Grants ! Financial Stability ● Ministry Management ● Emotional Wellness ● Community Leadership The purpose of the Ministerial Excellence Fund (MEF) is to offer financial relief directly to PAW pastors. Grants from this fund have been designed as an incentive for learning – meaning PAW pastors can only access MEF grant funds after they've completed the Comprehensive Series . Making grants available for pastor's personal debt, along with providing financial education was a requirement of our funder. Note: Grants are not guaranteed and subject to funds being available. Ministerial Excellence Fund Grants for PAW Pastors Mark as Starred Mark as Starred Mark as Starred Mark as Starred Mark as Starred Mark as Starred Offers financial relief directly to pastors via grants Must be a pastor credentialed by and in good standing with PAW Grant eligible after completion of required learning Grant awards amounts will vary per pastor, Funds will be distributed directly to creditors (not pastors to avoid tax consequences) Use limited to personal debt relief and hardships *Note: In some cases grants may be applied to personal debt related to church building operations, but may be subject to additional approval. At this time only US pastors are eligible for the grants and mini scholarships. *Bonus: there will be additional consideration given to applications that demonstrate a pastor involved their spouse and/or church administrator. Debt Relief Credit cards. Mortgage. Rent. Home repair. Car repair. Medical bills. College expenses. Hardships Housing assistance. Disaster assistance. Sudden illness. Relocation costs. Process Application ● Review ● Disbursement Grant applications are not available at this time. The eligibility process has not yet been finalized. Invited to apply for grants through an online application, after learning requirement is met Substantiate need/debt with documentation Letter of support from congregation required Applications will be scored against a rubric used by a Grant Review Committee Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and reviewed throughout the year Once a grant is approved PAW will directly pay creditors on pastor's behalf * At this time only pastors in the United States are eligible for the grants, mini-scholarships, and coaching benefits. Grant Matching Every dollar we raise for the pastor grants fund will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Lilly Endowment (up to $600,000). Our goal is to maximize the match so we can bless as many PAW pastors in need as possible! If you're interested in helping us reach our goal, please consider contributing to the Ministerial Excellence Fund. Visit Donate. Please help us spread the word by sharing the following link: https://leadwellpaw.org/donate#donate

Thank you, Donor Name We are so grateful for your generous donation of $0. Your donation number is #1000. You’ll receive a confirmation email soon.

Strong Culture Financial Stability ● Ministry Management ● Emotional Wellness ● Community Leadership Mobilizing the entire PAW network is important if we're going to shift the culture in support of our pastors’ growth and success in the socio-economic competencies. While Lead Well is heavily focused on direct support for pastors, it also aims to activate lateral influences (spouses, peer pastors); subordinates (congregational leaders, members); and organizational superiors (diocesan and national leadership) as a way to sustain change. And Lead Well will not only catalyze our efforts to strengthen our members in support of pastors, but our systems too! Capacity of Others We're expanding the ecosystem of support for PAW pastors by building the knowledge and capacity of those surrounding them in ministry Interactive learning activities and events across the competencies Systems We'll focus our efforts on systems that improve and promote PAW’s policies and practices related to the success of member pastors Improving accountability with refreshed policies, processes, protocols, plans Recognizing our own talent as experts Focusing on data (collection, analysis, use in decision making, strategy, marketing) Setting clear expectations Help Us Build! We want to engage those who support pastors with fun learning activities based on the four focus areas. If you have some ideas , let us know here ! If you'd be willing to facilitate or coordinate , let us know here ! If your thing is policies and documents and you'd like to help with our systems change effort, please let us know here if you're a subject expert ; if you want to give input, write, or serve in some other administrative capacity tell us here .

