Summer is a time of vacations and barbecues, and for an increasing number of churches, it is time for short-term missions. Summer mission projects are booming at such a rate that statistics are impossible to capture. Various agencies estimate that between one and four million Americans go on short-term missions trips every year, many of them during the summer. Some denominations such as the Southern Baptist offer trips to help their missionaries. Other church groups will go with one of the many short-term mission ministries that have sprung up in the last 20 years. As an example, Adventures In Missions claims to have facilitated 80,000 short-term visits in the last 20 years to fourteen ministry sites in various parts of the world.

     If your church's summer mission trip hasn't been planned and financed by now, it's not too early to plan for next year. If you have your plans in place, here are a few things to put on your final pastor's checklist.

     Are your plans complete? Thoroughly check the plans you have made for anything you may have forgotten. If you think of something after you leave, it may be too late. The receiving church or mission group is often responsible for planning what your group will do when they arrive, but make sure you know what those plans are.

     Ask yourself what you would do if someone in your group has a health emergency. Know who in your group can administer First Aid, and take a First Aid kit along. All current or chronic medical conditions team members have should have been reported to you already. Someone on the team should know what medications team members may need in an emergency.  Don't assume that teenagers don't have any health conditions. Ask their parents.

     Or what about travel emergencies? These can range from vehicle breakdowns to lost luggage or even lost team members. Even if your team will not be working outside, a final check of the weather forecast for your destination is in order. If international travel is part of your plan, a final check for travel advisories from the State Department is wise. One often neglected item for international travel is travel insurance. Travel insurance can help with everything from overseas medical emergencies to restoring lost luggage. If a mission agency has made your travel plans, don't assume they have arranged travel insurance. Ask.

     Has your team been briefed? Team leaders need to have a thorough understanding of plans for the trip including emergency contact numbers, but even team members can benefit from a good briefing. Setting trip expectations and rules up front can minimize team friction and potential personality conflicts. If your trip involves a different culture, make sure packing lists are specific about modesty requirements. Don't assume team members will think of things like sun block, sports drinks (to prevent dehydration in hot tropical weather), and bug repellent. An official verification that each member has their passport ready for international travel is advisable. No country will admit someone with a passport that expires in the next 6 months, so make sure everyone checks their passports carefully for expiration date.

     Since many American electronics and rechargers aren't able to cope with overseas power supplies, participants need to know that flat hair and scruffy chins are to be expected. Some areas may not even have safe water for manual shaving unless you use drinking water. Cell phone use may need to be emergency only.

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Is Grant Writing Still Viable in THIS Economy?

By: Jeffrey J. Rodman, M.Ed., CFRE, CGS

Many Christian ministries and churches have asked themselves this question. How will this turmoil affect a funding sources giving to my ministry? Is grant writing still viable in this economy? The answer is yes, grant writing is still viable, EVEN in this economy. FULL POST

The Christian Funding Directory (CFD) offered by Here-4-You Consulting & Grant Writing is continually updated and expanded. Daily research continues and more foundations are added regularly.

In June alone we added 500 NEW Foundations

• 100 New Listings focused on Catholic Schools
  100 New Listings focused on Rescue Missions
  100 New Listings focused on Adoption & Foster Care
  200 New Listings focused on International Ministries

We now have OVER 1,200 Funding Sources listed! FULL POST

H4Y Blog: grants offer help to nonprofits struggling with recession

APPLETON, Wis. - The Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region has launched a new grant program designed to help charitable organizations deal with the added budget pressures created by the recession.

The Foundation is redirecting about $650,000 from existing grant programs to its new "Bridge Grant Program." Bridge Grants, to be awarded in fall, are designed to support a limited number of charitable organizations that had been stable going into the recession and that have good prospects of returning to fiscal health. FULL POST

Leaving your mobile phone on during a church service was once as taboo as leaving it on in a movie theater. Inevitably, a random phone would ring in church at the most inopportune time, usually during a moment of reflection or prayer. Now with the popularity of interactive text messaging on the rise, many churches are asking their congregations to not only turn those mobile phones back on, but to use them as well. With interactive text messaging services like JARBYCO and Poll Everywhere, the church can engage congregations through real-time interactive polls, question and answer sessions, or even virtual graffiti.

