The Anglican Foundation of Canada’s (AFC) grants program will look substantially different in 2023 thanks to some important changes approved by the AFC Board of Directors in 2022. Effective January 1, 2023, AFC moved from a semi-annual grant cycle to a quarterly one, with application windows open on January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1 each year. According to Dr. Scott Brubacher, AFC’s Executive Director, “This rolling entry to the grants program will give potential applicants increased accessibility and flexibility, which is intended to result in timelier decisions.”
The Board also approved the introduction of Category A grants of up to $5,000 with no matching local funds required. “These category A grants were introduced for AFC’s 2021 Say Yes! to Kids Request for Proposal and proved very effective,” explains Rob Dickson, Chair, Grants Policy Working Group. “That experience demonstrated how the infusion of a few thousand dollars can have an enormously positive impact on ministry.”
The long-established traditional AFC grants—up to $15,000 and no more than 50% of the project budget—will become the new Category B grant.
Lastly, the Board approved the introduction of Category C grants of up to $50,000. “This new third category will allow the Board greater discretion in approving larger grants where the impact will be most beneficial,” explains Brubacher. “It will also allow AFC to be a more flexible funding partner in dioceses where a cornerstone project needs a major boost.”
Rob Dickson says the new and much larger Category C grants have the potential to be a game-changer for smaller dioceses. “The opportunity to submit a $50,000 grant request is well-suited to a diocese that may have the capacity to bring only one project per year, but a transformational project the entire diocese can rally around.”
Dickson says the Category C grant will be the one application a diocese is allowed to submit in a calendar year. In terms of the matching funding requirement for such a project, that will be left to the discretion of the AFC Board. Dioceses will need to articulate a strong case for merit, and the Board will have to evaluate these applications very carefully.
The Board also approved removing the requirement that grant applicants be current members of AFC. Dickson says, “It is more consistent with our value of generosity to invite applicants to donate out of a spirit of generosity to ‘pay it forward’.”
These changes mark the conclusion of AFC’s Grants Policy Working Group’s year-long review. “The Foundation’s role in resourcing a change-minded church in the wake of a global pandemic is only beginning to be defined,” says Brubacher. “We hope our members and friends across the Canadian church will see in these changes to our grant program a deep and genuine desire to resource the church as faithfully and abundantly as possible, so that we may drive change, together, with hope, courage, and vision.”