Community Resilience, Support & Justice Grants
ELCA community resilience, support and justice grants back projects and initiatives focused on service and justice work and initiatives in the U.S. and around the world.
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Support for God’s Work
God’s love calls the ELCA to accompany synods, congregations, companion churches, ecumenical partners, social ministry organizations, faith-based partners and other community organizations in their work to meet the global church mission in vulnerable communities everywhere.
Grant partnerships support the goals and priorities of ELCA World Hunger, Lutheran Disaster Response, AMMPARO, ELCA Advocacy, global mission and endowment funds for sustainable development, humanitarian assistance, advocacy, education, networking and supportive services for vulnerable communities.
All people live in God’s grace and deserve to thrive in peace and abundance. Our grants and partnerships are a powerful combination, helping communities everywhere understand, address and overcome challenges arising from wars, disasters, climate change, social injustices and historical inequities.
Domestic Grants
Grants are designed to support and extend the work that the Welcoming Congregations, sanctuary synods and immigration task forces do as part of the ELCA’s mission. Together as a church in the world, we accompany migrant families today and in the future. The application process for this year-round program is only open to synods and congregations that have joined the ELCA’s AMMPARO migrant strategy network.
Working toward a just world where all may have life and abundance, ELCA World Hunger Domestic Hunger Grants accompany congregations and their partners throughout the United States and Caribbean as they draw on the strengths of communities to address local issues such as food security, clean water, housing, job readiness, human rights, policy change, leadership development and more. For these grants, programs centered on accompaniment, justice and liberation are prioritized.
Learning about the root causes of hunger and effective responses is key to ending hunger locally and globally. Grants average between $500 and $1,000 and are nonrenewable. ELCA World Hunger Education and Networking Grants support work that educates and engages ELCA congregations, groups and/or synods; influences our church body toward better action and engagement against hunger and poverty; and encourages sustainable participation in the work of ELCA World Hunger.
Lutheran Disaster Relief Response-US (LDR-US) provides support to entities directly affiliated with LDR-US for disaster relief, recovery, risk education and/or resilience projects within the United States, giving them the needed flexibility to address the needs of impacted communities. To ensure that staff can dedicate resources to grantmaking within our defined programs, strategies and geographies, LDR-US does not accept unsolicited requests for support.
These Sustainable Development Grants accompany international companion churches and organizations, and interchurch and ecumenical partners in development work in sectors including health, water, agriculture, food security, livelihoods, education, advocacy, disaster risk reduction and preparedness, peace and reconciliation, gender justice, and work with refugees and migrants. Also known as World Hunger Grants, they are available only for implementation outside the U.S. and its territories.
For implementation only outside the U.S. and its territories by companion churches and organizations, and interchurch and ecumenical partners, these grants provide support for disaster response, preparedness, disaster risk protection and recovery initiatives. Grants are awarded for several sectors, including shelter; nonfood items; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); nutrition; protection; psychological support; peace and reconciliation; and others.
These grants specifically accompany the ELCA’s international interchurch and ecumenical partners — including the Lutheran World Federation, Lutheran World Relief, Church World Service and the World Council of Churches — in diakonia and mission work proposed in their annual funding requests. The funding covers numerous sectors, such as health, water, agriculture, food security, livelihoods, education, advocacy, disaster risk reduction and preparedness, peace and reconciliation, and gender justice.
These grants are used primarily to support core functions of companion churches and organizations, as well as interchurch and ecumenical partners in sectors including evangelism, leadership development, in-country scholarships, education, communication, interfaith and ecumenical relationships, organizational support and other church work. Formerly called “Project Grants,” this funding is for implementation outside the U.S. and its territories.
Giving to Meet the Highest Needs
ELCA World Hunger is partnering through Domestic Hunger Grants with 149 ministries across the U.S., including Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
AMMPARO works with partners around the world on projects to welcome refugees and asylum-seekers.
A $1 million Lutheran Disaster Response grant helped meet humanitarian needs and agricultural livelihood recovery in Ukraine.