Division on Social Concerns works with congregations and individuals in supporting the social concerns efforts of congregations in ways that reach beyond the capacity of any one congregation and to identify regional areas of social concern for our congregations to consider. The Division is chaired by Rev. Lois Rosko.  The division chair and membership are listed at the bottom of this page with email addresses.

 

SEEKING A GRANT?

The Division on Social Concerns encourages any church in the Southwest Association to submit requests for help in funding social concern projects. Projects can be in your home community, the state, the nation, or the world. Small grant requests of $500 and under for locally-funded projects are welcome. We generally recommend a ceiling of $1,000 for requests. Traditionally, churches are expected to do some fund raising for their projects. The grants from Social Concerns typically make up only a part of project funding. A church can receive no more than one grant per year. Recurring grants from the same type of project in successive years may receive less consideration depending on the number of requests received. The committee would like to see its funds for the year equally divided between small ($500 or less) and large (up to $1,000) grants. There are many grants worthy of funding, however given our limited resources, the mission of Social Concerns is to fund social justice projects and not brick and mortar building projects.

Your grant requests must be received by the first week of the month before the month they are needed so that the Division on Social Concerns has time to meet and act on your requests. Your requests should be sent on church letterhead.

The Division on Social Concerns will consider direct grants from organizations that have a relationship with the United Church of Christ such as The Crossing Campus Ministry or The Wisconsin Council of Churches. Other faith-related community organizations that want to request a grant must have their request sponsored by a congregation of the Southwest Association. The Division on Social Concerns may from time to time choose to join and support such a group without having a specific grant request from them.

2021 information about grant proposals click here

 Please use this form, for pdf click here when submitting a grant request for consideration.

 

Please submit your requests via email to Susan Taylor, Administrative Assistant at the Wisconsin Conference. 

Grants for 2022

• Prison Ministry/ Restorative Justice Project (First Congregational UCC, Madison): $3000
• Community Cafe-(Barneveld UCC): $1000
• Worker Justice Wisconsin, Solidarity Fund- support for striking workers & their families (Madison Christian Community): $1000
• Helping immigration and asylum seekers find emergency housing, apply for DACA renewal and passports for children born in US in partnership with the Immigration Affairs
  Office, Dane County Department of Human Services, working closely with the Dane Sanctuary Coalition (Plymouth UCC, Madison): $2500
• Alliance @4200 (Lake Edge UCC): $2000

Grants for 2021

• Congregational UCC, Barneveld -Community Café in Barneveld, a free restaurant and food distribution program.
• Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison- assists with a snack pantry in partnership with Schenk Elementary School.
• Congregational UCC ,Whitewater community dinner.
• Lake Edge UCC, Madison; First Congregational, Janesville, and Plymouth Congregational UCC, Dodgeville – funds to upgrade their online worship service.
• Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison – used funds in collaboration with refugee resettlement programs.
• Windsor UCC – used funds in collaboration with refugee resettlement programs.
• First Congregational UCC, Madison- supported the Prison Ministry.
• Middleton UCC-funds for Worker Justice Wisconsin.
• Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison- stock their Personal Essentials Pantry.

Grants for 2019

• Memorial UCC, Fitchburg – $500 for Open Doors for Refugees, a volunteer ministry that assists with housing; provides transportation, language tutors and advocacy. Also collects furniture and household items for refugees.
• Lake Edge UCC, Madison – $1,000 for Backyard Mosaic Project
• Plymouth UCC, Madison – $1,000 to purchase personal hygiene and food items for pantry
• Salem UCC, Verona – $250 for Building Bridges: Portraits of Immigrants and Refugees (an exhibit created by the Family Diversity Projects
• 1st Congregational UCC, Janesville – $500 for Rock County Composers Lab (that will be part of the church 175th anniversary)
• Plymouth Congregational UCC, Madison – $800 for Seeds of Peace, an ecumenical association of churches that provides in between meal snacks at a nearby school, such as for diabetic students.
• 1st Congregational UCCC, Baraboo – $1,000 supporting the newly formed Baraboo Area Homeless Shelter in need of furniture, equipment and supplies.
• 1st Congregational UCC, Madison – $3,000 support for restorative justice and advocacy work of the church’s Prison Ministry Project
• Memorial UCC, Fitchburg – $1,000 support for  their work on behalf of Interfaith Worker Justice and to update their Workers’ Rights Manual
• Lake Edge UCC – $1,000 to support their Weekend Food Program
• Windsor UCC, – $200 scholarship help for a child going to Camp Awesome at Moon Beach (a camp for children on the autism spectrum)
• 1st Congregational UCC, Platteville – $1,000 to support Family Promise of Grant County for families experiencing homelessness.
• Plymouth Congregational UCC, Dodgeville – $750 to support an arts-based after school program for 1st – 3rd grade children.
• Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison – $500 for youth mission to Alamosa, Colorado working with Habitat for Humanity, the community kitchen and food bank.
• MOSES -$500 Annual membership dues

Total as of December 30, 2019 –  $13,000

Grants for 2018

• Lake Edge UCC, Madison – $700 to update the WJW website and/or create brochures
• Plymouth UCC, Madison – $700 to buy items for their Essentials Pantry
• Swiss UCC, New Glarus – $1,000 Mission Trip to El Salvador
• First Congregational UCC, Janesville – $1,000 Radical Hospitality Project.
• Community of Hope UCC, Madison – $1,000 For the Big Read Project.
• First Congregational UCC, Madison – $3,000 for Prison Ministry Project.
• Community of Hope UCC, Madison – $1,000 for Backyard Mosaic Women’s Project, for fiber piece employing spiritual care for their house, which provides meeting and art making spaces for women affected by the issues of the sex industry.
• Plymouth UCC, Madison as a supporting church of Dane Sanctuary Coalition – $1,000 to support JRUUC in remodeling their building to host undocumented immigrants seeking sanctuary.
• MOSES – $600 for annual dues
• Orchard Ridge UCC, Madison – $500.00 for youth mission trip to Greensboro Urban Ministry; Tiny Houses; and Peace Haven Farm.
• Plymouth Congregational UCC, Dodgeville – $1,000 for a community arts based after school program (continuing one discontinued by school district).
• Congregational UCC, Mineral Point – $500 for mission trip to repair & rebuild hurricane-damaged homes in Beaumont, TX. Members from Belleville, Dodgeville and  Mount Vernon will be part of the team.
• 1st Congregational UCC, Fort Atkinson – $1,000 for public and keynote speaker and workshop on school safety/emotional learning.

Total as of  November 29, 2018 – $13,000

 

Members of the Division of Social Concerns

Liberatore, Rev. Lex
Term end 2025

Martel, Ms. Carol
Term ends 2025

Taft, Rev. Jessica
Term end 2025

Warren, Ken
Term ends 2025