NBA Announces Fall 2021 Mission & Ministry Grantees

The National Benevolent Association is proud to announce its Fall 2021 Mission & Ministry Grantees. NBA’s Mission & Ministry Grants program granted a total of $185,500 to 35 Disciples projects and ministries working with older adults, children, and youth.

Launched in 2017, the Mission & Ministry Grants program has made purpose-restricted funds available for Disciples congregations and health and social service ministries for half a decade. This year, the NBA Grants Committee met virtually to evaluate and accept applications; grant funds have now been distributed to selected projects.

“I am extremely excited to be a part of an organization that recognizes the unique contributions of ministries that serve as the hands and feet of Yeshua in urban, suburban, and rural communities,” says NBA Board of Trustees Chair and Grant Committee member Rev. Orlando Scott. “One of the ministry programs that excite me this year is the Global Arts and Theology Experience. As a girl dad and an artist, The Black Girl Magic Academy encourages me. Their goal of empowering young women theologically and socially to understand themselves, gives me hope that we are developing leaders that will guide us in the 21st century.”

This year’s grantees are located across 16 Disciples regions. Of the 35 selected projects, 16 are focused on at-risk children and youth; 11 are focused on older adults; and eight are intergenerational, serving both communities. NBA is also proud that three organizations that were part of our inaugural Social Entrepreneurship Cohort received grants. The grants team was also able to grant funds to 10 organizations and congregations that previously received COVID-19 NBA Response Grants.

As the NBA deepens its internal equity work, we are also focused on being more inclusive and representative of the diverse Disciples congregations and organizations in the denomination. We recognize that in communities of color, systemic needs are often greater. This year, more than half of our grants went to projects that will benefit Black, Asian, and Hispanic communities. The projects are working to provide care in diverse, ethnic communities, including places where English is not the first language.

“As the NBA actively and intentionally lives into the values of belonging, equity, inclusion, and diversity we understand that part of the work is to interrogate our internal processes and systems to align our work and our values. With the Mission and Ministry grants this means examining everything from the application process to the communication process, to the review and evaluation process,” says Executive Vice President and Grants Committee member Rev. Rebecca Hale. “It also means understanding inherent equity issues in what it means to be a funder because it is possible to end up serving the problems of inequity instead of helping to make real change.”

See the full list of grantees below and stay tuned for stories from some of the grantees throughout 2022.