The Reflective Leadership Grant program offers lay and ordained Christian leaders up to $15,000 to step away from their current work to reflect and focus on the long view.
Leaders must simultaneously manage immediate needs and look ahead to what is coming next. In today’s rapidly changing context, leaders often spend so much time reacting that they don’t have the time or space to “get on the balcony,” stepping away from daily obligations and faithfully plan next steps.
How does your leadership style need to adapt to respond to a changing context?
Each year, up to 20 Reflective Leadership Grants will be awarded to organizations on behalf of a leader who has accomplished significant goals within their work and is ready to design the next chapter. These leaders serve in a range of roles, from project director to senior administrator, and work in a variety of organizations, including denominations, seminaries, church-related colleges, consultancies, congregations, Christian non-profits, Christian social enterprises and others.
Reflective Leadership Grants are awarded after a competitive application process open to any employee of a faith-based charitable organization, which includes denominations, seminaries, church-related colleges, consultancies, congregations, Christian non-profits, Christian social enterprises and others. We are particularly interested in supporting leaders whose work contributes to healing and hope in their communities by strengthening congregations, social services, schools and other organizations.
Successful proposals will describe the applicant’s ministry, what has been accomplished, and why this is a pivotal moment for reflection. Activities for the balcony time might look like:
Applications for 2019 Reflective Leadership Grants will be accepted May 1- Aug. 1, 2019.
The Request for Proposals and other information for submitting an application will be posted in March 2019.
Learn more about Leadership Education’s other grant programs.
Midian Leadership Project, New Hope Community Church
Charleston, WV
Identifying strategies for a multicultural and justice-oriented sports ministry in a high-trauma environment
Emmanuel Gospel Center
Boston, MA
Discerning a sustainable growth pace from leading women of color working on urban issues & racial justice
Congregate Charlottesville
Charlottesville, VA
Creating a public witness ministry for clergy toward faith-rooted justice organization and systemic change
Phillips Theological Seminary
Tulsa, OK
Exploring practices to increase the number of black women in ministerial leadership while supporting their flourishing
Mountain Sky Conference, United Methodist Church
Denver, CO
Developing visionary leadership in a new denominational conference to unite diverse groups in a shared identity
Lexington Theological Seminary
Lexington, KY
Developing new leadership capacities to move a seminary from crisis to innovation and sustainability
Indiana Annual Conference of the AME Church, Sacred Soaring South District
Indianapolis, IN
Exploring rituals and practices in the African Methodist Episcopal Church to revitalize the church and neighborhoods
The Mary Elizabeth House, Inc., A Ministry
Washington, D.C.
Discerning next steps to help teen mothers aging out of the child welfare system become spiritually centered, economically empowered change agents
First United Methodist Church
Marriott-Slaterville, UT
Imagining a financially stable, faith-based assisted living senior community in a rapidly changing context
The QC Family Tree, Inc.
Charlotte, NC
Should an intentional Christian community move with those being displaced by gentrification or reinvent its work?
Project Transformation National
Dallas, TX
Investigating sustainability models for a mission movement that has grown rapidly from regional to national
Exodus Foundation.org
Charlotte, NC
Right-sizing an economic model for a rapidly growing re-entry mentoring program and national advocacy campaign for ending mass incarceration
Urban Village Church
Chicago, IL
Exploring how church planters and cross-cultural clergy are innovatively capitalizing on contextual challenges and opportunities
Plainsong Farm & Ministry
Rockford, MI
Rooting farm-based ministry in racial justice and the rule of St. Benedict for a maturing nonprofit
Evangelical Covenant Church
Chicago, IL
Growing in executive, non-anxious and Christ-centered leadership for denominational excellence
Toledo Mennonite Church
Toledo, OH
Nurturing community partnerships and cultivating peace by turning guns into garden tools through blacksmithing
Parish Collective
Seattle, WA
Pivoting from a small founding team to a national and international staff with a focus on diversity, entrepreneurial leadership and creative funding models
Center for Public Justice
Washington, D.C.
How does an adaptive CEO open the organization to a broader community?
Boundless Impact
Greensboro, NC
Creating hubs for missional innovation to build thriving communities that are intentionally diverse, inclusive and equitable
Constance Abbey, Inc.
Memphis, TN
Revisioning a new monastic residential community toward neighborhood redevelopment with sustainable living support services for our neighbors
We know that you grapple with many difficult questions as a Christian leader. We want to help. Complex concerns about ministry can’t be fully addressed here, of course, but we provide a starting point for engaging the deep issues.
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