Great Rivers Fellowship – Community Engagement Grants

GRF Community Engagement Grants encourage and support congregations in actively engaging with their local communities, aiming to empower their efforts to create lasting change  alongside their communities. The Fellowship believes that acts of service and compassion are powerful ways to bear witness to the love of Jesus Christ. Demonstrating Christ's teachings through practical actions is at the core of this grant opportunity and invitation.

Grant Criteria:

Each grant project awarded will aim to foster community engagement, encourage ministry innovation, and promote collaboration among diverse stakeholders.

  • Transformative Community Engagement: Proposed projects will aim to foster deep, transformative relationships between congregations and their communities. Project development will include active input from congregation staff, lay leadership, and local community members, ensuring real needs are identified by the community and heard by the congregation, as well as the identification of local community strengths. Whether focused on education, advocacy, or service, each project will aim for lasting impact, transitioning from short-term efforts to long-term change that enhances the well-being and resilience of the entire community. 

  • Collaboration with Diverse Stakeholders: Community Engagement Grant projects should actively foster meaningful connection among diverse stakeholders. We encourage congregations to partner with other GRF churches, local organizations, non-profits, and community leaders to amplify their impact.  When congregations collaborate with the community and incorporate direct input into project development, they harness shared strengths and resources. This approach ensures efforts respond more effectively to real needs while remaining inclusive and impactful. Each congregation will need to determine what is most appropriate and effective for their unique context and community.

  • Innovation and Strategic Thinking: Community Engagement Grant projects should demonstrate strategic thinking and innovative responses to community challenges. We value creative approaches that deliver fresh solutions to longstanding issues, whether by forming new partnerships, engaging the community in new ways, or supporting existing efforts through previously unexplored church involvement. Innovation means enhancing impact through meaningful collaboration, not duplicating services. These projects have the potential to forge new pathways for connection between churches and their communities.

  • Justice: Community Engagement Grant projects should actively demonstrate a commitment to justice by tackling systemic inequalities and advancing positive social change. We encourage congregations to submit projects that involve meaningful action, not just conversation, to promote racial justice and build more inclusive communities. Projects should demonstrate how congregational voices, time, and resources will help to create an environment where all people feel seen, supported, and connected.

Thanks to the generous support of Great Rivers Fellowship individuals and churches, a potential of 8 grants of up to $1,000 each will be awarded annually.

Please click on the links below for more information:

How to apply:

Complete the GRF Community Engagement Grant Application, save it in PDF form, and send it to the GRF Coordinator of Ministry, Shane McNary, via email or mail. 

Email: shane.mcnary@greatriversfellowship.org

Mailing Address:

Great Rivers Fellowship
1504 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
Little Rock, Arkansas 72202