St. Peter's Episcopal Church

In order to be faithful stewards of St. Peter's resources and to use those limited resources in the service of the poor and oppressed members of society, the Outreach Commission has accepted several priorities to guide our grant making efforts. First, we accepted the principle of the Strategic Plan that no less than half of our grant making resources should be directed to local efforts. We understand "local" to represent the general diocesan area of Newark, with an emphasis on the Morristown area. Second, with these resources we will target primarily organizations and programs that serve the "least and the lost" of our community: the poor, hungry, homeless, marginalized, and oppressed.

We will consider grant applications from external sources, but will encourage and consider applications generated within St. Peter's, with an ultimate goal of expending at least half of our resources on internally-sponsored programs that present opportunity for commitment and engagement of congregants. We will consider both start-up grants for new or expanded programs and operational or continuing funding for existing programs, including salaries, equipment, and "bricks and mortar." We will nurture a bias for programs intended to effect systemic change in root causes of societal ills, such as racism and economic injustice.

Lastly, we begin with a grant making preference toward efforts and programs that offer opportunities for hands-on involvement for our congregants; we will be intentional in regards to favoring efforts and programs that carry the potential to spiritually transform us as a congregation.