What is Lead Well ? Financial Stability ● Ministry Management ● Emotional Wellness ● Community Leadership Lead Well is a new program that seeks to develop and support PAW pastors who are striving to be financially and emotionally well and efficiently leading their ministries and communities. Vision PAW pastors who are thriving in 21st century ministry will demonstrate these 4 socio-economic competencies, regardless of their age, scale, or stage of ministry. Financial Stability Our pastors' personal and household finances are stable Ministry Management Our pastors are efficient managers of their ministry operations (financially & administratively) Emotional Wellness Our pastors feel mentally and emotionally well Community Leadership Our pastors are leaders who help meet the economic needs of their communities Strategy We will focus our efforts in two ways: Increase knowledge of PAW pastors in personal and church finances, church operations and administration, emotional wellness, and strategic community engagement through learning programs Improve practices of PAW pastors by providing direct, scaffolded supports that take them from new knowledge to improved practice - with relevant learning opportunities, hands-on transitional supports (coaches, counselors, mentors, financial planners), new resources and tools, and a debt relief grant fund Direct Supports for PAW Pastors 1. 2. Strengthening PAW Culture to Support Pastors Build the knowledge and capacity of those surrounding PAW pastors in ministry to help influence their growth in the 4 socio-emotional competencies -activating lateral influences (spouses, peer pastors); subordinates (congregational leaders, members); and organizational superiors (diocesan and national leadership) Expand how the organization serves PAW pastors and holds them accountable by improving and promoting PAW’s policies and practices that effect success of member pastors’ development of the 4 socio-economic competencies Learning Resources Grants Strong Culture Summary of Key Offerings The Lead Well program is offering pastors: Mark as Starred Grants to help reduce their personal debt or address their financial hardships Mark as Starred Mini-scholarships for tools (software, books) Mark as Starred Personalized coaching support (counselor, coach, mentor, financial planner) Mark as Starred Education with a series of learning activities Mark as Starred An online resource hub with high-quality tools and supports Mark as Starred Improved PAW policies and practices to help them succeed Mark as Starred Mobilization of the PAW network in support of their efforts Learn more background information at Program Design , Research & Evaluation , and the Planning & Design Process . * At this time only pastors in the United States are eligible for the grants, mini-scholarships, and coaching benefits.

Ways to Get Involved Financial Stability ● Ministry Management ● Emotional Wellness ● Community Leadership Below are all the ways you can plug in to join the Lead Well movement! You can click the buttons immediately below and/or from the footer at the bottom of any page. You can also just scroll this page. Donate Subscribe Share Expertise Give Other Support Share a Resource Share an Idea Donation (Form): Grant Matching Every dollar we raise for the pastor grants fund will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Lilly Endowment (up to $600,000). Our goal is to maximize the match so we bless as many pastors in need as possible! If you're interested in helping us reach our goal, please consider contributing to the Ministerial Excellence Fund. Visit Donate. Help us spread the word by sharing the link https://leadwellpaw.org/donate#donate Subscribe (Form): Stay informed ! Subscribe ! Email* Join Yes, put me on the mailing list! I'm a PAW pastor Share Your Expertise (Form): I'd like to share my expertise ! Note: We're glad to hear from you and we'll review your offer of support. Completing this form, however, doesn't guarantee an assignment. Submissions for all potential providers will be vetted and matched when there's an appropriate placement. The program design and eligibility process are still in development; you'll be contacted once things have been established. Thanks for sharing! First name* Last name* Email* Phone City* State* My area(s) of expertise are: My area(s) of expertise are:* Financial literacy Church finances Church operations, administration Debt management, credit repair Fundraising, grantwriting Organizational leadership Succession planning, transition strategies Emotional wellness Stress management Conflict resolution Community partnerships Community resources Church outreach ministry, community engagement Grant writing Other I think I can help as: I think I can help as:* a presenter in the area(s) indicated above an instructor who delivers curriculm in the areas above personalized, hands-on mentor/coach to help pastors implement what they've learned a listed service provider (free, discounted services) part of the team designing the educational content and learning tracks for pastors a guest writer, sharing my professional advice (to be published across Lead Well platforms) IT