By Joyce Landers, UTO Board Vice President

The UTO Board is asking that all potential grant applicants to be aware of changes that are coming in 2024. First, The Episcopal Church is changing its grant submission software, and UTO will be one of the first granting agencies in the church to use it. We believe this change will be a real improvement over what we use now.  However, anytime something new is implemented, there are always unexpected challenges. We cannot stress how important it will be for applicants to submit their application as early as possible and to ask for assistance. We will publish instructions with the application materials, and our staff officer, the Rev. Canon Heather Melton, will be available to help you navigate this new system up until the last few days of the granting cycle. 

Secondly, the UTO Board has made some changes to the criteria. You can access the 2024 grant focus and criteria here. In an effort to be as clear as possible, we have added new statements to the criteria each year. This has led to a very long and complicated document. We have made this document more concise. Additionally, we will be allowing some consumable items but only those things that are directly related to the project. We always recommend that you have a copy of the criteria next to you as you prepare and edit your budget. This will be even more important next year. We also highly recommend that you explain your expenses as clearly as possible to avoid any misunderstanding. 

The UTO Board will be offering webinars to provide instructions and advice, so please check the “helpful hints” page for those dates and times, which will be available in June. Applicants who attend the webinars and ask for help are almost always more successful than those who do not receive assistance. In addition to our staff officer, you can also ask your UTO coordinator and province representative to review your application. 

The UTO Board is grateful for our members and volunteers. Without your continued support, we could not continue to fund projects that spread the Kingdom of God around the world.