The Spring 2023 grant cycle is closed. The Fall 2023 grant cycle will open for proposals on May 1st.
Foundation News
Fall 2022
Grant Recipients
Announced!
August 22, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation, Inc. at their August 18, 2022, board meeting unanimously approved and adopted the following “Change Statement”.
THE ST. MARYS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH FOUNDATION EXISTS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN SOUTHEAST GEORGIA, THE NATION, AND THE WORLD BY INVESTING IN TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDE PROGRAMMING WHICH LEADS TOWARD TANGIBLE, MEASURABLE OUTCOMES THAT PROMOTE PERSONAL DIGNITY, PERSONAL SALVATION, AND INDIVIDUAL SELF-SUSTAINABILITY.
According to SMUMCF President & CEO Jeff Barker, “The change statement was developed as a key component of our 2021-2025 Strategic Plan and helps the board think differently in how we invest in our grant partners.” The Foundation, over the past two years, has been conducting workshops with potential and current grantee organizations to help them better understand the Foundation’s goals and priorities.
“One of the primary goals of our workshops” says Barker “is to help organizations with which we are considering for grant funding to think differently about their work. While their activities, numbers of people served, and community demographics are important, we are most interested in the change that occurs as a result of their work and how that change is measured.”
Board Chair Jim Lomis added “It doesn’t make much sense for us to ask our grant partners to “rethink” the purpose of their work without asking ourselves the same question. We believe this change statement accurately reflects the purpose of our foundation and will significantly enhance our decision-making process.”
According to Board member and Grant Committee Chair Beth Tipper, “It doesn’t replace our Mission Statement or our Vision Statement but bridges a gap between the two. In other words, our Mission Statement reveals who we are and what we do, our Change statement reveals why we do what we do, and our Vision Statement reveals the future that we hope to experience as a result of the work we do.
Additional information about the St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation is available at www.smumcfoundation.org.
Important Dates
Proposal Deadlines: Proposals must be received by December 1st for Spring Grant Cycles and June 1st for Fall Grant Cycles. Click here for eligibility information.
Application Due Dates: Proposals selected for further review will be sent applications. These applications would be due February 1st for Spring Grant Cycles and August 1st for Fall Grant Cycles.
Grant Status Report Due Dates: Applicants receiving funds are required to submit written progress reports by December 15th and June 15th of each year in a format provided by the Foundation. In addition, a final report must be provided upon completion of the project.
Our Mission
As “stewards of the manifold grace of God,”* our mission is to be a lasting, effective and compassionate charitable resource for agencies in Southeast Georgia, the nation and the world that respond to people in need, for institutions related to United Methodism, and for organizations that promote evangelical Christianity.
* 1 Peter 4:10"Change Statement"
THE ST. MARYS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH FOUNDATION EXISTS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN SOUTHEAST GEORGIA, THE NATION, AND THE WORLD BY INVESTING IN TAX-EXEMPT ORGANIZATIONS THAT PROVIDE PROGRAMMING WHICH LEADS TOWARD TANGIBLE, MEASURABLE OUTCOMES THAT PROMOTE PERSONAL DIGNITY, PERSONAL SALVATION, AND INDIVIDUAL SELF-SUSTAINABILITY.
Our Vision
St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation envisions an improved quality of life for people in southeast Georgia, the nation and the world.
Our Values
- In all that we do, we will seek to discern and to follow the Will of God as expressed through the Bible and the Discipline of the United Methodist Church.
- We consider our work to be an outgrowth of the ministry of the St. Marys United Methodist Church.
- We are guided by our Wesleyan heritage of “personal and social holiness”.*
- We will seek to conduct all of our activities with humility and responsibility.
- We will attempt to respond with thoughtfulness and compassion to people who seek assistance.
- We will seek to leverage our resources through partnerships with other private and public organizations that share our values and goals.
* “… loving God with all our hearts and soul and strength, as having first loved us, as the fountain of all the good we have received, and of all we ever hope to enjoy; and the loving of every soul which God hath made. Every [person] on earth, as our own soul…. This religion we long to see established in the world… having its seat in the heart, in the inmost soul, but ever showing itself by its fruits; continually spring forth, not only in all innocence—for love worketh no ill to our neighbor—but likewise in every kind of beneficence, spreading virtue and happiness all around.”John Wesley Sermon, “On Laying The Foundation of a New Chapel,” 1777
SMUMC Foundation
St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation, Inc. is a supporting organization to the St. Marys United Methodist Church and was established in January 2001. We are a non-profit, Christian organization, which makes grants to non-profit, tax-exempt, charitable organizations and ministries, which are exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code.
Contact Us
Our Staff
- Jeff Barker, President
- Sandy Banks, Office Manager
Mailing Address
St. Marys United Methodist Church Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 6869
St. Marys, GA 31558
Phone Number
Email Us
Hours
Monday - Friday 8:30am until 5:00pm