support (creating and managing computer systems, software usage, security, internet connectivity) a professional skilled with data collection, analytics, and evaluation a sales, marketing, fundraising expert a graphic designer a web developer Other If you want to help, but your skill is not listed here, complete the Give Other Support form. I’d prefer to: directly help any PAW pastor who needs help support those who support pastors directly help the Lead Well team no preference Share more about your expertise in the box below and/or share a link or upload a file. Tell us more about your related work: Link File upload Upload File Submit Give Other Support (Form): I'm helpful, I'd like to support ! Note: While we don't yet know exactly what type of support we may need, we imagine potentially needing a lot of help to deliver an excellent program. We're glad to know you're willing to help! Some functions and/or support groups may take some time before they’re formed, but we'll be reviewing offers of support as they come in and will try to make an appropriate placement/match. Completing this form, however, doesn't guarantee an assignment. Thanks for sharing! First name* Last name* Email* Phone City* State* I might be interested in helping: (check all that apply) with customer service activities, like follow-ups calls or responding to website inquiries administrative tasks because I’m a good organizer administrative tasks because I’m good with computers (documents like Word, Excel) or database management pastors who may need additional user tech support (not a tech professional) with the fundraising campaign to secure match funding for the grant fund to create and/or maintain a list of professional experts who will directly serve pastors (presenters, hands-on coaches, service providers) pastors and others navigate the online hub of resources being built (serving sort of like a librarian) coordinating onsite activities (Lead Well will likely operate a hybrid model with online providers that will need on-the-ground support) specifically help my pastor and would like to be plugged into a network of folks who also want to support their pastor’s success. to facilitate groups, likely small peer groups that could be online or in-person with compliance, policies, processes and/or documents (planning, writing, reviewing, editing or serving in some other administrative capacity) to design and/or manage interactive learning activities for everyone because I bring the fun with social media support for the purposes of promoting, recruiting, engaging, and fundraising on behalf of Lead Well with writing Other If you are a subject matter expert, please complete the Share Expertise form. I'd prefer to: directly help any PAW pastor who needs help directly help the Lead Well team If you support your pastor in an official capacity, please share your title. Share more about why you want to support Lead Well and how you think you can best help (optional) . Tell us more about your related work: Are you comfortable getting online for potential planning meetings? Yes No Submit Share a Resource (Form): Is there a resource we should know about ? We're looking to collect the best information and tools to help our pastors successfully navigate the economic pressures related to our 4 focus areas. Before sharing your suggestions, if you haven’t already, we recommend you visit Overview , Learning Programs , and Strong Culture for direction. First name* Last name* Email* Phone City* State* You believe this resource would be a great reference, tool, or guide for which of the following program areas: My area(s) of expertise are:* Financial literacy Church finances Church operations, administration Debt management, credit repair Fundraising, grantwriting Organizational leadership Succession planning, transition strategies Emotional wellness Stress management Conflict resolution Community partnerships Community resources Church outreach ministry, community engagement Other Name of resource: Short answer Tell us more: Tell us more about your related work: Is this resource: Free Low-cost or discounted If you want to share additional information, you can share a link or upload a file below. Link File upload Upload File Submit Share an Idea (Form): I have an ideal ! Note: We're glad to hear from you and we'll take your thoughts into consideration. Completing this form, however, doesn't guarantee the implementation of your idea. You can expect to hear back from us regardless of the decision. Thanks for sharing! First name* Last name* Email* Phone City* State* My thought relates to: My area(s) of expertise are:* Personal finances Managing ministries/churches Being emotionally well when stressed with finances Leading communities in need Operation/administration of the Lead Well program Other I'd like to share this idea: My area(s) of expertise are:* So that it may be considered as a featured post for Lead Well's News & Notes platform To help raise funds for the MEF grant fund that is helping pastors in need To help engage congregations and PAW members in activities that support pastors. With the program team about developing, implementing, evaluating, and/or sustaining Lead Well Other Share more about this idea. Why do you believe it's helpful to our pastors who are navigating challenges in their personal finances, managing their ministries, leading their communities, and emotionally trying to balance the pressure of it all? Tell us more * My thought is:* Very specific to pastors Is good for everyone Submit

