Strategic Partner Grants

Episcopal Charities’ Ministry Partners’ work is both created and affected, in part, by the ongoing legacy of racism and continuing impact of white supremacy in America. In alignment with our vision statement, whose hoped-for outcome is a “more just and merciful world,” the Allocation Committee of the Board of Trustees, disbursed grants to the following two organizations in 2022:

Anti-Racism Commission of the Diocese of Chicago      $30,000 Operating Grant

At the National Church’s 80th General Convention this past summer, both houses passed and concurred on 36 race-related resolutions. These included Resolution 125 (“Extending and Furthering the Beloved Community”) with its intentional focus on creating The Episcopal Coalition for Racial Equity and Justice, and inviting every one of us to a “lifelong vocation of racial justice and equity and the dismantling of white supremacy,” and Resolution 127 (“Telling the Truth about The Episcopal Church’s History with Indigenous Boarding Schools”), that asks us to acknowledge, engage, and support a complete and comprehensive investigation of the church’s complicity in the egregious history of Episcopal-run Indigenous boarding schools.  

In the Anti-Racism Commission of the Diocese of Chicago, our Antiracism Commission has been working for years to “Repair the Breach” by offering Beloved Community Trainings to walk with congregations on their path to racial repentance and reconciliation. In 2013, the Diocese of Chicago’s Task Force on the Legacy of Slavery published A Call to Faithfulness: an Invitation to a Committed Journey. Our grant of 30,000 will help further the work of the Anti-Racism commission in our diocese.

Reparations Stakeholder Authority of Evanston        $20,000 Operating Grant

Five Episcopal churches in the Diocese of Chicago (St. Augustine’s, St. Andrew’s, St. Luke’s, St. Matthew’s, and St. Mark’s) came together in the summer of 2022 to worship together and to make a groundbreaking collective contribution to the Evanston Reparations Community Fund. This grant will help the 501c3 build a process to address the harm caused by discriminatory practices. When grants from the RSAE commence, they will support Evanston’s Black residents by addressing issues such as home retention, education, business development, health, and culture.