news article
Reflections on 2023 Cady Grants and new applications being accepted
February 2, 2024 / By Dr. Blenda Smith, Chair of the Cady Grant Team / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Each year, Cady Grants are awarded to projects and programs that seek to be used for the “benefit or education of minority groups, preferably black or American Indians,” as directed by Ercil Cady, the originator of the Ercil Cady Grant.
The committee is pleased to share an update on how the grants were used by the 2023 recipients:
- Church in the Wild: As this New Faith Community encourages others to discover their ministries, it has been able to provide transportation to worship which brings a diverse group out to Sky Lake Camp & Retreat Center, including people of color, that have traditionally been difficult to reach: provide free laundry nights; and help a local Black led organization take over the monthly “Buy Nothing Markets.”
- Music Educator’s Wind Ensemble: This grant enabled the commissioning of Native American composer, Dr. Charles Shadle, to write a musical piece honoring the International Wampum Exhibit at the Ganondagan State Historic Site in Victor, NY. (The exhibit displayed 300 year-old artifacts loaned from Musee de Quai Branley in Paris.) The original composition deepened understanding of the beauty and creativity of Native American cultures.
- Lori Wyman: Lori progresses toward her minister to urban congregations and their many underserved populations. She graduates in May 2024 from United Theological Seminary to live out her vision for missions at Brown Memorial UMC.
- Wind Ensemble/Day Star Contemporary Dance: The grant provided an opportunity for Native American youth, young adults, and families to attend and participate in performances of Native American classical music and contemporary dance that reflects one’s own culture.
Application forms are now available here for the Upper New York Conference Ercil Cady Grant. Cady Grants are awarded annually to a fund ministry, program, or experiences that benefits or provides education to, preferably but not exclusively, African Americans and/or Native Americans. Awards may be up to $5,000. Cady Grants are available to individual United Methodists, local churches, and District or Conference ministry teams within the Upper New York Conference. Priority shall be given to educational proposals that benefit minority groups or individuals. Applications will be accepted until March 22, 2024.
**If you do not receive an email reply from Dr. Blenda Smith at bsmith@binghamton.edu, you application was not received. Please email Blenda directly to inquire.
Submitted proposals should demonstrate the ministry, program, or experience is faith-based and the program will benefit a person/group in need. Proposals should also include: an assessment of the gifts – spiritual, financial, and organizational – of the individuals or team that will carry out the proposal, an itemized expense report, and an evaluation process to monitor progress. Priority shall be given to new grants rather than re-applications, and ones that are sustainable in the future if applicable. Grants will not finance salaries or new tech systems for churches.