CONVOCATION REFUGEE GRANT PROGRAM (CRGP)

Grant Guidelines for 2024-2025

 

Thematic Focus

The 2024 and 2025 Convocation Refugee Grant Program (CRGP) will focus on migration and integration by fostering self-sufficiency, integration and well-being for refugees and asylum seekers.

Geographic Focus 

Continental Europe

Purpose of the Grant

Grants are intended to support new initiatives for responding to the needs of refugees in the areas served by congregations, or to strengthen existing programs with clear possibilities for growth.

An expectation of the CRGP review committee is that the program in view will not only improve the lives of refugees but in some way change the lives of participating congregations, making them more aware, more responsive, and more engaged with the needs of the most vulnerable.

Eligible Applicants

This program of grant support is open to all Anglican congregations in Europe. This includes congregations of:

• The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe
• The Diocese in Europe of the Church of England
• The Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church (IERE)
• The Lusitanian Catholic Apostolic Evangelical Church
• Congregations of the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht
  • Old Catholic Church of the Netherlands (OKKN)
  • Catholic Diocese of the Old Catholics in Germany
  • Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland
  • Old Catholic Church of Austria
  • Old Catholic Church of the Czech Republic
  • Polish Catholic Church in Poland
  • Old Catholic Church of Croatia
  • Mission Vieille Catholique Francophone
  • Old Catholic Delegation of the Utrecht Union in Slovakia

Grants will not be made to individuals or to parachurch organizations. 

Grants will not be awarded to support operational costs of congregations.

Terms

• Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, from September of 2024 through September of 2025.
• Applications may request for grant support of up to 15.000 EUR per year, renewable for a second year. Exceptional circumstances may justify a higher request. 
• Congregations of the Convocation must have submitted the previous year’s Parochial Report to be considered eligible.
• Congregations awarded grants will be expected to: 
  • complete detailed interim reports on project performance and finances on a regular basis during the year.
  • complete a detailed final report on performance, finances, and achievements at the conclusion of the project.
  • designate at least one representative to take part in an occasional Community of Practice Webinar provided by Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) and the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe (CECE). 
• Acceptance of a grant constitutes a commitment to reporting and participation in the Community of Practice program.

 

Prepare to Apply

Application Drafting

To assist in filling the online application form, we have created a template for drafting your application, found on the Convocation website here. 

Template for Creating Application Draft

Budget Documentation

The template required for the budget document submission is found on the Convocation website here. 

Template for Itemized Budget

Budget TEmplate Instructions:

• tailor this budget as needed (i.e. add or remove budget lines and sections as needed)
• the currency indicated in the budget must be listed in Euros.
• all text marked between asterisks -- *text* -- indicates what should be input in this space. All asterisks must be removed before submission.
• please make sure that your Budget aligns with the funding period as indicated in the project application

Budget FORMATTING AND SUBMISSION

• delete empty budget lines and sections before submission.
• format cells to remove unnecessary spacing.
• make sure all formulas are correct!! If you delete or add lines/sections, be sure that the formulas are including these.
• delete the 'GENERAL/ FORMATTING AND SUBMISSION' table before converting to PDF!
• SAVE AS PDF  -- make sure no text is cut off and that the file is only one page wide.
• Name this PDF "Congregation_ProjectTitle_Budget", whereby "Congregation" is the name of your congregation, "ProjectTitle" is the name of your Project/Initiative and "Budget" indicates that it is the Finance Plan referring to your project Proposal.
• Upload the PDF in your Application Form

Asset Mapping [optional, recommended]

The template  for submitting the optional Asset Mapping Worksheet is found on the Convocation website here.

Template for Asset Mapping Worksheet

Bishop's Letter of Support (All Non-CECE Anglican Congregations)

The template suggested for submitting the Bishop’s Letter of Support, which is required for congregations which are not members of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, is found on the Convocation website here.

Template for Bishop's letter of support

Please note that the file must be uploaded at the same time and in the same online form as your application; your congregation's Bishop should return this signed document directly to the applicant for submission. 

 

HOW TO APPLY

Applicants are required to complete their application form online via the link provided. 

Official Application Form

Every successful application must include:

• A completed version of the application form (online form)
• A budget with project costs (uploaded as PDF)

For congregations which are not part of the Convocation:

• A letter of support from the bishop with responsibility for the congregation is also required (uploaded as PDF)

Optional and Recommended: applicants may also upload:

• A completed Asset Mapping Worksheet, from the template provided (uploaded as PDF)
• Letters of support from other partners in the project (uploaded as PDFs)

  

general guidance on Grant Application Submissions

Acceptable languages for applications

All application materials should be written in English.

