Grant making must reflect the global stage

Embodying mutual respect, by sharing the responsibility of grant giving and fund allocation, the new World Mission Fund Grants Committee moves toward decolonisation. The committee is a unique global leadership who decide on grant funding allocations from the World Mission Fund. This group has the knowledge and experience of the regions that they represent.

Recently the World Mission Fund Grants Committee approved fund allocation of £15,000, from the World Mission Fund, to support the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga after the volcano eruption and tsunami there earlier this year (2022). Read more about this story here.

The Methodist Way of Life commitments for Learning and Caring include that: 'We will care for ourselves and those around us' and 'We will practice hospitality and generosity'.

As Methodists, we believe in learning and caring as part of our discipleship and there are plenty of opportunities for us to support the Church whether that’s in prayer, the giving of our time or the giving of our money. The World Mission Fund (WMF) supports projects and individuals around the world and this work is only made possible by kind donations. It is the new World Mission Fund Grants Committee that is the decision-making body on the grant giving from this fund.

 We will practice hospitality and generosity

This new World Mission Fund Grants Committee is an example of what it means to share power (from a British perspective). It has changed from a former membership of mostly British people to a committee where the vast majority of members are from our global Partner Churches. By making sure that the membership of this committee is globally representative, it makes way for the decision-making to flow from a mutual encounter of discussion and prayer concerning fund allocations for our global Church Partners.

For the World Mission Fund Grants Committee, the decision-making is not not always about the money. It is also about the wider sense of connections as the committee converse and pray about the world together. It is about relationship. Our global relationship.

The newly configured World Mission Fund Grants Committee has a global membership. The committee has 11 members, with representation from the regions of Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Americas, and the Methodist Church in Britain and the Methodist Church in Ireland. The committee meets online, so with its global membership this means that when it is midnight in Fiji, its midday in Britain and 6am in Peru.

“…This is a unique and exciting departure using new ways of communicating in order to gather people together globally to make decisions about grants. It has limited negative impact on environment, whilst maintaining accountability to the WMF it is sharing the responsibility for decision making with our partners to such an extent that partners make up a majority of the membership. 9 out of 11 members of the committee are from our [global] partners…,” explains Director of Global Relationships, the Revd Conrad Hicks.

"The global representation of this small committee demonstrates that there is no 'them and us', rather it is a ‘who is my neighbour? It is about your cousin" explains Chair of the Global Relationships Committee, the Revd Jennifer Smith.

When an application is considered, it causes the committee to ask ‘what else can we do?’ Because of the global representation and decision-making, other partners outside of Britain are able to hear the stories of the applicants and consider if their region could help in another way, particularly if the grant can only go some way to alleviating the situation.

The applications alone raise awareness globally as the committee pray for applicants and reflect on how ‘we’ as Partner Churches can directly connect in partnership and fellowship with people in order to help beyond fund allocation.

Isn’t this an example for us all? To consider the needs of our neighbours, our ‘cousins’, that goes beyond what they had originally asked us. To look at the bigger picture, to work together, consult, converse and pray together. In the challenges of life, to relook at situations, reconsider our resources and remember our ‘cousins’ in our prayers.

We will care for those around us

Until about three years ago there were two sub-committees to the Connexional Grants Committee (CGC) [the CGC no longer exists], the Mission in Britain Sub-Committee [the Mission in Britain Sub-Committee no longer exists] and the Global Grants Sub-Committee (previously ‘World Church Committee’). In recent years, the Global Grants/World Church Sub-Committee had one stream. Applications were received by the stream and were either approved (or declined), or recommended to the Sub-Committee for approval or to be declined. The Global Grants Sub-Committee had a diverse but mostly British based membership. Recognising that this British based committee was making decisions on global needs led to the formation of a new committee where there is now global representation. This is the new World Mission Fund Grants Committee. 

“…I feel privileged to sit on this committee on behalf of Methodist Church Hong Kong as it has given me a window to how the global Methodist Church (including the pastors, staff and the congregants - some left behind as orphans) and seminaries have been affected by the pandemic and/or natural disasters. The Fund provides a necessary helpline in some very desperate situations and a big thank you to all the donors and the Methodist Church in Britain. The needs are plenty and the funding is limited and small in contrast to some of the amounts requested, but so essential in such times. Jehovah Jireh!...” - SweeMei Chan

 The World Mission Fund Grants Committee makes decisions on:

 · Solidary Grants

These grants are to a partner who is facing particularly difficult circumstances or an emergency situation. Although the grants may seem quite small in the global scale of things, they are a rapid response that express solidarity in partnership and can often open the door for our partners to receive other funding from around the world.

· Essential assistant grants

These are grants given to our most vulnerable Partner Churches to support them until monies for capacity-building grants are received

· Capacity building grants

To enable Partner Churches to strategically build their capacity and resources to become self-sustaining.

With funds decreasing it’s important to note that there is a projection for the World Mission Fund to reach its reserve level by August 2024; thereafter, any grant-giving will be minimal.

Support the work of the World Mission Fund. 

Find out more about the World Mission Fund. 

Give to the World Mission Fund. 

The new World Mission Fund Grants Committee coincides with the changes to fund allocation for the work in Britain, namely the Mission in Britain Fund and its relationship to the God for All strategy.

You can find out more about the people and places who have benefited from fund allocations from the World Mission Fund on the Global Relationships News webpage.: 

Remember these global stories in your prayers.

 We can’t do this without you

Your kind donations help the World Mission Fund support projects and individuals around the world. The Methodist Way of Life commitments for Learning and Caring include that: 'We will care for ourselves and those around us' and 'We will practice hospitality and generosity'.

 As Methodists, we believe in learning and caring as part of our discipleship and there are plenty of opportunities for us to support the Church whether that’s in prayer, the giving of our time or the giving of our money.