BLESSING OTHERS

Outreach Grants Committee

This Outreach Grants Committee was formed many years ago as a response to the needs of the wider community beyond our parish. The Committee meets quarterly, in March, June, September, and December. Working with funds allocated from the Annual Budget and from Endowment, it evaluates requests that have been submitted and makes grants after thoughtful consideration. Petitioners must complete a formal application and are encouraged to attend the Committee meeting to present its request in person and to answer questions. In 2019, the Committee’s budget was reduced by 20% to reflect the decline in parish giving to Good Shepherd. Regardless, grants were made to the following organizations:

Metropolitan Ministries Signal Centers Center for Mindful Living A Step Ahead East Side Elementary School Girls, Inc. Lookout Mountain Conservancy Renaissance Day Camp Thankful Memorial Episcopal Church (basement renovation fund) The Community Kitchen Bridge Refugee Services Life Spring Community Health The Partnership for Families Habitat for Humanity Children’s Nutrition Program of Haiti La Paz

We were also able to provide $1,346 to MetMin as emergency funds to help relocate people who were evicted suddenly from Residents City Suites.

Many requests were not funded because the Committee believed the request did not fit well within its mission or because no parishioners were involved in the organization.

The Mission of the Committee is as follows: To seek to advance the mission of the Church of the Good Shepherd by funding ministry to others outside the parish. Using monies available from the Church’s

Basement in Thankful Memorial Church

annual budget and Outreach endowment, it will target projects and needs, both local and global, which are creative and far-reaching and are consistent with the interests of our parishioners. Grants may be made to the Youth Group for its ministries outside the parish. The Committee encourages diversity of groups or programs requesting funds and generally prefers not to fund operation costs or to fund the same organizations or programs on an on-going, multi-year basis.

Currently serving on the Committee are: Mike Slocumb (chair and vestry member); Linda Harwell; Susie McGinniss; Jim Moore; Marian Steffner; Martha Westbrook; Milly Rawlings; Jo Ann Yates; Jo Pine; Martha Elder; Vickie Berghel, and the Reverend Janice Robbins, Deacon (clergy member). The Committee submits this report with much gratitude for the generosity of Good Shepherd’s parishioners.