By Tammy Smecker-Hane (she/her), UTO Board Province VIII Representative

January was a time of waiting and anticipation for the UTO Grants Committee, a time very reminiscent of Advent, as Heather Melton, UTO staff officer, processes grant applications and shepherds applicants through our dual-deadline system. We send out a huge “thank you!” to all those UTO diocesan and provincial coordinators who are now busy helping church organizations perfect their proposals, budgets, and timelines and getting those bishop’s endorsement forms completed. We look forward to reviewing those proposals as the final deadlines pass in February.  

Recall that the theme for the 2026 UTO grants is bringing justice and bridging divides. For more information, see https://unitedthankoffering.com/apply. Each proposer will be working with another group they normally do not work with in order to bring more justice to their community. Given the political climate in the U.S., we expect there may be numerous proposals from Episcopal Church groups involved in seeking justice for our immigrant neighbors. Please say a prayer for those of us on the UTO Grants Committee and UTO Board for diligence and wisdom as we evaluate the grant applications and select those to be funded. Expect the grant announcements in June after Executive Council meets.

Recently the grants committee finalized the theme for the 2027 UTO grants, which was approved by the UTO Board and now must be approved by Executive Council at its February meeting. Look for that announcement in the March newsletter. This is really good information to share with your diocese for raising funds for the 2026 Ingathering. A lot of places want to know where the money is going so the focus helps them see where their thank offerings will go. 

Please know that we are updating our system to better support diocesan leaders for the 2027 process. We’ll have a special training in June 2027, and we’ll provide all leaders with sample/customizable newsletter articles for your diocesan newsletters. Please click here if you are a diocesan leader so we can make sure you are on our list to receive an invitation for that special training.

As you prepare for the 2027 process, here are some things to keep in mind that you’ll be doing to support the grant process. Make sure everyone who wants to apply knows that they must first go through a competition at the diocesan level, because most bishops can endorse only one UTO grant proposal per year. 

Set a deadline for pre-proposal ideas in consultation your bishop, and email Heather Melton the date of the diocesan deadline so she can include it on the UTO grants web page to help remind proposers. 

When you are notified that you have more than one group in your diocese wishing to submit a UTO proposal, you will want to ensure fairness in the selection process by forming a small diocesan subcommittee to review the ideas that come in and select the one that can go forward with the bishop’s endorsement. Previous UTO diocesan coordinators, assistant bishops, or UTO coordinators from parishes with long histories of participation in UTO make excellent subcommittee members. 

It’s never too early to encourage people to apply for a UTO grant, and it is often the people who are on the ground doing the hard work who are incredibly busy and might need encouragement to take the time to apply. You’re giving them that encouragement helps us fund the very best proposals that do the Lord’s work in this world!