General Grant Criteria
Criteria in this section shall apply to all applications. Specific Grant Criteria is listed below. Please note the Revised Funding Guidelines for all U.S. and Congregational Hunger Grants.

1. The proposed activity shall be consistent with at least one of the five program areas of the Presbyterian Hunger Program (Direct Food Relief, Development Assistance, Public Policy Advocacy, Hunger Education and Interpretation, Lifestyle Integrity -- see specific criteria below).

2. The proposed activity shall work to alleviate hunger and poverty or to eliminate their causes.

3. The proposal shall come from an organization. Proposals shall not be accepted from a private business or from individuals on their own behalf, nor ordinarily from government entities.

4. The proposed activities shall benefit poor people, especially women, racial-ethnic persons or other disadvantaged groups, and those benefiting shall be involved in the planning and implementation of these activities.

5. The proposed activities shall promote the equitable sharing of the earth's resources and protect the environment.

6. The applying organization shall relate appropriately with local churches, presbyteries and synods, ecumenical partners and (for international projects) national church bodies. It also may demonstrate relationships with community organizations, government agencies and other programs which share the objectives of the PHP. In order to promote self-reliance, priority will be given to applications submitted by local, regional, and national entities from the geographic area of the proposed activities.

7. The application shall propose activities from which there are:
   
   
   1. clearly stated goals and objectives;

   2. feasible methods for attaining these goals and objectives;

   3. a method of annual evaluation;

   4. a clear and adequate budget, reflecting both projected income and expenditures;

   5. a viable long-range financial plan for self-sufficiency and/or increasing community support;

   6. sufficient staff and/or volunteers to accomplish its objectives; and

   7. human resources and technologies appropriate to the local situation and need.

Specific Grant Criteria

Revised Funding Guidelines for Domestic Grants

The numbers of hungry people in the United States continue to swell despite widespread civil society efforts to feed the hungry through food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens and other direct service programs. Reduced social spending by the government, an outdated minimum wage, growing numbers of working poor, persistent unemployment and other structural issues can be bandaged with feeding programs, but not cured. Therefore, while continuing to provide some funding for direct feeding projects, we are directing more resources to organizations and initiatives that attempt to change the systemic or root causes of hunger, those underlying causes that have not reduced but increased the number of people living in poverty in the United States Beginning in 2007, we will provide grants in the traditional five areas accordingly:

A. Organizations, including PC(USA) congregations, demonstrating that a significant part of their work, or the specific project for which funds are being sought, attempt to address root causes of hunger, will be eligible for grants from $500 to $15,000.

B. Projects whose strategies, activities and outcomes do not sufficiently attempt to address root causes of hunger will not be eligible for funding.  Exceptions to this rule follow:

• Projects that help feed or house an especially underserved constituency - eligible for funding up to $5,000.
• Presbyterian congregations running a hunger or homelessness ministry - eligible for funding up to $1,000 to match local financial or in-kind contributions.
• Presbyterian congregations creating a new hunger ministry or adding to an existing hunger ministry with a new type of hunger/poverty initiative will be eligible for seed funds up to $5,000 to match local financial or in-kind contributions.

The following criteria apply only to activities in the specific program areas listed.

For activities in the area of Direct Food Relief:
The proposed activities shall provide food relief to poor people in either acute or chronic conditions of hunger with an eye to long-range solutions. Examples

Ordinarily, applications for direct food ministries (food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, etc.) in the United States shall come from or through the sessions of Presbyterian Congregations which support those ministries. Grants may be made for a) start-up costs for new programs and/or b) new projects of existing programs which attempt to deal with the root causes of hunger in their community. Normally, PHP grants shall not exceed the contribution (financial and/or in-kind) of the applying congregation.

For activities in the area of Development Assistance:
The proposed activities shall provide for a multi-faceted approach to development and the empowerment of poor people in such areas as agricultural training, community organization, economic development, nutrition education, public health and/or family planning. The proposed activities may increase employment opportunities or provide assistance to unemployed persons.

For activities in the area of Public Policy Advocacy:
The proposed activities shall advocate, through just and peaceful means, political and/or economic policy changes which a) provide food for poor and hungry people at home and abroad; b) empower their self-development; or c) promote freedom from oppressive and unjust systems that fail to meet basic needs.

For activities in the area of Lifestyle Integrity:
The proposed activities shall assist the church to move toward sustainable corporate and personal lifestyles sensitive to the reality of the earth's limited resources and the critical needs of the human family.

For activities in the area of Education and Interpretation:
The proposed activities shall educate the church and the public at large about the root causes of hunger and prepare and motivate people to act and to educate others. The proposed activities shall provide opportunities for learning among and with communities of need.