​Grant Funds Storytelling & New 501c3

In July, Trinity was awarded a $15,000 Resource Grant from the Center for Congregations. This grant program provides funding to allow congregations to pay for resources to increase their capacity to accomplish a new goal, furthering our mission and values. 

Our grant has enabled us to hire Morris DuBose and Ruth Smith for a second year. Morris will be establishing storytelling as a model for evangelism and discipleship within the congregation as we have modeled throughout Sunday worship in August and between the congregation and community as we have seen in Unfinished: An Open Mic Storytelling Experience this summer. He will work with Trinity Fusion, and other upcoming storytelling initiatives.

Ruth will help Trinity develop financial sustainability. Ruth will transition from building community partnerships (her focus in the Ready Set Grow grant year) to developing financial sustainability. She has started working with a team from Trinity to develop a new 501c3 that will manage the preservation projects for our historic building, allowing for greater use of the building and development of community partnerships to produce creative revenue streams. That way, Trinity’s time and resources (both financial and human) can be utilized for community outreach and discipleship.

The 501c3 team met for the first time in August, and will meet monthly to develop a mission, vision, and name; create (and carry out) a funding and business plan; and recruit board members to help guide the nonprofit organization.  We hope to officially launch this new NPO during our building’s 150th anniversary next year.