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Dear Applicant,

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We are so delighted to welcome you to the application process.  Our goal is to make this a co-creative, supportive experience as we explore whether our fund is a good fit for your project.  Completed applications can be emailed to: grants.usss@gmail.com​

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The fellowship model:

 

What you are applying for is new for us: instead of an ordinary grant, we are transitioning to offering a year long fellowship experience.  

 

We will begin with a January in-person gathering in Chicago with you, mentors we have recruited to work with you based on who you are and your project focus, and the USSS board.  Then each month you will meet virtually with the other grantee and your mentors, and quarterly those meetings will also include the subcommittee of the USSS board which focuses on grantee support.  These meetings are intended to build collegial relationships and community, as well as to offer you the interpersonal resourcing that is needed to promote and sustain broader denominational and community work.  Everyone gets mentors, regardless of experience; everyone gets board time, too. We want to know you, and we want you to know each other.  If we have learned nothing else in recent years, we have learned that relationships are foundational to faith formation and transformation.  

 

If you are not available to participate in regular meetings and conversation, then this is not the right program for you.  We consider this interweaving to be vital to this process.  If this sounds like an environment in which you would thrive, read on!

 

What we want:

This changes a bit every year.  This year we are particularly interested in faith formation projects that are:

• replicable across communities/congregations/organizations

• related to community outreach

• addressing current stressors in our communities and world in some way

• broader impact?

• social impact?

• UU education/faith formation

 

as you discuss your project, please share how your project addresses these interests

 

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To apply:

Our goal is to get to know you, your project, the context and your resources, and of course what your needs are.  We know a lot of grant and funding applications feel like a trap--we are committed to the opposite of that.  Think of this as a sharing of your ideas.  Tell us as completely as you can, but also know that if we find ourselves with questions and we think your project has promise, we may contact you for more information.  

 

To that end, please write to us, or make a video or audio recording (we have no preference, this is an accessibility option) that addresses the following questions:

 

about you:

• tell us who you are and why you were called to this project.  What life experiences call you to this project?

• what excites you about the project?  What lights you up?

• what concerns do you have about yourself, the project, etc?  

 

about your project:

• what is your project?  What is its origin story and how has the idea evolved to where it is now?

• what is its financial picture?  What budget or financial expectations do you have for your project?  If you don't have a formal budget that's fine, we just want to hear how you're thinking about the money or finances required

• what resources do you have for this project?  Who do you know?  What history do you have with the topic?  What are you hoping to grow into?

• what need is the project addressing?  why this project, in this moment?

• for whom is the project meant?  

• what will the end result be?  Will it be a book, or a downloadable resource, or a series of videos or a discussion guide?  How will people access it?

 

about the context:

• for whom is this project and what is your relationship to that community?

• in what context are you creating this project?  What relationships will inform you?

• how have you considered the impact of this project on marginalized communities?

• share with us the wider context, community, collective engagement of your project

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Please also include a cover sheet with this information:

1. Date of application.

2. Name of Contact person.

3. Mailing address, E-mail address and telephone number of contact person.

4. preferred form of contact

5. Project Title.

6. Fiscal agent

 

...you may not know, as we did not, what a fiscal agent is.  A fiscal agent is the entity that actually holds the money and ensures it is disbursed according to the terms of the grant.

 

If you are not associated with a congregation, you may need help to locate such an agent.  Please do not hesitate to apply if you need one; if you are selected we can help you figure out how to locate an organization to serve in that capacity.

 

For legal reasons, the USSS requires a letter from the acting fiscal agent confirming support for the project and agreement to act as fiscal agent for the project before we can disburse funds.

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