ELCA World Hunger announced recently that two ministries in the Grand Canyon Synod received Domestic Hunger Grants in 2022: Native American Urban Ministry in Phoenix and Grace Lutheran Church, also in Phoenix.

Grace Lutheran Church applied for a $13,479 grant in May of 2021 and was awarded $8,000 for 2022-23. This is the second Domestic Hunger Grant Grace Lutheran has received. Grant funds support Grace’s ministry to the community experiencing homelessness in its neighborhood by funding the salary of a social worker for two years. In addition, the grant award supports Grace’s ministry partners who love preparing and serving the weekly Pancake Breakfast but cannot afford to purchase the supplies needed for the breakfast; $1000 covers four Sundays’ worth of groceries.

Pastor Sarah Stadler appreciates the way that the domestic hunger grant writing process challenges her to think not just about charity and how many people Grace is serving, but also about how Grace is changing systems. “What is helpful about the process for me is the way they invite grantees to think about concrete goals for the program. It’s super helpful to have the funding for the program of course, but I also like being challenged to think about how we’re growing the ministry. Yes, we are making it possible for people to eat pancakes and sausages, but with the help of our ministry partners, we’re also helping to build community and through our Sunday morning social worker, we’re providing a social safety net for our community. The grant process helps me frame our ministry in terms of ‘What is God calling us to do?’ without money being a barrier to ministry.”

Native American Urban Ministry (NAUM) is in the third year of a three-year cycle that received $10,000 per year for a total of $30,000 from ELCA World Hunger. Pastor Mary Louise Frenchman said, “We couldn’t survive without our grants… they’re the most fantastic thing in the world!” Bonnie Beach, who wrote the grant for NAUM, echoed Pastor Mary Louise’s enthusiasm, stating, “The ELCA World Hunger Grant was the biggest grant we received; it’s a good building-block grant, and we’re definitely going to apply for it again next month.” NAUM, which is located at Grace Lutheran Church in Phoenix, used the funds to create a community garden to grow salads ~ which, during the pandemic, became home gardens ~ as well as leadership training and nutrition training. During the pandemic, the funds were also used to support their community with food boxes.

The ELCA World Hunger team also funded twelve (12) Big Dream 2022 partners in ministry. Visit ELCA.org/domestichungergrants to view the complete list of ministries working creatively and courageously in their communities. On the website also is information about the 2023 grant opportunities and how to apply. Congregations with feeding ministries should also watch for the next round of Daily Bread Matching Grants in the coming months. Visit ELCA.org/dailybread to learn more.

Application Timeline for ELCA Domestic Hunger Grands

• Registration open: March 18, 2022 – May 6, 2022

• Application open: April 11, 2022 – May 20, 2022

• Application review: June 2022 – October 2022

• Awards recommendations announced: November 2022