At Park Community Church in Chicago, IL, they are using JARBYCO in a number of unique ways. They once used an interactive poll to ask how the congregation felt about the economy and their personal finances in relation to their spiritual wellness. They also used the texting service to collect questions anonymously from the audience; individuals could text in their questions which were later answered by the pastor during the service. Using text message services instead of an open microphone allowed many more questions to be accepted and others could see the questions being asked in real-time on the side screens.

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro of New Hope Christian Fellowship, a multi-campus church in Hawaii, utilized Poll Everywhere in a church service to ask a number of probing questions to both the congregation at his church and his live television audience. As each question was displayed, the audience had the opportunity to text in their answer. The results were updated in real-time and represented as moving bar charts on a side screen. The audience remained highly engaged and the results of the polls were surprising. It provided New Hope countless opportunities to address specific issues facing the members and visitors of the church. FULL POST

Of course, this is a decision each Christian organization will need to make based on their mission, vision, calling, and leading. There is no single answer or right answer for all Christian organizations.

The decision, in my opinion, should also not be any different under the Obama administration than it was under the Bush administration.

There were a number of organizations that got into legal trouble under the Bush administration because they either had poor policies and procedures, or they did not follow the effective policies and procedures that they did have in place.

Three main factors you will want to consider before pursuing Government grants: FULL POST

Earlier this year, President Barak Obama signed an executive order amending Executive Order 13199 that created the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. As a result, the President made the following changes:

• Changed the name of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives to White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships (FBNP)
• Established a new Council of 25 faith-based and secular leaders to advise the FBNP Office and the President on a wide range of issues
• Identified the following priorities for the new office:
  • "..making community groups an integral part of our economic recovery and poverty a burden fewer have to bear when recovery is complete.
  • Be one voice among several in the administration that will look at how we support women and children, address teenage pregnancy, and reduce the need for abortion.
  • Strive to support fathers who stand by their families, which involves working to get young men off the streets and into well-paying jobs, and encouraging responsible fatherhood. Beyond American shores, this Office will work with the National Security Council to foster interfaith dialogue with leaders and scholars around the world."

The Executive Order also named Joshua DuBois as the Director for the new White House Office, with the President saying: "Joshua understands the issues at stake, knows the people involved, and will be able to bring everyone together - from both the secular and faith-based communities, from academia and politics - around our common goals."

Joshua DuBois is a 26-year-old who served as the religious outreach director on Obama's presidential campaign. Before his political work, DuBois served as an associate pastor at the Calvary Praise and Worship Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was only 18 when he took on the post. DuBois holds a master's degree in public affairs from Princeton University.

The following are links to the content on the White House Web site related to the new Office and Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. FULL POST

By: Jeffrey J. Rodman, CFRE, CGS, M.Ed.

Here-4-You Consulting & Grant Writing has made it possible to receive up to the minute comments and views on grant opportunities, grant writing skills, and funding development strategies. Read comments and ask questions about successes and failures in securing funding for Ministry efforts around the globe.

If you haven't joined yet, today is a great day to click on the Blog link and join the conversation.
When you go to our website you will see the recent blog entries listed at the top of the page.
You can click on the link there to go to a specific entry or click the H4Y Blog button on the right menu bar to go to the Blog Page and see all entries. FULL POST

We at Here-4-You Consulting & Grant Writing have often noted that 85% of a grant writers time is spent on research. Much of this research time is spent combing through 990-PF tax reporting forms submitted to the IRS by every foundation as approximately 85% of foundations do NOT have a website.

NOW, you can find foundation 990-PF filings from within the Christian Funding Directory! Every page in the Christian Funding Directory now features a 990 Finder feature at the bottom of every page. You simply copy and paste the foundation's EIN into the Foundation Finder and a new window will open with the Foundation's most recent 990 filings.

The IRS requires that every private foundation file a Form 990-PF each year. IRS returns provide detailed financial data, a complete list of grants awarded, the names of the foundation's trustees and officers, and other information on the foundation. Because online directories do not list any small grants, the Form 990-PF may be the only source where you will find complete grants lists for smaller foundations. The amount of detail provided on each grant will vary from foundation to foundation.

The 990-PF is often the ONLY place where you can find detailed information about a foundation. Information will include financial data, amount of funding awarded in a given year, amount of assets, application guidelines, names of trustees/board members/officers, and a complete list of grants awarded that year. FULL POST