Thanks for your interest in submitting a Congregation Health and Hope Grant request to Wheat Ridge Ministries! The following guidelines are designed to help you provide the information necessary for us to consider your request. We ask that you follow the format and procedures outlined. If you have any questions, please contact our office (800.762.6748).

General Reminders

• Be sure you have read and understand the guidelines for the Health and Hope grant. Contact the Wheat Ridge office if you have any questions.
• Remember that proposal development is really a planning process. Take the time necessary to develop a realistic and achievable plan. Be sure to involve all whose leadership is necessary for the plan to succeed.
• Take care to write your request so that it accurately conveys your ideas and plans. Keep the proposal brief, concise and understandable.

Proposal Format

Your request should consist of the following items: cover sheet, letter of authorization, project description. Please type the proposal.

I. COVER SHEET (REQUIRED) - Click here to go to the Cover Sheet.  Use this cover sheet for your request. Provide all the information requested.

II. LETTER OF AUTHORIZATION - This letter, written on the congregation's letterhead, should be signed by the senior pastor and congregation president (or equivalent person). The letter should indicate awareness of the proposal, confirmation of the congregation's intent to match the funds provided through the grant and willingness to be accountable for the project's implementation and the grant dollars received.

III. CONGREGATION DESCRIPTION - Provide information regarding the congregation's history and current membership, the community in which it is located, the ministry programs of the congregation and the congregation's budget (a copy of the congregation's operating budget should be attached to the proposal).

IV. CONGREGATION HEALTH COMMITTEE - Please share the following information about the health committee in your congregation. If the committee is not yet in existence, respond to the degree you are able:

• PURPOSE - Share a purpose statement for the health committee or cabinet.
• COMPOSITION - Provide information about the number of people who serve, how they are selected, and qualifications for service.
• RELATIONSHIP TO CONGREGATION - Indicate where the health committee fits within the structure of the congregation and how it relates to the work of other boards and committees and to the staff of the congregation.
  We will ask for names and home addresses of committee/board members so Wheat Ridge can share the story of its ministry with them directly.  In order to do so, we will add their names to our donor database.  (Please notify your board members of this practice.)

V. PROJECT DESCRIPTION - Please use the following format to develop a brief and concise description of what the health committee intends to accomplish:

• PROPOSAL STATEMENT - Provide, in one or two sentences, a summary description of the request.
• NEEDS ASSESSMENT - Describe the human, societal, or organizational conditions that provide the context for the project you want to initiate. If possible, provide data to support the existence of these conditions.
• OUTCOME OBJECTIVES - State as specifically as possible what you hope to achieve through this grant. Outcome objectives answer questions such as "What will we accomplish? Who or what will change and in what ways? How many will be affected? By when will the results be evident?" Use measurable indicators as much as possible (i.e. "At the end of one year, 50 people have received food from the St. John food bank", or "by December, 2002, 100 members of the congregation have quit smoking").
• ACTION PLAN - Clearly describe the process and sequence of activities that will take place in order to achieve your objectives.
• ONGOING DEVELOPMENT - Share your long-range vision for this effort. For example, what do you hope this new ministry will look like in five years?  Who will it impact? How will it be supported?
• BUDGET - Provide an itemized summary of how the funds requested from Wheat Ridge and the matching amount provided by the congregation will be invested in this project.
• OTHER INFORMATION - Please attach to your proposal any additional information about your congregation, your community, or your plans that will help provide a context for the proposal. Endorsement letters from people who can attest to the needs being addressed and/or the capacity of the congregation to implement the new ministry described in this proposal are welcome.

Mail the proposal to:

Wheat Ridge Ministries
Attn:  Grants and Program Office
One Pierce Place - Suite 250E
Itasca, IL 60143-2634
800-762-6748
E-Mail: bev.apps@wheatridge.org