Start with the work. Then find the funding.

Not every funding route is a cash grant

Keep each route separate in your budget. Don't add unlike benefits into one expected total.

• Cash grants. What project costs could the award cover? Who can apply? Is the entry point an application, a letter of inquiry or an invitation? What approval comes before spending?
• Donor-directed gifts. Who recommends the gift, who approves it, and which recipient and purpose should be named? A giving portal or donor-advised channel isn't an open grant competition.
• Reimbursements. What costs or services trigger a claim, what records support it, and who carries the cost until payment? Keep approval, spending, claim and cash received separate.
• Noncash support. For donated goods, services, credits or discounts: what can you actually use, and what staff time or ongoing cost remains? Retail value isn't spendable cash.
• Loans. What are the repayment terms, approvals and restrictions, and which operating budget carries the obligation? Keep borrowing apart from grants and gifts.
• Contracts. Who buys the service, who delivers it, what does the agreement require and when is payment due? A delivery partnership isn't automatically a grant to the congregation.

Questions to answer before you draft

For each one, record confirmed, unknown, mismatch or not applicable, with the source and a next step. Unknown isn't failure: a record missing from a public website may exist internally.

• Applicant and authority. Who exactly is the applicant and the payment recipient: congregation, school, local affiliate, mission agency or partner? Who may approve and sign? Which identity, history and organizational documents does this route ask for?
• Location and people served. Where will the work happen, and who can use it? Check the actual site and service area against the funder's geography, not a mailing address or network footprint.
• Project and costs. Is the activity running now, or an explicit pilot? What precise costs are you asking for? Separate worship, education, community service and shared facility costs, and name any cost another source has paid or promised.
• Access route and current cycle. Is there an open application, an open inquiry followed by invitation, a renewal conversation, a donor recommendation or a partner-led process? What current official evidence supports that? A past award or a thematic fit doesn't establish access.

Describe your ministry honestly.

Describe the ministry and the funded activity plainly, including any conditions for taking part. Check organizational exclusions as well as project rules. Don't disguise religious activity, invent a community program, or create an entity just to get around a church exclusion. A real partner needs its own eligibility review and a real delivery role.

Why screening matters

• Applicant. Chatlos says it isn't receptive to requests supporting individual church congregations and associated ministries. A Christian mission focus alone isn't enough. Read Chatlos applicant guidance (opens in new tab)
• Provider. USAC describes school- and library-specific eligibility for E-Rate. For a church-run school, check the school criteria rather than assuming the congregation qualifies. Read USAC eligibility guidance (opens in new tab)
• Project. The National Fund for Sacred Places focuses on restoring and preserving historic houses of worship. A preservation case is different from a general expansion request. Read the National Trust's program overview (opens in new tab)

We checked these three official sources on October 17, 2026. That isn't a recheck of every listing, a full policy summary or a ruling on your project. Read the linked source before you act.

Where you land

• Ready to screen. The applicant, project and cost basis are clear enough to compare with current official criteria. This isn't permission to apply or a promise of eligibility.
• Clarify. A key fact is unknown or conflicting. Give each question an owner and a source to check before you draft.
• Hold. A confirmed mismatch, a closed route or an unresolved feasibility problem makes drafting premature. Record why, and what evidence would let you revisit.

A preparation path for your project

Linked directories are places to browse, not screened matches.

• Congregation and community service. Describe what already happens: one service, who can take part, its schedule, referral partners and an uncovered cost. Separate ordinary operations from a proposed expansion. What could continue after funding ends? Browse small-church grants →
• School and childcare. Check the provider, not just the church. List the school or childcare role, site, actual capacity and existing support. Note which approvals or agreements each route asks for. Keep tuition, meals, equipment and services separate, and don't assume one approval covers another program. Browse technology and training grants →
• Security. Start with the specific site. Assemble site control, a documented risk case, a scoped improvement and quotes. Ask about the right submission route, spending approvals and payment timing. Keep detailed security assessments private. Browse building and repair grants →
• Historic property. Separate restoration from expansion. Gather property responsibility, condition evidence, significance or designation records and a repair scope. Ask what preservation evidence, public use or matching support the route expects. A building's age alone doesn't decide eligibility. Browse building and repair grants →
• Missions. Name the applicant and the outcome. Tell a local congregation apart from a sending organization or an independent mission agency. Describe the actual work and the access route. Keep training attendance, completed referrals and confirmed sending outcomes separate. Browse all grants →
• Partner-led work. Follow the agreement. Who is the applicant, payer, service provider and reporting owner? Write down each role, payment trigger and permission to name the partner. Keep hosting or referrals apart from qualified care and contracted delivery. Build the shared evidence packet →

Build one evidence packet and reuse it

What goes in it

• Applicant identity, the authorized approver and relevant site responsibility.
• A short description of the real service, or a clearly labeled proposal.
• A finance-approved cost basis, quotes, existing support and the remaining gap.
• Aggregate activity records, the reporting period and definitions.
• Partner roles, permission to name them and delivery responsibilities.
• A claim register: source, date, reviewer, permitted use and open questions.

Reuse approved material instead of rebuilding it for each pursuit. Refresh facts that change, and add only the documents a route asks for. Keep donor, student, patient and detailed security records out of public briefs.

Can the project carry the cost?

• Which costs are backed by quantities, unit costs or quotes?
• What is cash in hand, a pledge, a restricted balance or an unconfirmed request?
• Is any cost already assigned to another payer?
• What match, advance spending or payment delay needs clarifying?
• Who approves spending and tracks claims, payment and restrictions?
• What staffing, maintenance and ongoing costs remain afterward?

Don't size a request from a published maximum, and don't treat released staff time as cash savings.

Count participants, visits and outcomes separately.

Participants are distinct people served in a stated period. Visits are service encounters, including repeat attendance. Outcomes are a defined change, measured with an appropriate method. Avoid double-counting across programs, and label actuals, estimates and future targets. Attendance alone doesn't show a change in health, skills or employment.

Three kinds of date

• Published deadline. Record the official source, the cycle, the application stage, the exact deadline and time zone, and when you checked. Confirm whose deadline it is and whether an earlier step applies.
• Future-cycle watch. If a new cycle hasn't been announced, label it not confirmed. An old date or an expected season is a reminder to check again, not an open window.
• Your ready-by date. Set your own target for quotes, approvals and review. Keep it apart from the provider's deadline, decision date and payment date. Leave unknown dates unknown.

Download the project brief

One page to complete offline with your team: applicant, service, cost, evidence, timing and the next screening decision. It collects no personal data, and there is no online form, upload or account. Keep sensitive records in your own approved storage.

Download blank project brief · TXTTake your shortlist to the planner →

The brief and the planner organize your work. Neither confirms eligibility or promises an award.