2026 Grant Making
The United Methodist Foundation of West Ohio makes grants to advance the strategic goals of the West Ohio Conference through a competitive application process. The grant program focuses on providing financial support for established programs and program expansion of local churches, ministries and organizations across West Ohio; and for scholarships.
Please contact Program Manager, Maddy DeWitt at mdewitt@wocumc.org for more information.
More information about our grants and those available from other WOC sources can be found here.
The following grants will be made in 2026:
Board-Designated Giving
✓ Bishop’s Go! Grants – UMFWO will match $3000 in grants to three churches to support their program requests.
✓ VBS Mini-Grants – VBS Mini Grants are available to local churches hosting VBS programs in their communities. A typical award is $250-$500. Grant applications are available online in February each year and grants are made in April. Applications can be found here.
✓Children, Youth and Young Adults Grants – Grants are available for transformative church and campus ministries that nurture children, youth, college-age and young adults through intergenerational Christ-centered communities. A typical award is $1000-$2500. Grant applications are available in February, and grants are made in May. More information can be found here.
✓Clergy Personal Development Grants –The UMFWO is committed to clergy development and wellness. For this reason, grants are available for individual clergy seeking renewal; and for individual clergy and Licensed Local Pastors seeking educational or personal development opportunities including coaching. Grant application information can be found here.
Grants to the Beneficiaries of Individual Endowments
- Alford-Cantlin Fellows Program at Methodist Theological School of Ohio – please see more information here
- Grace UMC (Dayton) by the Mason and Alice Jones Fund
- Henderson Settlement by the Volk Endowment
- Johnstown UMC by the Margaret M. Rutledge Memorial Endowment
- New Bloomington UMC by the Robert and Gertrude Everett Fund
- South Zanesville UMC by the Thomas/Kinnen Fund
- UMCF by the Mount Endowment Scholarship
- Worthington UMC by the Kirsch Memorial Fund
- Winchester UMC by the Kendall Family Endowment Fund
Endowment Distribution Report
Dear Grant Recipient:
In an effort to capture the stories of your church and how it benefits from the distributions received from endowments at UMFWO, we would appreciate it if you would provide a report about how funds were used prior to receiving your next grant distribution. Please use this brief form to provide some basic information. You are welcome to attach newsletters, news articles, pictures or other materials that illustrate your use of the funds. Thank you for your consideration.
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