Funding Your Center

1. In order to fund any project, Global Mission requires that every level of church organization also provide some funding for the project. So whether you are planning a straight-forward church planting project or an Urban Center of Influence (UCI), your first funding sources will include conference/mission, union, and division funding. Gaining the approval and funding from each church level is a significant step for ensuring the cooperation and support you will need to run a successful project.
2. Once you have funding voted from each level of church organization, then you can request Global Mission funding. If you are planting a church, your local conference or mission Adventist Mission coordinator will know how to submit your application. If you are starting a UCI, then visit the application page on this site for complete instructions.
3. If there is a mission-minded church somewhere in the vicinity of your project, that will be another possible source of funding you should explore.
4. Private donations are another funding source to consider. Of course, gaining the support of private donors requires that you build relationships with them, ask them for their financial support, and then report back to them about the project. Working well with private donors is a lot of work, but it's rewarding both for the project and for the donors, if the relationships are conducted in a responsible and trustworthy manner.
5. Depending on the nature of your project, some philanthropic foundations may consider giving a grant. See the grant-writing page on this site for more information.
6. When it comes to ongoing funding for sustaining your project, the type of project will determine how this will be done. For a standard church planting project, Global Mission at each church level commits their funding each year for the length of the project. No additional fund raising must be done. For a UCI, which is an ongoing project, the committed funding will finally end and funds must be found elsewhere. In the case of an income-generating project, hopefully income will have grown to the point of being able to sustain continuing operation. In the case of a project where income is not generated by the project itself, then private donations and perhaps the ongoing support of the conference or mission will be required.