 

Period available for applying

First year applications can be submitted at any time between 21 November 2023 and 31 December 2025. Second year application process will be communicated to grantees directly from the Review Committee and/or the Chief Welcoming Officer.

 

Recommendation to make a “rough draft” before using the online form

Applicants are required to provide several types of data on the online form, and will be required to use the internet continuously for an extended period in order to input data.
Therefore, for the sake of efficiency, we recommend applicants create a local or cloud-shared draft document to collect all referenced details requested by the official application form prior to entering their data in the online form.

To assist in filling the online application form, we have created a template for drafting your application, found on the Convocation website here:

Template for Creating Application Draft

Please note: only submissions made via the official online form will be considered by the review committee:

Official Application Form

 

After submitting the application 

After all application processes of the online form have been successfully completed, a notice of confirmation “Your form has been submitted” appears on the screen, along with the responses submitted. It is recommended to save that post-submission webpage as a PDF, for the applicant's records.

 

Application Process

Procedures, from applying to implementation/reporting, are as follows:

Selection

When received, applications will be examined and evaluated by the CRGP Review Committee, whose members are listed below:

Voting members

1. The Rt. Rev. Mark Edington, Bishop-in-Charge of the Convocation, Paris, France
2. Ms. Lois Loban Stuckenbruck, Current President of CECE Council of Advice, Munich, Germany
3. Ms. Giulia Bonoldi, CECE Chief Welcoming Officer for Refugees and Migrants, Rome, Italy
4. Mr. Stefan Frank, Anglican/Episcopal Church of St. Augustine of Canterbury, Wiesbaden, Germany
5. Mr. Max Niedzwiecki, Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Paris, France

Advising members

1. Canon Sophie Plé, Financial Administrator of the Convocation, Paris, France
2. Mr. Denis Le Moullac, Treasurer of the Convocation, Strasbourg, France
3. Ms. Rabab Khedair, Christ Church, Clermont-Ferrand, France

Review

The CRGP review committee may make requests for clarification or amendments to the proposal within five weeks of the date the application is submitted.  All communication with the applicant will occur via email.

Announcement of Result

The CRGP review committee will provide a determination to all applicants by email within five weeks of the receipt of an initial proposal.

Reporting Requirements

Interim reports are designed to inform the Convocation on the general progress of the project. 

Grantees are asked to submit regular interim reports during each yearly funding cycle, beginning these reports immediately after the start of the project and continuing to submit each quarter until its conclusion. Each submission date is listed below.

The online form for interim reports will be found here:

Interim Report FORM

Final reports are designed to enable the Convocation to learn more about the grantees’ context and strategy and for grantees to reflect on their work more in-depth.

The online form for final reports is found here:

Final Report form

Interim and final reports will consist of a narrative and financial statement and, where possible, they should be accompanied by photographic material illustrating the project.

 

DEADLINES FOR SUBMITTING INTERIM AND FINAL REPORTS

Applicants are encouraged to begin by selecting project start and end dates which correspond to the best delivery of aid in the local community. 

Grantees are asked to submit quarterly reports during the funding period. We will be working with a so-called grace period. The grace period to complete the progress and/or final reports is of about two weeks after the deadline for reporting. This means that your report is due on the deadline, but should be submitted within the last day of the grace period. We encourage you to find the right time for your project report before the end of the grace period, but to submit the report as soon you are ready.

No matter when the start of the project is, the grace periods are as follows: 

First quarter 2024:

• Deadline for submission March 15th, 2024.
• Grace period open until March 31st 2024.

Second quarter 2024:

• Deadline for submission June 15th, 2024.
• Grace period open until June 30th 2024.

Third quarter 2024:

• Deadline for submission September 15th, 2024.
• Grace period open until September 30th 2024.

Fourth quarter 2024:

• Deadline for submission December 15th, 2024.
• Grace period open until December 31st 2024.

If activities begin less than 30 days before any of the deadlines specified here, the grantee can slip to the next scheduled date for sending in an interim or the final report. 

The report template is found here, to be submitted by email attachment to welcomegrant@tec-europe.org:

TEMPLATE FOR QUARTERLY REPORT

Please reach out to us if you have any doubts or concerns. Thank you.

Online Materials Packet

All the material and the online forms which are needed to submit a project proposal or a report, are on the Convocation website and can be accessed through the links below.

Application Template:		Budget Template (to upload):		Asset Mapping Template (to upload):		Bishop's Letter Template (to upload):
Draft Application		Complete Budget		Inventory Assets		Secure Support
Official Application Form:		Grant Guidelines (current page):		Grant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):		Grant Implementation & Reporting:
Submit Application		Understand Process		Get Help		File Reports (COMING SOON)