Application process now open for Episcopal Church Constable Fund Grants

Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs
Posted May 30, 2019

The application process is now open for the Constable Fund Grants for the 2019 grant cycle.

The Constable Fund provides grants to fund mission initiatives that were not provided for within the budget of The Episcopal Church, as approved by General Convention 2018, with a stated preference for work in the areas of religious education.  In 2018 Constable Grants ranged from $17,000 to $71,000 for a total amount of $200,000 distributed among six grant recipients.

Applications can be submitted by: (1) one of the Provinces of The Episcopal Church; (2) one of the interim bodies of General Convention; or (3) a program office of The Episcopal Church.

Specific guidelines, suggestions, application form and timetable are available in English here and in Spanish here.

For the purposes of the Constable Fund, Religious Education is defined as follows: Religious education forms Christians for active service through a process of critical reflection on the events of daily life in light of the Gospel. It is also a procedure by which we examine and reflect on how faithfully we engage in that service and in formation. By learning to see more clearly God’s living presence in the world— Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—a Christian is prepared for Christ-like, loving service to God, neighbor, and all creation. (Adapted from “Called to Teach and Learn, a catechetical guide for The Episcopal Church”.)

Deadline for applications is August 30, 2019.
Grants will be reviewed by the Executive Council’s Constable Fund Grant Review Committee, and its recommendations will be submitted for review to the Executive Council’s Joint Standing Committee for Mission Within The Episcopal Church and then to the Executive Council for action.  Recipients will be notified after the Executive Council takes final action on the grant recommendations.

For more information contact Ms. Ann Hercules, associate for Ministry Beyond The Episcopal Church and grants, ahercules@episcopalchurch.org, or Mr. George Wing, chair of the Constable Fund Grant Review Committee, winggeo@winglaw.com.

Named for Ms. Constable
The Constable Grants are named for Ms. Marie Louise Constable, who was a visionary philanthropist.   In 1935, during the Great Depression, Ms. Constable made a monetary gift to The Episcopal Church to establish the Constable Fund. Her desire and intent to add periodically to the fund during her lifetime was realized and culminated with a very generous final gift at the time of her death in 1951. The language of Ms. Constable’s will provides that the fund exists “in perpetuity … to apply the net income for the purposes of the Society, preferably for the work in religious education not provided for within the Society’s budget.”


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