Emergency Food Grants Available

 
 

NOURISH NOW:
VERNEY EMERGENCY GRANT

The Mission Endowment Fund board has acted to designate $85,000 from the remainder of the Ethel L. Verney Fund for 2025 for emergency food program grants in response to SNAP benefit cuts and financial strains created by the government shutdown.

Ministries* can apply for up to $2,500 for feeding ministries by Sunday, November 16.

APPLY FOR EMERGENCY GRANT

The Ethel L. Verney Fund is administered by the Mission Endowment Fund board and gives annual grants for “relief and support of people living in poverty” in the territory of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod. Read more about the Verney Fund here >>

*Eligible organizations must be congregations, agencies, camps, or institutions of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod.

 
 

Applications for regular annual ministry grants will be open on Monday, November 17, 2025 through Saturday, January 31, 2026.

  • The Mission Endowment Fund (MEF) grows through the unrestricted bequests and other gifts specifically given to this fund. These funds provide opportunities to initiate, help support, and grow existing ministries. The grants are to be used for: (1) outreach to the local community; (2) extraordinary ministry initiatives within the organization; or (3) Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod projects. The types of ministries that have received grants in past years include clothing, diapers, nutritious food and meal programs, Christian education events, and outreach through worship or youth programming. MEF grants typically range from $500 to $1,500.
     

  • The Ethel L. Verney Fund was established in 2014 from a $4 million bequest from Ethel L. Verney for “relief and support of people living in poverty” in the territory of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, according to the bequest’s criteria. Grants typically range from $10,000 to $40,000, although all requests for any amount will be considered. Organizations may apply for grants for up to three years in a row with consideration of the amount requested decreasing in successive years.


Applications can be found at swpasynod.org/grants. 

If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Jeff Schock, Board Chair, atmef@swpasynod.orgor 412-610-9252.

 
SWPA Synod ELCA