Research & Evaluation Financial Stability ● Ministry Management ● Emotional Wellness ● Community Leadership Our funder required the team to do some research on the economic challenges that pastors face. Highlighted here are some key points from national statistics and thoughts from our members. A brief overview of the evaluation aspect of this program follows. Did You Know? National Research Stressful Personal Finances Over 1/3 of pastors say they can’t confide in anyone outside of their household about stressful finances Burden of Ministry 80% of pastors believe ministry has negatively affected their families Pastors Feel Isolation 65% of pastors report feelings of loneliness and isolation (up from 42% just 7 years ago) Racial Inequity Among Pastors Black clergy salaries are 2/3 of White clergy salaries Lack Long-Term Sustainability Black clergy are less likely to receive retirement or health benefits; almost 1/2 of Black clergy are bi-vocational Struggling Finanacially Pastors at all stages of life report being unable to meet financial emergencies Church Income Stress Tithes are the main source of revenue for churches, but only 5 - 25% of the congregation consistently tithe PAW Member Research Love But Not Loved Back Great affection for PAW, but most felt lack of direct support for pastors; financial contributions to PAW overemphasized Not Enough Aware of retirement planning, but majority see saving as a luxury Pandemic Recovery Pandemic recovery challenging (inflation, declining attendance, technology use) Racial Impact on Churches Acknowledgment that systematic racism in country has had direct economic impact on Black clergy, congregations; many financially dependent on country’s most financially at-risk populations Lack Strategies & Skills Lack of knowledge, skills related to finances and business operations, but additional economic concerns emerged with a connection to mental health and inability to meet growing basic needs in urban communities Pressuring Congregations to Give Beyond raising church offerings there are little to no other fundraising strategies - which means pressuring congregations to give more Seeking Help Some do not know what help they need or who to ask and others do not want to ask; some believe asking for help diminishes their faith Use Our Own Expertise Advised to leverage expertise of existing membership Results ● Impact ● Outcomes ● Success ● Goals Met ● Proof Evaluation Lead Well , as a program, is required by our funder to be evaluated by a professional evaluator. The purpose of the evaluation is to determine if by the end the program was effective at reaching its goal. Goal Participating PAW pastors will strive to master the four socio-economic competencies, regardless of their age, scale, or stage of ministry. By "competencies" we mean they will be financially stable, managing their ministry effectively, are emotionally well, and are leaders who are helping to meet the economic needs of their communities. Measuring Impact Throughout the program and especially at the end, the evaluator will be looking to see if the program strategies worked and what changed with PAW pastors as a result of participating in this program. ? ? Did the understanding, practices, and behaviors of participating pastors improve? How do we know? ? Was the program's approach effective? How do we know? Ex: Do pastors feel a greater sense of support from those around them? Ex: Do pastors feel a renewed energy around their pastoral calling and the potential of their congregations? Ex: Did pastors use the intervention benefits and resource hub? Ex: Do pastors report an improved understanding of financial literacy concepts related to their household and church? Ex: Did pastors identify and address their sources of stress? Ex: Did pastors start or strengthen partnerships in the community that helped to increase resources? Ex: Did pastors establish and/or update documents like church policies, budgets, and transition plans? Data Collection Collecting data is the only way to verify the effectiveness of the program, so the collection and analysis of data will be an important effort. Our priority will always be to protect the privacy of participants. Beyond the Grant For pastors : we hope to see improved financial wellness for their own families, church members, and surrounding communities For churches : we hope they're operating efficiently and successfully navigating the challenges of 21st century ministry For the Lead Well program: we plan to secure future grants to continue to offer programming and supports, including expanding the amount of grants we can give to PAW pastors to provide some debt relief For the PAW organization : improved systems, use of member talent, and an uplifted overall profile that attracts additional economic resources