United Methodist Communications offers $1 million in matching funds annually to local churches, districts and conferences to help establish an advertising presence in their community. Matching funds can be used for placing television, radio, cinema, outdoor media or a combination of these media types.

Grant applications are accepted two times a year for media placed in coordination with the national cable TV schedule:

• May 1 through June 1 for Back-to-School and Advent.
• November 1 through December 1 for Lent.

Effective Immediately

There are important changes to the application qualifications you have known in the past. Effective immediately, before your grant is paid:

• all applicant churches must be a certified welcoming congregation (or become Year One certified) [more]; and

• all applicant churches must have participated in Igniting Ministry welcoming training within the past two years or complete same training. Training is defined as the online course, attending or hosting a training event, or a self-study course using Igniting Ministry training materials, e.g. Living Our Promise: Trainer’s Toolbox. Documentation and/or proof of training is required.

• Applicant Annual Conferences must have conducted an Igniting Ministry training event within the past two years, or be scheduled to conduct same, before the grant is paid. Documentation and/or proof of training is required.

There are some important changes to the application narrative you have known/completed in the past. Effective November 1, 2008: [pdf] ... narrative guidelines (PDF)

These changes reflect the increased accountability Igniting Ministry will have to demonstrate to the denominational leadership in the 2009-2012 quadrennium. Based on eight years of results, we know that Matching Grant recipients produce better results when combining welcoming and advertising elements.

Free Media Services

Through Igniting Ministry Media Services, a local church can access the expertise of Igniting Ministry's full-service advertising agency for all their media strategies, solutions, buying and placement requests at no charge. This service is available to anyone placing any type of media -- Matching Grant and non-Matching Grant alike -- and can be handled as easy as contacting the Media Grants and Services office at 877-281-6535 or IMmediaservices@umcom.org.

If you have any questions, please contact the Media Grants and Services office at 877-281-6535 or IMmediaservices@umcom.org.

AWARD PROCESS

Grants are awarded, to the extent of available funds, based on optimum media coverage, giving the best reach and frequency throughout the United States. We encourage applicants to cluster with other churches in your media market to pool resources and make an effective buy with a single application. A list of churches, districts or conferences in your media market is available upon request.

If you have any questions, please contact the Media Grants and Services office at 877-281-6535 or IMmediaservices@umcom.org.