Updates from the UTO Grant Committee
The UTO Grants Committee is pleased to announce the release of the 2027 grant focus. We are using the three-legged stool of Anglicanism to inspire the focus, and this year, we chose:
- Tradition: We are “the Gifts of God for the People of God” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 364); and
- Reason: “Gratitude and reciprocity are the currency of a gift economy, and they have the remarkable property of multiplying with every exchange, their energy concentrating as they pass from hand to hand, a truly renewable resource. Can we imagine a human economy with a currency which emulates the flow from Mother Earth? A currency of gifts?” from “The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World,” by Robin Wall Kimmerer, p. 14)
Therefore, the UTO Board seeks innovative and imaginative applications in 2027 that are rooted in their communities with a distinctively local response. UTO will fund projects focused on connecting the unique gifts of the church/diocese/province with the unique needs of the community.
What does this mean in terms of raising funds for UTO in 2026?
Many of you are already doing it! This year we’ve made an intentional decision to have our formation resources support the grant focus.
- During Lent, UTO resources are focusing on gratitude and reciprocity and encouraging people to think about the gifts they experience within their communities and how they can be a gift to others.
- Our spring/summer materials also focus on the theme of gratitude and reciprocity by giving thanks for those who help us grow and helping others to thrive as well.
- Our fall materials will focus on what it means to be the gifts of God for the people of God, and why we call our Eucharistic liturgy “The Great Thanksgiving.”
- Our second year of our very popular Vacation Bible School curriculum will come out this fall, and one of the main themes is “We are the Gifts of God for the People of God.”
We also have bookmarks and stickers in the UTO shop that you can order to help promote the theme. The sticker is made to be added to your Blue Box as a visual reminder of the theme for the year, and bookmarks are great to add to your BCPs in the pews to remind folks about UTO even when you aren’t running your annual campaign.
If asked to describe what this focus is trying to do, we suggest talking about how each congregation or diocese is a gift to the community in which it is located. What would change for them if they had the ability to meet a need that they see in their community? What if they were able to be a gift in a way that changes things for others? What would your congregation do if you could help your community in a new way? How is God calling you to show up, give thanks, and give back to the world around you? We’ll share more information about the grant process in the months to come, but we hope having the focus will help you encourage folks to give to UTO. Remember 100% of what people give this year will fund projects connecting the church to the community in new ways. (Please note: The materials to apply for funding in 2027 will not be available until the current grant process closes. Look for those items to appear in June.)