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2026 Annual Conference MEM Grant and RELC Grants available

March 6, 2026 / By UNY Communications / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The General Board of Global Ministries Annual Conference Multiethnic Ministries Grant and the Racial/Ethnic Local Church Grant applications are open until March 31. This year, all grant applications are online.
 
Annual Conference Multiethnic Ministries Grant ($20,000) – Up to 5 Grants Available
 
Multiethnic Ministries (MEM) grants are provided to assist annual conferences with conference-wide programs focusing on racial/ethnic leadership development and racial/ethnic church growth and development. The MEM grants provide financial resources up to $20,000 per annual conference.

Program Objectives:

1. Leadership Development

• Contextually appropriate training programs and resources for emerging racial/ethnic clergy and/or lay leaders.
• Training programs and opportunities that develop children, youth and young adults in racial/ethnic churches.

2. Church Growth and Development

• The development of racial/ethnic new church starts and congregations.
• The revitalization of existing and emerging racial/ethnic congregations.
• The development and resourcing of multicultural congregations and ministries.

Program Criteria:

• The ministry/project must focus on racial/ethnic leadership development and/or racial/ethnic church growth and development.
• The ministry/project must involve racial/ethnic conference members (clergy and/or lay) in the planning, leadership and decision-making.
• Priority will be given to new programs. Grants funded in the previous three years will not be given priority for the funding in the current year cycle.
• Maximum grant for a project is $20,000 and applications must reflect other resources supplied by the conference. Annual conferences must contribute at least 10% of the requested grant amount, and the contribution must be reflected in the income section of the budget.

Click here to apply.
 
Racial/Ethnic Local Church Block Grant ($40,000) – Up to 5 Grants Available
 
Racial/Ethnic Local Church (RELC) Block Grants support racial/ethnic churches in the U.S. by funding ministries and programs focused on leadership development and church growth and development. Eligible congregations must have at least 51% nonwhite membership. Grants are awarded to conferences, which then use the funds to strengthen local racial/ethnic ministries. Individual congregations cannot apply directly.
 
Program Objectives:

1. Leadership Development

• Contextually appropriate local church training programs and resources for emerging racial- ethnic leaders.
• Local church training programs and opportunities that develop children, youth and young adults in racial-ethnic churches.

2. Church Growth and Development

• The development of racial-ethnic new church starts and congregations.
• The revitalization of existing and emerging racial-ethnic congregations.
• The development, resourcing and multi-cultural congregations and ministries.
• One-year salary support for racial-ethnic pastors in racial-ethnic local churches and/or racial-ethnic pastoral leadership involved in the development and strengthening of racial-ethnic congregations. (This salary supplement cannot be used to meet conference minimum salary or to complete equitable compensation and salary supplement funds must include the appropriate fringe benefits.) 

Program Criteria:

No more than $10,000 can be used in a singular congregation.
The ministry/project must focus on developing and strengthening the racial-ethnic local church for witness and mission.
The ministry/project must be a program of a majority racial-ethnic local church or annual conference of the United Methodist Church in the United States.
Grant funds must be used for ministry within the local church setting.
Block grants can be used to provide smaller grant awards to local racial/ethnic churches.

Click here to apply.
 
Annual Conferences are eligible to apply for both the Annual Conference Multiethnic Ministries Grant AND the Racial/Ethnic Local Church Grant.
To learn more about additional grant opportunities to support congregations in your conference, click here.  https://umcmission.org/work/church-engagement/multiethnic-ministries.
 
For questions, please contact Executive Director of Multiethnic Ministries, Dana Lyles at dlyles@umcmission.org.