Grants, Scholarships, Financial Aid and Counseling

On this page, you can find information on grants, financial assistance and scholarships that are available through a variety of organizations. Go to your state for more information.

Open to All ~ Connecticut ~ Massachusetts ~ Rhode Island

Go to this page for information on available counseling for authorized ministers.

Open to All

Faith in Our Future Together Recoverable Grant Program (SNEUCC)

The vision for the Faith In Our Future Together recoverable grant program is to help selected local churches respond effectively to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing that the disruptions may be magnified by systemic racism in congregations of Black people, indigenous people and other people of color.

Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Programs
Grants provide an opportunity for pastors to step away briefly from the persistent obligations of daily parish life and to engage in a period of renewal and reflection.

The Louisville Institute Grant Programs
Four grant programs support religious and theological scholarship among three strategic constituencies: pastors, academics, and researchers for the broader church.

Connecticut

The Fund for Ministers (TFM)
The Fund for Ministers provides support for clergy retired from service in Connecticut by taking some of the burden off of health insurance costs for those with the most need. TFM also provides emergency aid when authorized ministers find themselves in financial distress. TFM is the result of a number of generous gifts and bequests over many years. For more information, reach out to Program Support Associate Jill Ford.

Clergy Enrichment Grants

This fund awards small grants to authorized clergy with standing in one of the 15 CT Associations, for the purposes of continuing education, professional enrichment, spiritual refreshment, self-care, and related activities. The particular focus of this grant fund is to provide financial assistance to individuals serving in situations where continuing education dollars may be limited or where other factors hinder the clergy from being able to participate in professional enrichment activities. For more information, reach out to Program Support Associate Jill Ford.

Cynthia Wheeler CARR Scholarship
 This sacred music scholarship is designed to aid a person of any age intending to further her/his skills in some aspect of sacred music at institutions of higher education. The CARR Scholarship application can be downloaded here. Application deadline for the 2022-23 academic year is August 19, 2022. Questions about this program should be directed to Jill Ford, Program Support Associate.

Historic African American Church Student Scholarship
 This scholarship is for members of the 6 Historic African American UCC churches in the historic Connecticut Conference:  Amistad UCC, Liberty Christian Center International, Miracle Temple Church of God in Christ of Norwalk, Warburton Community Congregational Church UCC, Faith Congregational Church, or Dixwell Avenue United Church of Christ.  Members from these 6 churches, who have graduated from an accredited Connecticut high school and will be attending, or planning to attend in 2022, an accredited college (4 yr. or 2 yr.), are encouraged to apply.
The application for the 2022-23 academic year can be here.   The scholarship application deadline is August 19, 2022. Questions about this program should be directed to Jill Ford, Program Support Associate.

Member In Discernment Scholarship
This scholarship is for Members in Discernment of an historic Connecticut Conference Association who are, or will be, attending an accredited college or seminary, who are on a multiple path to ordination (e.g. schools of ministry), or who are or will be enrolled in an accredited CPE program. The MID Scholarship application can be downloaded here. Application deadline for the 2022-23 academic year is August 19, 2022. Questions about this program should be directed to Jill Ford, Program Support Associate.

Massachusetts

Board of Ministerial Aid
The Board of Ministerial Aid, founded in 1869, provides confidential financial assistance and counseling both to clergy and their families who serve, or have served in the historic Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ and other churches of the "congregational way".

Massachusetts Congregational Charitable Society
Founded in 1786, the Massachusetts Congregational Charitable Society provides financial support to families of persons who have served as Unitarian Universalist and United Church of Christ ministers in Massachusetts and Maine.

Rhode Island

RI Ministerial Assistance Fund
This modest endowment generates funds which may be used to assist with emergency financial needs of authorized ministers holding standing in the historic Rhode Island Conference and their surviving dependents. Such needs shall include, but not be limited to, medical needs, including treatment for emotional and mental distress, medical insurance premiums, housing needs, transportation needs, and funeral expenses.

Requests for assistance for ministers and their families should be addressed to Rev. Patty Kogut. All requests are held in strict confidence. Rev. Charles Simonson is President of the Trustees of the Fund.