Presbyterian Development gives back

Presbyterian Development provides significant support to the Presbyterian Church by way of Grants. We are able to generate surpluses through careful management of our investment portfolios, and we gift most of those surpluses back to Presbyterian Churches throughout New Zealand

Who can apply?

All Presbyterian Churches, Co-operating parishes and related organisations can apply. We support a wide range of Church activities and projects within New Zealand.  We are unable to make grants to Churches not affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa NZ and we do not assist overseas missionary activities.

How much?

How much we are able to gift depends on the current year’s budget and the current operating environment. Over the years we have been able to give many hundreds of thousands of dollars via hundreds of small and medium sized Grants, to support local Ministers and Churches as well as regional and national ministries.

Our policy is to make a contribution towards a project rather than paying the full cost. That way we know the Grant recipient is also making a commitment, and we are able to spread our Grants budget further.

What sort of Grants?

Some examples of the type of Grants we have made in recent years are:

• assistance towards new parish ministry initiatives.
• the purchase of Church audio visual equipment, sound equipment, etc
• the cost of continuing ministry study for both trainee and fully ordained Ministers.
• funding national initiatives like Kids Friendly and Youth Ministries.
• assistance to Churches hosting Interns from the Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership.
• assisting with the costs of pastoral care programmes
• funding the development of new ideas through our Mission and Ministry Innovation Awards.

When setting the Grants budget our Directors consider the priorities of the national Church and how the Grant funds can assist the Church strategically. This is so we can target our giving back to those areas that will be most effective in supporting the Church and its mission of reaching out to the community.

How to apply for a Grant

To apply for a Grant, please download and complete our Grant Application Form and forward it to us. It is often helpful if you include supplementary information, including quotes, project overview, etc, and details of the total cost of the project.

How long will it take for a decision?

Most Grant applications are considered on a monthly basis. For an application to be considered in any month it needs to be received by us by the first week of that month. In most cases you should hear back from us by early in the following month.  Complex or large grants may take two months as they sometimes require further consideration.