service then begins the review process. Board members study agency requests, budgets and audit information provided by the agency. They review includes an agency to determine how well it is run and to get a better idea of the program.

The twelve-member board and a church staff liaison convene in November for a preliminary round of recommendations. If the recommended allocations exceed the budget, Board members review their decisions and adjust the allocations. After the full board reaches consensus, it submits individual grants of exceeding $10,000 to the Board of Deacons for approval, as required by church policy. In January, notifications are sent to each agency. The gifts are distribute in the months of March, June and October, with larger grants being distributed in installments.